NEWS FLASH: Walt Disney didn't invent Mickey Mouse -- there is a case of prior art.
From Sweden's The Local:
Archaeologists discover Iron Age Mickey Mouse
Swedish archaeologists have uncovered signs of a Viking precursor to Mickey Mouse. Among the objects found during excavations at Uppakra in southern Sweden is an iron age figure bearing a strong resemblance to the classic cartoon character.
But archaeologist Jerry Rosenberg from Lund University is confident that the bronze brooch - used as a clasp to fasten women's clothing - was in fact intended to represent a Lion King rather than a mere mouse.
"The find is from around 900 AD. It was probably a lion's head that originally came from France. It was however more than likely designed by somebody who had never actually seen a lion.
"Instead it turned into this sort of strange, fantasy animal," he told The Local.
Despite the cartoon coincidence, Rosenberg insists there are no plans to open a Viking equivalent to Disneyland.
"No, I don't think so. But we do have a big exhibition at the Lund Historical Museum, which includes two to three thousand objects," he said.
Archaeologists have recovered a total of over 20,000 Iron Age items since digging began at Uppakra in 1996. The town functioned as a major cultic and political centre from the first to the tenth century, at which point it was replaced by the strategically better placed city of Lund just five kilometres away.
So it's The Lion King and not Mickey -- well, judge for yourself:
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