blood, death and glory: the intricacies of the viking burial

Blood, Death and Glory: The Intricacies of the Viking Burial

culture

The Valkyries and Two Dudes

Thor’s Hammer What is it and why is it important

to the Vikings? Find out more!

Page 5

Textiles Galore! Learn more about textiles in the

Viking Age!

Page 8

My Viking Burial What would it be like to be

buried as a Viking woman?

Check out what Ragna

Thompson thinks hers would

be!

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Volume I Issue I Spring 2015

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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016

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Table of contents

ARTICLE

Magazine Cover.

Table of contents and From the

Valkyries.

Asgard and the Pyre: Viking Burial

Customs and Their Ties to the

Afterlife.

Thor’s Hammer: A Grave Good.

The Twilight of the Gods: Sparkly

Vampire Free Since the 11th Century.

The Preservation of Textiles and

Textile Tools in Viking Burials.

Grave Good Advertisement.

My Viking Burial.

Grave to Know: Viking Burial

Guide.

Viking Boat Burials: The Cultural

Meaning.

A Letter from the Dudes.

From the Valkyries

Welcome!

Who doesn’t like the Vikings?

This special edition magazine

focuses on death in the Viking

age! Inside, you will find

articles on everything from

the burial of Viking women to

the Viking afterlife. Join us as

we explore the death in the

Viking world. We encourage

you to take the time to enjoy

this short video made in 2011

by the Animation Workshop

in Denmark before chosing

your own Viking burial!

https://youtu.be/MV5w262XvCU

May all your adventures lead

you to Valhalla!

-Fríða, Geira and Ragna, aka

The Valkyries

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Odin of the Aesir and Freyja of the

Vanir are said to select fallen Viking heroes

who died honourably in death to sit beside them

in their halls. Freyja, who dwelt in Folkvangr,

was said to select half of the fallen warriors, and

the other half was said to be claimed by Odin

(Munch1942, 27), and they would accompany

him in Valhalla (ibid, 5,7). These fallen heroes

were thought to fight endlessly in their

respective afterlives by day, and at night feast

next to the halls of Odin and Freyja in

preparation for Ragnarok. (ibid, 109)For those

who died what was considered dishonourable

deaths, such as death during a cowardly act or

by illness or old age, their souls were thought to

be tied to Hel, an underworld ruled by a goddess

of the same name, who is thought to be the

daughter of Loki the Trickster God. This

underworld differs from it Christian counterpart

“Hell”, as it is not depicted as a place of

purgatory, but rather a place to simply exist

after death (ibid, 37-38). It is unknown if these

three supposed afterlives were thought to inhabit

an individual realm, or rather coincide within

the same dimension, but as separate “rooms”.

Now, at this point you may be thinking to

yourself,

“Self, this is a respected anthropology

magazine, why is this nitwit of an author

schooling us in mythology?”

Well Self, today is your lucky day. A

common opinion while discussing the

archaeology of the Viking Age is that “the

notions of specific afterlives for good and bad

people should be discarded,” as it is “not

know[n] exactly where Norse people were

By Oudin McLeod

Asgard and the Pyre: Viking Burial Customs and Their Ties to the

Afterlife

believed to go after death” (Williams, Pentz and

Wemhoff 2014, 166-167). I believe that by

comparing grave goods of Pre-Christianity

Icelandic Viking burials to known Norse Burial

theory we can form calculated assumptions of

the presumed destination of a Viking’s soul. In

order to do this, a basic understanding of the

nature of perspective afterlives in Norse

Mythology must be obtained. For the sake of

brevity, I will only examine the general nature

of Valhalla and Folkvangr.

Valhalla and Folkvangr both serve the

same general purpose, and their only main

difference is who is thought to preside over the

souls within. They both house the souls of fallen

warriors, who engage in endless battle by day

and emerge every night unhurt and feast

alongside their ethereal brethren by night, all in

order to prepare for the inevitability of

Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse (Munch 2014,

Image 1. Odin (right) presiding over Valhalla

and its fallen heroes after the day’s skirmish.

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5,27,109), Williams, Pentz, and Wemhoff 2014,

79). The soul of the Viking is theorized to pass

into the afterlife in two portions, one part at

death, where the last breath was the life force

leaving the body, while a second part remains

tied to the corpse, which holds the

consciousness of the deceased. This portion is

thought to only be released through the

obliteration of the body, after which it follows

the path of the first portion to the afterlife and

becomes a complete being again (Graslund

2000, Chapter 6). While these two portions of a

single soul are separated during the preparation

of burial, money, food and drink are offered to

the body in order to appease the part still tied to

the world of the living, and “keep them in their

grave” (Maher 2013, 15). It is a commonly

accepted theory amongst archaeologists that the

objects interred or cremated with Viking

remains are transported to the afterlife alongside

the second portion of the soul at the point of

annihilation (Winroth 2014, 91-92, Jesch 1991,

19). These goods are traditionally made up of

everything an individual would need in the

afterlife. Blacksmiths are often buried with an

entire set of their tools. Clothes, horses, slaves,

and weapons are also known grave goods

(Maher 2013, 31-37). I believe that a body

whose soul was thought to be destined for

Valhalla or Folkvangr would be adorned with

weapons in their burial, or other symbols of

their status as a warrior. This would be the only

way that their souls could fight in the proving

grounds of Valhalla and Folkvangr.

Aside from weapons within a grave,

other symbols may exist that indicate a soul

being sent to Valhalla or Folkvangr. In the lore,

as a man named Njord lay dying of sickness,

Odin marked the Viking with the point of a

spear as a symbol of his dedication and honour,

granting his access to Valhalla (Munch 1942, 9).

Of 33 graves containing weapons from an

excavated assemblage of Icelandic Vikings,

81.8% of graves contained a spear head (Maher

2013, 38). This could indicate a “marking with

the head of a spear” that has been discussed in

lore. A spearhead was also found in the grave of

a 25-35 year old woman (Gr. No 72) in the same

assemblage (ibid, 39), possibly indicating that

she committed an act honourable enough to earn

her a seat in Valhalla. This “marking of the

spear” need not be limited to material spears,

but instead could appear as a physical mark on

the body that occurs near the moment of death.

Future research into perimortem injuries on

individuals that died of disease should be

conducted. This could potentially lead us to a

better understanding of where the Vikings

believed they would spend their afterlife.

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Image 1. Thor’s Hammer

pendant. Silver pendant with

gold filigree. The Swedish

History Museum, 2013.

By Fríða Heizer

Thor, also known as the God of

Thunder, is a prominent deity in Norse

mythology. He is associated with strength,

thunder, lightning, and storms amongst other

things. He is well known for his weapon of

choice, a hammer called Mjölnir. We are able

to see in the archaeological record that people

in the 9th and 10th century AD had a

connection to Thor. In the Scandinavian

countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,

there have been many pendants, amulets, and

what are called Thor’s Hammer Rings in

burials as grave goods. As well, there are

memorial stones with carvings of the

hammers integrated into the design. Others

have “May Thor Hallow” inscribed (Graham-

Campbell 1980, 180). These inscriptions

indicate a possible connection to a wedding

ritual. There is a story in which the giants

steal Thor’s hammer and ask for Freyja as a

bride for their lord. Because Freyja is not

interested in this trade, Thor masquerades as

her to retrieve his hammer. During the

celebrations and feasting to the marriage, the

hammer is brought in. Thor then destroys the

giants, gaining his hammer, and returning

victorious (Graham-Campbell 198, 180).

Thor’s Hammer pendants appear to

have become more prominent as

Christianisation was occurring throughout the

Viking world. Many academics believe that

this was a response to the Christian tradition

of wearing crosses or crucifixes as a symbol

of Christianity. It has been suggested that

Thor’s hammers were a symbol for paganism

(Graham-Campbell 1980, 186), people

purposely setting themselves apart from

their Christian counterparts. While the

wearing of sometimes very ornate hammer

pendants (Image 1) is seen far more with

the uprising of Christianity, the tradition is

far older than that of the cross, therefore it

was not simply a counter to the cross

(Nordeide, 2004, 218-219) and is likely an

indication of a cult to Thor (Andersson

2005, 47).

Thor’s Hammer: A Grave Good

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Image 2. Thor’s Hammer Pendant.

Iron found as Grave Good. The

Swedish History Museum, 2011.

Image 3. Amulet Ring, silver.

Represents Thor (Mjolner), Odin

(Draupner’s rings) and Frey (the fire

steel). The Swedish History Museum,

2011.

There are two types of artifacts seen

with Hammers on them, one is thought to be

an older tradition and the second, younger.

The older of the two is what is known as

Thor’s Hammer Rings (Image 2), circular

rings of iron with a catch that can be opened

with iron attachments of hammers along with

other shaped adornments (Andersson 2005,

46). Some of the rings found have symbols to

other gods, not just Thor. For example, Odin

is represented by Draupner’s rings, and Frey

by Fire steel (Image 3). The younger tradition

is that of wearing a single hammer as a

pendant, again seen mainly with the up rise of

Christianity. Pendants were generally made of

silver, while the rings were often made of iron

or copper. It is possible that these two

traditions, pendant versus ring, evolved

independently from each other (Nordeide

2004, 218-219).

With all that said, where do we

actually find these artifacts? Depending on

where in Scandinavia you are, they are found

either in graves as grave goods, in old

settlements, or in Viking hoards (Nordeide

2004, 220; Williams 2014, 172). These grave

goods are present in boat burials, inhumations,

and cremations. In Norway, the majority of

these finds were from burials and hoards,

whereas in Sweden and Denmark, about

a quarter of the finds were associated

with graves and the rest were mainly

from hoards and some in settlements

(Nordeide 2004, 220). It is in the later

half of the 10th century where we seem

more and more burials (Andersson 2005,

54). This is consistent with the

Christianisation, talked about above.

Thor’s Hammer rings are not gender or

age specific, they appear in both male

and female burials, as well as with all

ages. In Kaupang in Vestford, we see

this with two boat burials, one of a male

and the other female. Both had Thor’s

Hammer pendants associated with their

graves (Nordeide 2004, 219). Urn burials

also have been found with these artifacts

placed on top of them. Thor’s Hammer’s,

whether in ring form or pendant form,

are evidently important symbols in

Viking culture. Not only do we have the

physical objects, but writings from

Snorri Sturluson talk about the transition

period to Christianity, and gives textual

evidence of Thor and his hammer being

a large part of Norse Mythology.

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A legend exists amongst the Vikings

that tells of the Twilight of the Gods:

Ragnarok. There would come a time when

Odin and Freyja of the Aesir would call forth

the armies of fallen warriors residing in

Valhalla and Folkvangr (Munch 1942, 108-

109). The Midgard Serpent Jormungand

would release his tail that encircles the Earth,

bringing catastrophe to his watery realm on

his journey to shore (Williams, Pentz and

Wemhoff 2014, 211). Loki the Trickster and

Fenrir the Wolf would escape their chains and,

alongside the forces of Hel and the fire demon

Surt, lock in battle with the Aesir and their

armies for three years. In the fourth year, Thor

the Thunderer would step nine paces and

succumb to Jormungand’s poison after slaying

the mighty serpent. Loki would fall to

Heimdal, Guardian of the Bifrost, and Odin

By Oudin McLeod

would be swallowed by Fenrir, who in turn would

be valiantly slain by Vidar Odinson, the Norse God

of Vengeance (Munch 1942, 110-111). Many more

of the Aesir and their foes would fall; brother

would slay brother, until Surt strikes down Freyja.

Left unopposed, the fire demon envelopes the

world in flame and all things perish. This marks the

dawn of a new age, and chaos subsides. The

remaining Aesir gather on a new Earth, where a

new sun shines in the sky and the world is alive

and green. Lif and Lifthrasir, the last remaining

mortal man and woman, found shelter from Surt’s

flames in Hoddmimir’s Holt, and would spawn the

new race of men (ibid, 111-112). The halls of

Valhalla and Folkvnagr were filled so the fallen

warriors within may lock in eternal battle, training

endlessly for the day they would be called to defeat

the armies of darkness.

Image 1. Depiction of Thor readying himself to strike down the

Midgard Serpent.

The Twilight of the Gods: Sparkly Vampire Free Since the 11th

Century

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By Geira Vey

Archaeology has a tendency to focus

on the big things; stone architecture, human

remains, precious metals, and pottery, often

because these are things that survive well in

most archaeological contexts. What that

means, of course, is that these items are the

least likely to break down into the ground

after being buried for long periods of time.

But that isn’t necessarily the case, there are

circumstances where organic materials, like

textiles, actually preserve very well. This

depends on a number of things that can work

together:

1. What is it surrounded by? Some

minerals can help preserve different

organic materials, so different kinds

of soil or other items nearby can help.

2. Where in the world is the material

located? Climate plays an important

role in the preservation of certain

materials, tropical climates are the

most destructive, and temperate

climates aren’t great as a rule,

Extreme climates are the best option.

3. Did something big happen? Natural

disasters often work in an

archaeologist’s favour. Violent

storms, mudslides, and volcanic

eruptions (like the one that buried

Pompeii), often preserve more

organic material than normal events.

(Renfrew & Bahn 2007, 47-48)

Different types of textiles will

preserve differently depending on the type

of fibre the textile is made of, Ph acidic

environments tend to destroy plant fibres

like linen and flax, but the more basic Ph will

destroy animal fibres like wool and silk (Gleba

and Mannering, 2012, 2). When there is

preservation of textiles, in the past this has been

associated with female burials, because of the

more numerous pieces of metal jewelry buried

with the remains. Most specifically, the brooch

pins (Image 1.) that helped hold the fabric of

women’s clothing together worked best to

preserve that fabric because they were often

made of iron, which supports the survival of

textiles especially of wool (Coatsworth et. All

1996, 6).

High status Viking graves often meet the

requirements for the preservation of at least

fragments of textiles, through direct contact with

metal, constant moisture, and an absence of air in

the burial, such as the Oseberg Ship burial in

Norway. Precious metals were sometimes woven

into the fabric of garments themselves, or added

The Preservation of Textiles and

Textile Tools in Viking burials

Image 1. Pair of Oval Brooches. Grave

find from Santon Downham, Suffolk,

England. The British Museum Collections.

1888.

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Image 2. Textile fragment

Grave find, Björkö, Adelsö, Uppland, Sweden.

The Swedish History Museum, Stockholm 2013.

to the fabric as trim, which allowed for the

preservation of the surrounding fabrics

(Image 2). With the Oseberg Ship, the

surrounding soil was damp, watertight blue

clay was due to the weight of the ship and its

contents, pressed up into the ship sealing the

burial from the air and preserving a constant

state of moisture. (Brink and Price 2008,

181).

The Oseberg ship contained dozens of

thin strips of silk for decorating clothing from

15 different textiles with a variety of designs,

some of Persian origin (Patel 2014, 12). The

ship was the burial for two adult women, one

was more than eighty years old at the time of

her death, the other in her fifties according to

the ageing of the skeletons (Nordeide 2011, 7).

Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide describes the finds

of the Oseberg burial as “Fine art combined

with advanced technology was found, for

instance, in beautiful textiles, carved wooden

objects like beds, sledges, wagons, tents,

buckets, coffins, various kitchen utensils, and

of course on the ship itself.” (Nordeide 2011, 7)

The study of textiles preserved in Viking

graves is a relatively recent scholarly path,

beginning in the 1950s with Grace and

Elisabeth Crawfoot’s work on the relics of St.

Cuthbert (Coatsworth et. al 1996, 5). And with

the increasing awareness of the value of the

information contained within the fragments of

preserved textiles found in some sites, more

understanding of the role of textiles in

everyday Viking life and burial is being

gained. From the study of the origins of

textiles using the fibre types, dyes, and

patterns, archaeologists can gain a greater

understanding of the society that buried their

dead with these textiles, and how they related

to the world around them.

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For the low, low price of only 3 horses add a sacrificed slave to your burial!

The Valkyries and 2 Dudes Grave Good Co. By Ragna Thompson

How will your remains

be gendered?

Stereotypical and ambiguous grave good kits for sale!

How do you want your remains to be gendered? Male? Female? We have the grave good kit for you! Stereotypical male kits include swords and axes.

Stereotypical female kits include a pair of oval brooches and a spindle whorl. Is your last wish to confuse the Christians who dare to excavate your

remains? Want to confuse future generations who disturb your final resting place? Try one of our Ambiguous grave good kits. Complete with swords and

spindle whorls.

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My Viking Burial What my burial would be like as a woman in the Viking era

By Ragna Thompson

When you think of Viking burials what

do you think of? Personally, I think of the

graves of fierce looking men with wild hair

wearing metal hats with horns, covered in

animal skins burning in boats on huge flaming

pyres. The main thing being, I think of men in

Viking burials. But what about the women of

the Viking era, how were their bodies treated in

death? I want to know more about the treatment

of women in death during this era and not just

the treatment of the fierce, hairy men I imagine

as Vikings. So let’s take a closer look at Viking

burials and explore how my body may have

been treated if I was a Viking woman.

Introduction- A Little Bit About Viking Burials

Viking burials, prior to the

conversion of Christianity in Scandinavia,

are well known for their elaborate burial

styles and lavish grave goods (Arbman

1961, 32). Although when one typically

imagines a Viking burial one conjures

images of a corpse of a fierce male warrior

placed on top of a boat laid with treasure

and sacrifice awaiting a flame to catch it all

on fire, both men and women in the Viking

age could have elaborate cremations and

inhumations. The Vikings practiced both

cremation and inhumation of their dead and

both can result in remains that can be found

in the archaeological record and these

remains have allowed many archaeologists

to study Viking burial practices (Wiker

2012). When the biological sex of a body

cannot be determined, grave goods can be

used to gender grave. These goods could be

all manner of things including weapons,

jewellery, games, food, and sacrificed

animals such as dogs or horses (Arbman

1961, 34). Some graves of both genders

were wealthy in amount and type of goods

they contained while others contained little

to nothing. The deceased were often fully

dressed and adorned with jewellery

preparing them for the journey to the

afterlife (Jesch 1991, 12). Now you know a

little bit about Viking burials in general,

and keeping that in mind, let’s take a closer

look at the burials of women during this era

to investigate what my own burial might

have been like had I lived during the age of

Vikings.

Burials- The Treatment of the Body

There was no one-way to deal with

the dead in the Viking age, inhumation and

cremation were both practiced and regional

variation has been well documented (Jesch

1991, 12). As mentioned, both men and

Image 1. Bronze brooches found in a Viking woman’s grave. Swedish History Museum 2011.

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women could have either inhumations or

cremations and these practices could occur in

the same place at similar times. Looking at the

example of Birka, a Swedish Viking age

trading post most well known for its high

proportion of female graves, one can see a

spectrum of the different ways in which the

Vikings treated the remains of the dead

(Wicker 2012). Burials at Birka include

cremations, inhumations, with and without

coffins, and chamber burrow inhumations.

Evidence at Birka suggests that some of the

women buried there were of high status,

owned property, and had wealth of their own

that allowed them to pay for their own grave

chambers as well as for burials for members

of their families (ibid.). However, the

identification of women’s remains in chamber

burials is less frequent than the identification

of men’s remains in chamber burials. Women

seem to have been cremated more frequently

than men at Birka (ibid.). So what does this

tell us? It tells us that while women could

have other forms of burial, cremation was a

common method for the treatment of their

bodies in death.

Grave Goods- What is buried with the body?

There are certain grave goods that

when found can point archaeologists to what

gender the deceased may have been. In the

case of cremation, it may not be possible to

recover enough skeletal remains to sex the

individual and because of this, archaeologists

can rely more heavily on the grave goods

found with a body (Jesch 1991, 13). There

are certain items that are found most

commonly with the remains of a female and

when the skeletal remains are not enough to

identify the sex of the remains, these are often

used in identification; sets of paired oval

brooches are one such artefact. These

brooches are used to hold up a woman’s dress

when found in a grave the grave is often

deemed that of a woman (ibid., 15). Other

items, such as trefoil buckles, disc brooches,

arm rings, necklaces, jewel boxes, spindle

whorls, and other household goods may be

included (Wicker 2012). Grave goods may

relate to status or duties of a woman in life

and may indicated what her duties maybe in

the afterlife (Jesch 19991, 19). However, the

choice of object in a grave may also

represent what is deemed fashionable at that

time to accompany the dead and can varies

regionally (ibid., 19). Now we know that

just like burials, there was a range of goods

that could be placed with a woman’s body in

death but that these goods often related to

her position in life.

The Afterlife- where to next?

The Viking afterlife was comprised

of two parts: Valhalla and Hel. Women were

excluded from Valhalla and in the death

were thought to have gone to the “black pit

of Hel” (Staecker 2003, 478). Christianity

offered the women of this period another

option to this dire fate. In the ninth and tenth

Image 2. Bone/antler needle found as

a grave good of a Viking woman in

Sweden. From the Swedish History

Museum 2011.

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centuries Christian symbolism begins to

appear in many Viking burials in Scandinavia,

a majority of which belonged to women (ibid.,

478). With the conversion of Scandinavia to

Christianity, there is a shift in the type of

burial and associated grave goods found with

a body. The treatment of the body transitions

from cremation to inhumation, and elaborate

grave goods to minimal or no grave goods

found in association (Graslund 2003, 485).

New grave goods, like Frisian-wear jugs

decorated with symmetrical armed crosses

along the bottom, appear in burials around the

ninth century (Staecker 2003, 466). Crosses

and crucifixes begin to appear in graves in the

tenth century as well as Thor’s hammer

pendants, especially in the graves of women

(ibid., 467-70). The Thor’s hammers have

been interpreted as a reaction to the

Christianization of Scandinavia (ibid.). When

Christian artefacts do appear in graves, the

majority of these artefacts are found in

women’s graves and this can be interpreted as

women having a large role in the conversion

to Christianity (ibid., 478).

Conclusion- My burial

Vikings did not have simple one-size

fits all approach to burials. The variety of

burials types, including cremation and a range

of inhumation styles, the range of grave goods,

and the religion of the dead all played a factor

in the treatment of a body after death. I would

have most likely been cremated as was

common for women. But I would be not

cremated alone; grave goods would

accompany my body into the next life. My

grave goods might include textile tools for

nalbinding (the Viking equivalent of knitting),

sewing, and weaving, paired brooches from

my dress, and jewellery. This jewellery might

include a cross or some other piece with

Christian iconography to reflect my faith. I do

not know how much say I would have had in

the treatment of by body in death or if any

prior wishes I had about its treatment would

have been honoured. While Birka is an

example of how a woman of high status may

have had some influence over the treatment of

her remains but as a young, unmarried woman

without property of title I do not know how

much say I would have in such matters.

Image 3. Sliver cross-shaped pendant found

as a grave good in Sweden. From the

Swedish History Museum, 2011.

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Graves to know Viking burial guide!

By Ragna Thompson

Impress your friends with your knowledge of

some of the most famous Viking graves with

the help of our handy “Graves to Know”

Viking burial guide!

Birka

What is it: A Viking age trading site.

Where: On the Swedish island of Björkö in

Lake Mälar.

Why is it important: Birka’s claim to fame is

its high ratio of female to male burials. In

many Viking age burial sites there is a higher

male to female ratio of burials. Birka is quite

extraordinary in the fact that it not only meets

the expected 50% to 50% sex ratio but also

surpasses it with roughly 60% of the sexed

graves being identified as female. Burials at

Birka include cremations, inhumations (with

and without coffins) and chamber barrow

inhumations. Roughly half the graves were

cremations and the majority of these belonged

to women (Wicker 2012).

Oseberg Ship Burial and Mound

What is it: A lavish ship and burial mound that

has been deemed fit for a queen.

Where: Southeastern Norway

Why is it important: The burial mound of two

women, this site is the richest and most elaborate

burial mound that has been discovered from the

Viking Era that has been remarkably well

preserved. The two women, one in her twenties

and one in her fifties, were supplied with

everything they could possibly need for the next

life. They were supplied with furniture, clothing,

food, textile tools, premade textiles and many

other wonders. What is still unknown is the

relationship of the two women, if we deduce

based on the wealth of the ship that one woman is

queen, which one is it? Is one woman the servant

to the other? Did they even die at the same time?

These questions may never be answered but

incredible ship is certainly one to know (Jesch

1991, 31-4).

Image 2. Image of the

reconstructed Oseberg ship. From

ExeterAnna.

Image 1. Excavation of Birka in 1991.

From Google Images-Holger Ellgaard.

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Gokstad

What is it: Ship burial containing the remains

of a Viking leader known as the Gokstad

chieftain.

Where: Oslofjord, Norway

Why is it important: Raided and excavated

once already in the late 1800’s, this massive

ship burial contains the remains of a man who

has been deemed a ruler in the Viking era. The

76 by 17.5 foot ship was buried under mounds

of earth and the mound was referred to as

“Kings Hill.” Large amounts of grave goods

were found in association with the body as

well as animal sacrifices including peacocks.

The ship was actually dated to earlier than the

body suggesting that it was used as a sailing

ship before and was not built especially for the

burial. This ship is a wonderful representation

of the wealth and power of a Viking chief. Image 3. Photograph of the original

Gokstad boat excavation in 1880. From

GoogleImages.

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Viking Boat Burials The cultural Meaning

By Magnus Armitage

Image 1. Reconstruction of the buried

Gostkad ship. From ExeterAnna.

Due to the prominent use of boats in

Viking culture, it makes sense that we often see

boats in Viking graves. These graves, called

Viking boat burials start appearing in the

archeological record around the first century

(Pedersen 2010, 146). However identifying

these graves posed problems to archeologists, as

due to the nature of wood the boats had decayed

by the time they were found. Because of this,

archeologists came up with criteria to identify

both earlier and later Viking boat burials (ibid.).

For earlier graves, characterized by being dated

to the 1st-6th centuries to be called a boat burial, it

must contain boat-shaped dark stains,

decomposed wood and preserved parts of the

caulking (ibid.). A separate set of criteria is used

to identify later boat burials, which are

identified as being buried between the 7th-9th

centuries. These burials must include 50 or more

iron nails (ibid.).

In Viking culture, being buried in a boat

holds numerous meanings. Firstly it can signify

wealth. An example of this can be seen at the

Gokstad, Oseberg site in Norway. This boat is

76 feet in length and 17.5 feet wide (Urbanus

2014, 1). The individual buried here died a

violent death between the ages 50-70 wide

(ibid.). This individual is thought to be wealthy

due to what he is buried with. His grave goods

include: cooking, fishing, sailing and riding

equipment along with being buried beside 12

horses, 8 dogs and 2 hawks (Holck 2014, 1).

Similar to this burial, the Oseberg boat burial,

located in Norway also symbolizes wealth. This

boat is 68 feet long and 16 feet tall. The boat is

dated to 834 A.D and contains two female

bodies, aged 50 and 8 at the time of death

(Nordeide 2011, 7). Grave goods at this site

include wooden carvings, textiles and metals.

Buried with the two bodies were 2 ox, 13 horses

and 4 dogs (ibid.).

However not all boat burials symbolize

wealth, in most cases the individuals are not

buried with significantly more grave goods than

normal burials (Pedersen 2010, 146). An

example of this can be seen at the Slusegaard

cemetery which is located on Bornhold Island in

the Baltic Sea. This site was excavated by Ole

Klindt-Jensen and contains graves which date

from the 1st to 4th century (ibid., 150). This site

contains 1,395 interments, of which 43 involve

some sort of a boat (ibid., 151). Looking at

specific graves at this sight we see that grave

number 1072 is notable. Here we have two

boats in the same grave, with the lower boat

containing the individual and his weapons, and

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17

From the Dudes

Image 1. Viking. From Lucas Leite.

the second boat acting as a lid (ibid.).

Another example of an ordinary boat

burial can be seen at Rousay Island. These

graves were excavated in 1980 and are part of a

cemetery that contains 32 burials (Kaland 1980,

1). The boat burials were found in plot #11 and

32. Looking at the burial found in plot #11 it is

thought that the Vikings first dug the hole, then

placed the boat in it (ibid., 3). In order to

stabilize the boat in the grave, the Vikings then

placed rocks and sand around it. However at the

time of excavation, only rivets of the boat

remained. The burial chamber is located mid

ship with the individual being buried with his

weapons and tools (ibid.). The second boat

burial at this cemetery is oriented facing south

east-northwest with the boat being 7 meters long

by 1.8 meters wide. This burial shares

similarities with the first one, as the chamber is

located mid ship and includes weapons as grave

goods (ibid.).

Not all boat burials are found in the

traditional sense, these being digging a hole and

sticking a boat with a deceased body in it. There

is evidence of cremation boat burials, however

these are hard to identify based off of the lack

archeological remains they leave (Pedersen

2010, 151).

Traditional interpretations of boat

burials can be classified into 3 groups; a

practical use for the boat, secular importance

and religious importance (Pedersen 2010, 151).

The practical use section provides an insight

into why cremation burials occurred, as boats

largely made from wood make an excellent fire

(ibid.). Looking at secular importance, being

buried with a large boat signals dominance,

power and control (ibid.). Lastly boats are

sometimes used to signify passing into a second

life, an example of this can be seen in the

Valhalla burial (ibid.).

Thank you for reading!

In conclusion, it is clear that Viking burial practices

were a complex and integral part of their society as they

had differing beliefs about the afterlife based off how

you die and complex grave goods accompanying them.

From an archeological perspective, this is wonderful as

the excavation of Viking graves have helped provide us

with crucial knowledge about how they lived. We hope

this magazine has helped convey some of the intricacies

of Viking cultural and burial practice to you.

- Oudin and Magnus aka The Dudes

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18

Continued…

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Image: From the Dudes

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Ntqed-bDwygG-4VW71p-5JrJg-6f8EMi-7ZeNA-763skW-33zKqL-yYB7P-5PcjfU-eprDEh-

fw15pB-5kNHyR-oiZLTx-8bTzko-8Dj9f5-5zcmEo-dsm27e-dsmbKu-dsm1B4-qMi3vJ-33ucf2-

6eTiRu-9kg4Ki-YMnAX







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Blood, death, and glory: the intricacies of the Viking burial culture

Special edition magazine produced by the Valkyries and 2

Dudes for Anthropology 379: The Archeology of Death at the

University of Victoria. Victoria, BC Canada.

Spring 2015 Contributions by:

Special thanks to: Our wonderful professor and TA who

encouraged and supported us throughout this project (even

when we were chatty in lecture).

blood, death and glory: the intricacies of the viking burial

Documents