Archaeologists Uncovered A Large Viking Age Burial Ground In Sweden With 139 Graves, Some Shaped Like Ships
More than a hundred graves with several mounds shaped like ships were discovered in a Viking Age cemetery in southwestern Sweden.
Archaeologists came across the burial ground in 2017 while investigating an earlier Stone Age settlement in the village of Tvååker, which is located in the Varberg Municipality.
Excavations were carried out between 2017 and 2019 in advance of road construction. So far, the archaeologists have identified a total of 139 cremation graves at the burial ground, but it is possible that the site is much larger.
“We have calculated that we have only excavated six percent of the burial ground,” said Petra Nordin, project manager at Arkeologema, part of the National Historical Museums.
The cemetery had been lost to time because the land was plowed to create pastures. During the excavations, the researchers uncovered the remains of humans and animals, ceramic vessels, metal accessories, and large stones arranged around three graves in the shape of a boat.
These graves were referred to as “ship-shaped stone settings.” There was also a burial mound shaped like a ship.
The stone settings are a type of grave marker or memorial that dates back to the Viking Age and earlier. They have been found in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe.
They are made up of large stones placed on the ground in the outline of a ship. Sometimes, they even reached up to hundreds of feet in length.
In addition, they symbolized the journey to the afterlife, as ships were seen as vessels that carried the dead into the next life.
Nikolay N. Antonov – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only – pictured above is a view of Stockholm, the cpaital of Sweden
The stone ship outlines varied in size. Some were simply organized with just a few stones, while others contained multiple rows of stones, elaborate arrangements, and artifacts.
The largest ship-shaped stone setting grave at the Tvååker site is more than 160 feet long. One burial was particularly extravagant.
“In the grave were 17 vessels, human and animal bones, as well as woven weights and iron arrowheads,” said Nordin.
“We have interpreted the square pit as a construction to help create good airflow for a [cremation] pyre aboveground.”
According to Nordin, human remains were found in nearly 85 percent of the graves. The deceased would have been burnt on funeral pyres.
Then, animals would be placed on top as food sacrifices before the grave was closed. Animal bones from cows, pigs, dogs, and birds were unearthed, along with jewelry and pottery.
The majority of the artifacts were damaged by fire. Among the most fascinating finds was an Arab silver coin dated back between A.D. 795 and 806, which is a timeframe that aligns with the oldest graves at the site.
It is likely that the people from the burial ground lived in a village in the Tvååker area, but the settlement associated with the cemetery has not yet been located. Hopefully, future excavations will bring it to light.
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