Saudi Culture Ministry to Hold Cultural Insurance Conference in Riyadh Next Week

The Ministry of Culture will sign an insurance policy on cultural assets during the event
The Ministry of Culture will sign an insurance policy on cultural assets during the event
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Saudi Culture Ministry to Hold Cultural Insurance Conference in Riyadh Next Week

The Ministry of Culture will sign an insurance policy on cultural assets during the event
The Ministry of Culture will sign an insurance policy on cultural assets during the event

The Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Insurance Authority, will organize the Cultural Insurance Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday to introduce the recent cultural insurance product that helps owners of artworks and other cultural assets in the Kingdom secure their holdings, protect them, and preserve them.

It also ensures financial compensation in case of accidents that lead to the loss or damage of these cultural assets, commensurate with the damage and fair value of the assets.

The conference, which will be held at the Cultural Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter, will bring together officials and CEOs specialized and interested in the cultural and insurance fields. It will consist of dialogue sessions of leaders in the cultural and insurance systems in the Kingdom, specialists and individuals interested in these fields, to highlight the notion of "cultural insurance" and its role in creating an environment that helps protect heritage assets.

The Ministry of Culture will sign an insurance policy on cultural assets during the event.

The ministry is organizing the conference with the aim of shedding light on the cultural insurance product, presenting the risk management of cultural assets and sites, and promoting awareness about the importance of preserving cultural assets as part of the Kingdom's heritage.



'Spectacular' Viking Burial Site Discovered in Denmark 

A Moesgaard Museum conservator holds a Viking Age ceramic bowl discovered at a Viking Age burial site in Lisbjerg, a village seven kilometers north of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
A Moesgaard Museum conservator holds a Viking Age ceramic bowl discovered at a Viking Age burial site in Lisbjerg, a village seven kilometers north of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
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'Spectacular' Viking Burial Site Discovered in Denmark 

A Moesgaard Museum conservator holds a Viking Age ceramic bowl discovered at a Viking Age burial site in Lisbjerg, a village seven kilometers north of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
A Moesgaard Museum conservator holds a Viking Age ceramic bowl discovered at a Viking Age burial site in Lisbjerg, a village seven kilometers north of Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, on June 13, 2025. (AFP)

In an accidental find, a 10th-century burial site believed to have belonged to a Viking noble family has been discovered in northern Denmark, packed with a "spectacular" trove of ancient objects, a museum announced Tuesday.

The discovery came when pearls, coins, ceramics and a box containing a gold thread were unearthed during construction work near Lisbjerg, a village located seven kilometers (four miles) north of Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city.

Archaeologists found the site contained around 30 graves dating from the second half of the 10th century, when the famous King Harald Bluetooth reigned, said the Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus.

According to the museum's archaeologist Mads Ravn, the graves are most likely linked to a noble family from the Viking Age -- which lasted between the eighth and 11th centuries -- whose farm was discovered less than a kilometer from the burial site in the late 1980s.

"This could have been one of Harald Bluetooth's earls or stewards," Ravn told AFP.

Ravn noted that the king, who introduced Christianity to what is today Denmark, tasked nobles with managing certain regions.

Researchers also discovered some human remains, such as teeth and bones, at the site.

"People basically took what was important to them into the grave because they wanted to transfer it to the other world," the archaeologist said.

One of the graves, which scientists believe belonged to an important woman, contained a box filled with decorative objects and a pair of scissors.

The "magnificent" box is a remarkable find, according to Ravn, with only a few having been discovered before, including one in southeastern Germany.

"It's very rare, there's only three of them we know of," he said.

The excavations at Lisbjerg are due to be completed this week, after which experts will begin a thorough analysis of the objects recovered.

Wooden objects in particular should help them accurately date the burial site.

As a royal and commercial center, Aarhus was one of Denmark's most important cities during the Viking Age.