Viking Burials Uncovered on Scottish Island

 

In 2015, a previously hidden Viking cemetery was uncovered on the north east coast of Papa Westray, Orkney. We’re thrilled to have secured funding to learn more about the site.

We commissioned AOC Archaeology to carry out a series of small-scale excavations on:

• a rare boat burial
• a richly furnished grave
• stone-built cairns, which may have a funerary association.

Although far from being the only Viking-age graves in Orkney, these burials give us a valuable opportunity to investigate the remains using cutting-edge scientific techniques and analysis.

Post-excavation work on the human remains and artefacts has only just begun, but the results so far are tantalising!

What, Where, When?

The burials were discovered atop a windblown sand ridge above the seashore, looking out to the Holm of Papa.

Various landscape surveys conducted over the last 30 years, including one by our predecessor body the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in 1982, identified a typical Orkney ‘farm mound’. That’s a deposit of soft loamy, brown earth with a few limpet shells exposed by erosion. This could relate to prehistoric or early medieval activity, but we don’t have any previous record of burials there.

In March 2015 the landowner discovered human bones and, recognising their potential significance, swiftly contacted Orkney Council Archaeologist, Julie Gibson.

Once it was confirmed the bones were human and likely to be very old, AOC carried out an excavation under our human remains call-off contract. This is a rapid response programme designed to investigate and recover unexpected discoveries of archaeological human remains.

Secret in the sand dunes

Excavation of the burial and surrounding area found a body placed within a simple grave cut into the sand. There was no evidence of a coffin, stone lining or grave marker.

The body had been laid in the grave in a crouched position on its right side, spine slightly curved and legs crossed. We didn’t find any grave goods (items buried along with the body), but immediately around the bones the sand was discoloured and stained due to the decomposition of organic remains such as body tissues and/or clothing.

An initial assessment of the human remains by AOC osteologist, Dr Rachel Ives, suggests the individual was a mature adult, possibly male. Radiocarbon dating of a bone sample confirmed the burial is Iron Age in date, pre-dating subsequent burials by over 1,000 years.

Analysis at the AOC lab

A Viking Boat

Just a few months after this incredible discovery, another deposit of human remains was found nearby.

Investigation of the exposed remains and surrounding area revealed a stone edged grave, cut underneath the remains of disturbed cairn.

But it quickly became clear this was not a simple burial.

AOC found linear organic stains in the sand from timber planks and a scatter of iron clench bolts. Further work revealed over 200 iron fittings of a form typically associated with clinker-built timber boats.

The boat would have measured between around 4.8 m long and 1.4 m wide. It’s likely the grave originally had a low mound of stone covering it. An upright stone at the east end of the grave, marking the prow, is almost certainly a grave marker.

This is particularly exciting because only ten boat burials from this period have been found to date in Scotland. Most were excavated in the 19th century, meaning they haven’t been recorded to modern archaeological standards.

Another discovery

In August 2015, AOC returned to investigate yet another find!

Excavation revealed the remains of a truncated rectangular stone cairn. Below this mound was a burial in a stone-lined grave. Many of the slabs used to line the grave had collapsed, covering the remains of a person buried with a fascinating suite of grave goods.

The body had been laid on their right side in a crouched position. Despite damage caused by the collapsed stone slabs the skeleton was well preserved, with the exception of the feet.

After the body had been placed in the grave a large iron sword, possibly still within its scabbard, was laid across it. The hilt pointed towards the feet and the tip of the blade was across the face. A shield boss was found at the individual’s shoulder, suggesting a wooden shield had also been placed over the body during the burial.

In this photo most of the skeleton has been carefully block lifted, with only the iron sword and the skull and arm bone it is resting upon still to be recovered. © AOC Archaeology

A bundle of wooden and iron objects was found behind the skeleton. They were block lifted in the field by AOC’s senior conservator, Gretel Evans.  It’s possible these represent a collection of iron arrowheads, but we need to carry out further work to investigate this theory.

Other objects awaiting analysis and conservation include a large knife (or possibly a spearhead); and a group of iron tools, textiles and organics.

What happens next?

Similarities with burials previously uncovered at Scar suggest the graves may belong to first-generation Norwegian settlers. The discoveries could provide us with a wealth of information on Orkney’s Viking community during the 10th century.

We’re hugely excited to be able to sponsor post-excavation work on the human remains and artefacts.

A detailed programme is now being prepared to find out more. It will include bone and artefact analysis, radiocarbon dating and conservation by an internationally renowned team of experts.

We’ll be sharing regular updates to let you know what we find out about these Viking burials.

 

The Historical Truth Behind Lagertha

 Lagertha is one of the main characters in the Irish-Canadian TV series ‘Vikings’ from History Channel. From all of the main characters (i.e. Ragnar Lothbrok, Rollo, Björn, or Aslaug), she has been the most accurately portrayed in the show (from the historical point of view) thus far. However, there are still certain inaccuracies which stem from the artistic license of the producers and writers of the serial.

According to the legend, Lagertha was a Norwegian Viking shieldmaiden who subsequently married famed Norse chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok. Her life and deeds were recorded by the Danish scholar Saxo Grammaticus (known as Saxo the Grammarist in English) during the 12th century in one of his works entitled ‘Gesta Danorum’ (or ‘The Deeds of the Danes’ in translation). She is particularly remarked in Book IX of the aforementioned medieval manuscript.

It is quite likely that the way Saxo Grammaticus mentioned her in this chapter (namely ‘Lathgertha’) may have been a Latinised form of the Old Norse name ‘Hlaðgerðr’ (Hladgerdr). Additionally, she can be equally found in English language sources under slight variations such as ‘Ladgertha’ or ‘Ladgerda’.

Lagertha played by Canadian actress Katheryn Winnick in History Channel’s ‘Vikings’. Image source: www.fanuru.com

According to ‘Gesta Danorum’, her life as a longtime warrior began at the point when Frø, a semi-legendary Swedish king, invaded early medieval Norway and murdered the Norwegian king of the time by the name Siward. After this, Frø, a tyrant by nature, eventually relocated the women belonging to Siward’s family in a brothel, as a sign of defiance and public humiliation. When Ragnar Lothbrok heard the news about the death of king Siward, he decided to avenge him. As a matter of fact, he and king Siward were believed to have been relatives (with Siward being his grandfather according to a legend).

During the clash in which Lothbrok took part, the women who had been humiliated by Frø dressed themselves in men’s clothing and fought against Frø on behalf of Ragnar. Lagertha was the leader amongst them and played a pivotal part in Frø’s defeat.

Saxo Grammaticus depicted her in his chronicle as a brave amazon ‘who though a maiden, had the courage of a man’. So it was that, after the defeat of Frø, according to the same chronicle written by Saxo Grammaticus, Ragnar, impressed by how boldly she had fought in that fierce battle, sought her hand. She eventually accepted and together they had a son by the name Fridleif (instead of Björn, as scripted in the TV series) as well as two daughters.

Viking Age shieldmaiden Lagertha, as depicted by Morris Meredith Williams in ‘The Northmen in Britain’ (1913) by Eleanor Means Hull, page 17. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Not long thereafter, Ragnar divorced Lagertha in order to mary Thora Borgarhjört (who was the daughter of the King of Sweden Herraud). Because of this, Lagertha had slain him and ruled over Norway herself, without sharing the throne with her former husband anymore.

There is much debate regarding the historicity of Lagertha (as well as regarding the other characters from ‘Gesta Danorum’) to as how real was she during the Viking Age. Some historians claim that Lagertha is a fictional character, others that she must have been a certain woman by the name Thorgerd who is described in other early medieval chronicles of the 6th century.

Documentation sources and external links:

• Better to Rule Alone: Lagertha on www.hubpages.com
• Lagertha: The Real Shieldmaiden on www.normandescendants.org
• Lagertha on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• The Danish History/Book IX on www.en.wikisource.org (in English)
• Women in the Viking Age by Judith Jesch on Google Books (in English)
• 
  

Viking silver treasure uncovered in Täby in Stockholm

 A 1000-year-old silver hoard containing several beautiful torque-style neck rings, arm rings and coins has been discovered in Viggbyholm, Täby, outside Stockholm. “This is something you probably only experience once in a lifetime”, says Maria Lingström at The Archaeologists, National Historical Museums in Sweden.

A unique treasure hoard dating from the Viking Age has been uncovered in Täby, Stockholm. Consisting of arm rings, coins and eight torque-style neck rings. Photo: The Archaeologists

The treasure was found during an archeological excavation of a Viking Age settlement in Täby outside Stockholm, an area thought to have been inhabited for several hundred years. The archeologists have found more than 20 houses and buildings, the earliest dating from around 400 AD, continuing into the Viking Age (800–1050 AD) and early Middle Ages. The treasure was buried under what was once a wooden floor in a building. The coins were deposited in a pouch made of linen, which together with the jewellery had been put into a small ceramic pot.

– When I started to carefully remove the neck rings one by one, I had this extraordinary feeling of “they just keep coming and coming”. In total there were eight high quality torque-style neck rings, extraordinary well preserved despite having been made and deposited almost a thousand years ago. They looked almost completely new, Maria Lingström says.

In addition to the neck rings, two arm rings, one ring, two pearls and 12 coin pendants (coins used as jewellery), were found in the ceramic pot. Why the inhabitants chose to hide some of their most valuable objects and bury them in the ground, is at the moment unclear, but several theories exist.

– One common interpretation is that people hid and buried their treasures in difficult and tumultuous times. We have yet to see if that was the case here, archaeologist John Hamilton says.

The coins are a perfect example of the far-reaching connections and blossoming trade, which flourished in Viking Age Scandinavia. Several coins are of European origin, representing countries as England, Bohemia and Bavaria. In addition, the treasure consisted of five Arabic coins, so called dirhams. One of the European coins is extremely rare and was minted in the city of Rouen, in Normandy, France. It dates to approximately the 10th Century AD. According to Professor Jens Christian Moesgaard at Stockholm University, this type of coin has previously ever been identified from drawings in an 18th century book.

The Archaeologists also found other objects, such as arrows, quernstones, and beautiful amulet rings, within the area. But the discovery of a silver treasure was somewhat unexpected.

– This is something you probably only experience once in a lifetime, says Maria Lingström.

Contact information

Archaeologist Maria Lingström +46 (0)10 480 80 50
Archaeologist and Project Manager John Hamilton +46 (0)10 480 80 77
Archaeologist and Project Manager Magnus Lindberg +46 (0)10 480 81 25

Press photos and films available on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/arkeologiuv/albums/72157716815357207

All press photos and film clips are free to use for media and in publications. Byline for photos taking during the excavation is “The Archaeologists” or “The Archaeologists, NHM”. (National Historical Museums).

The photos of the coins, the ring being cleaned and the collected treasure with a white background are from “Acta Konserveringscentrum”. A conservatory company in Stockholm.

Download the press release (PDF)

Archaeologist Maria Lingström is digging a house. Photo: The Archaeologists

Cleaning one of the torque-style neck rings. Photo: Acta Konserveringscentrum

The treasure. Photo: Acta Konserveringscentrum AB

Coin from Normandie. Photo: Acta Konserveringscentrum AB

VIKINGASKATT UPPHITTAD PÅ ISLE OF MAN

 

och nej, det här är inte en repris från tidigare, ytterligare en skatt kan läggas till den vi rapporterade om förra året…. Och det är kanske inte helt oväntat. Isle of Man intogs tidigt av maroderande vikingaband. Mitt mellan (nuv.) Irland och Storbritannien kunde slavjägarna och plundrarna lägga till och pusta ut, laga segel och fartyg, sälja stöldgodset och människorna, slipa svärden, forma allianser och planera nästa räd.

Ingen regional makt var tillräckligt stark för att rensa ön. Det behövdes inte heller. Nordmännen bet sig snart fast på fastlandet och grundande till exempel Dublin på Irland och Whithorn och Meols (vid Chester) och därmed bitit sig fast på bägge sidorna av irländska sjön. Den siste norske kungen släppte greppet om Isle of Man först under det tidiga 1200-talet.

Nu har man hittat 87 silvermynt, armband, silverbitar och annat smått och gott. Fyndet gjordes på privat område av Kath Giles med hjälp av metalldetektor. Eftersom han bara för tre år sedan började skattleta som hobby får man väl säga att det var nybörjartur. Bra är förstås också att myndigheterna omedelbart kontaktades och professionella arkeologer kunde kartlägga fyndet. Annars är risken att fyndletaren förstör kontexten som berättar om t.ex. hur och varför (vilket också är en av anledningarna att man måste söka tillstånd av länsstyrelsen för att använda metalldetektor i Sverige).

Mynten härstammar från flera ställen: Dublin, Tyskland, England och Isle of Man, och bär flera kända ansikten, den förste tysk-romerske kejsaren Otto I, danske Knut den store som regerade över ett veritabelt Nordsjöimperium, Ethelred II, kallad den villrådige. De irländska mynten är kanske de mest spännande, präglades av Sigtrygg Silkeskägg Olofsson (o. 960–1042, ”Sithric Silkbeard”), i unga år nordmännens kung i Dublin, men efterträddes av sin halvbror Järnknä år 989. Efter mycket vapenskrammel led Sigtrygg nederlag vid Clontarf år 1014.

Skatten bör hamnat i marken omkring år 1035 och visas redan på det nya Viking Gallery på Manx Museum. Kanske läge att kika in om man har vägarna förbi…

Doktor Bornholdt Collin säger: ” The Northern Mixed hoard is the fourth Viking-Age coin hoard to be found in the Isle of Man in the last fifty years. It may have been added to over time, like a piggybank, accounting for some of the older coins, though for the most part it is a direct reflection of what was circulating in and around Man in the late 1020s/c. 1030.”

”Striking Sihtric Silkbeard Coins Discovered in Isle of Man Treasure Hoard” (2 min, engelsk text och tal)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxN-GSjcBjY

Pennan & Svärdet (svenskt tal, gratis medlemskap): https://artiklar.pennanochsvardet.se/a26rnook-valkommen...

BILDEN kommer från New York Times och angår en annan diskussion...

bilderna på aktuella fyndet finns i videon som länkas ovan…

Förbud enligt kulturmiljölagen

För att skydda våra fornlämningar är det enligt kulturmiljölagen förbjudet att använda metallsökare utan tillstånd från Länsstyrelsen.

Birkas försvunna vallgrav hittad av arkeologer

 Den vikingatida staden Birka har försetts med ännu en pusselbit. Staden kantades av en vallgrav, vilket tyder på att Birka har fungerat som en befästning och ett försvar mot fientliga angrepp. Det visar en ny arkeologisk forskningsstudie vid Stockholms universitet.

Utgrävning på Birka med studenter och doktorander som fältarbetar. Foto: Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet

Det vikingatida samhället Birka brukar beskrivas som ”Sveriges första stad” och fungerade historiskt som en handelsplats på ön Björkö i Mälaren. Delar av Birkas befästning har sedan tidigare funnits kartlagda, men nu har arkeologer vid Stockholms universitet kunnat komplettera bilden med ytterligare en pusselbit. Avsnitt av stadsvallen kring Birka har varit försedda med vallgravar, vilket tyder på att Birka har varit strategiskt uppbyggt för att försvara mot yttre hot. 

Sven Isaksson är forskare i arkeologi vid Stockholms universitet och en del av projektgruppen som arbetat med utgrävningen vid Birka. Utgrävningen hade som initialt syfte att leta efter förlängningen av befästningsverken runt Birka.

– Där finns en fornborg, en höjdrygg på andra sidan, men sedan har det varit en glipa där emellan. Där har man antagit att det gått en stadsvall tidigare, så att hela stadsområdet har varit inneslutit av ett försvarsverk. Det vi först och främst ville ta reda på var om det finns några fysiska lämningar efter en sådan vall. 

Vallgrav tyder på hotbild

Sven Isaksson. Foto: Eva Dahlin

Utgrävningen resulterade mycket riktigt i att man hittade rester av en vall. Mer oväntat var att forskarna, för första gången någonsin, har kunnat konstatera att avsnitt av stadsvallen har varit försedda med en vallgrav. 

– Att vi hittade rester efter en vallgrav är häftigt – det finns ingen annanstans på Björkö. Det visar att man har valt byggnadsteknik beroende av terrängen och att man har haft ett taktiskt, försvarstekniskt tänk när man har byggt Birka.

Att stadsgränsen delvis utgjorts av en vallgrav påverkar hur andra lämningar på Birka kan förstås utifrån ett arkeologiskt och historiskt perspektiv. 

– En stadsgräns kan ju vara exempelvis en juridisk gräns, en ekonomisk gräns eller en handelsgräns. Beroende på samhällets funktion så kan en gräns i praktiken vara ett snöre – det behöver inte vara en mur. Men att vi hittade en vallgrav tyder på att Birka är en befästning. De andra monumenten på Birka är alltså inte pampiga pynt, utan har en försvarsteknisk funktion. Bilden är nu komplett. 

Birka brukar dateras mellan cirka år 750–975 och kopplas därmed till vikingatiden. Det finns olika bedömningar av hur stort Birkasamhället egentligen var, men de flesta uppskattningar tyder på att ett tusental människor levde och verkade där beroende av säsong. Vallgraven kom troligtvis till i slutet av Birkatiden.

– Vi har fynddateringar som placerar det här i 900-tal. Vi kan nog säga med viss säkerhet att den sista vallfasen hör till slutet av Birkatiden, alltså kring 975 innan Birka övergavs.

Schakt med rester av vallgraven. Foto: Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet

Spänd tillvaro för Birkabor

Med bakgrund av fynden från utgrävningarna träder en bild av Birkasamhället fram, ett samhälle som i slutet av 900-talet troligtvis var hårt ansatt av externa hot.   

– Mot slutet av Birkatiden var detta en sluten, instängd miljö. Man var antingen innanför stadsvallen eller utanför. Eftersom vi nu är rätt säkra på att Birka fungerade just som ett försvarsverk, kan man tänka sig att det var en nervös tillvaro. Vi ser exempelvis att den sista vallfasen avslutas med en brand. Vi ser fler spår av bränder och stridigheter på garnisonen och i stadsvallen. Man har byggt taktiskt och strategiskt – förmodligen mot ett faktiskt hot, menar Sven.

– Annars så ser vi spår av liv och leverne, såsom slaktavfall av djur och matlagningslämningar. Det har varit en rökig och stökig tillvaro.

 

Bara en bråkdel av Birka kartlagd

Birka är välkänt både för forskare och för allmänhet och har blivit klassificerat som ett världsarv.

– Det är ett privilegium att få vara där, vid den här typen av världsarv. Det är fantastiskt fyndrikt – vi har hållit till i utkanten och det bara väller upp fynd ur marken. Birka är referensen för vikingatida arkeologi, det är en ikonisk plats. 

Trots att utgrävningarna vid Birka ofta är fyndrika så menar Sven att det bara är en bråkdel som har kunnat kartläggas. 

– Folk har idén om att det alltid pågår arkeologiska undersökningar på Birka. Som arkeolog får man ofta frågan ”men finns det något kvar att gräva?”.  Men av området "Svarta Jorden" tror jag att det bara är max 10 procent som är utgrävt och av de 3000 gravar som finns på området så är kanske 1000 av dem undersökta. Så vi har skapat små, små kikhål. Vi som bedriver den här forskningen gör det med begränsade insatser i samband med våra fältkurser, men det skulle behövas mer forskningsmedel till Birkaforskningen.

Unikt fynd på villatomt – gravar från första kristna

 

Ett unikt fynd har gjorts i en villaträdgård i Sigtuna, rapporterar SVT Nyheter Stockholm. Arkeologer har grävt fram sju kristna gravar från vikingatiden.

– De är med stor sannolikhet den första generationen kristna som ligger i flera av de här gravarna, säger Johan Runer, arkeolog på Uppdrag arkeologi.

Gravarna dateras till slutet av 900-talet. Förutom kvarlevor av personer hittades en kniv, ett bälte och en kam som de fått med sig till den sista vilan. Gravarna upptäcktes inför ett villabygge.

Sju kristna gravar från vikingatiden har hittats i Sigtuna. Enligt arkeologerna dateras gravarna till slutet av 900-talet – från stadens äldsta tid. Men det är inte det enda som fascinerar arkeologerna.

– De är med stor sannolikhet den första generationen kristna, säger Johan Runer, arkeolog på Uppdrag arkeologi.

De över tusen år gamla gravarna upptäcktes i samband med en utgrävning inför ett villabygge.

– Det som är unikt är att flera är begravda i träkistor som är överbyggda med sten, den konstruktionen har vi inte sett i Sigtuna tidigare, säger Johan Runer, arkeolog på Uppdrag arkeologi.

I gravarna hittades åtta individer som fått med sig bland annat en kniv, ett bälte och en kam till den sista vilan. I en av gravarna låg dessutom två spädbarn som troligen dött i samband med förlossningen.

Sigtuna museum får tillskott

För tusen år sedan placerades gravarna på en höjd intill det som en gång var en vik. Här fanns en eventuell hamn som kan ha varit viktig för Sigtunas utveckling. Nu hoppas arkeologerna få svar på varför Sigtuna bildades och kopplingen till Birka.

Ancient ships of death

 For more than a thousand years the ships of death moldered unseen on the shore of the Baltic Sea, sheltering the bones of dozens of Viking-era young men and a trove of rich possessions.

Now, after analyzing the ships and skeletons, researchers have a chilling new idea to explain how so many men died at the peak of their strength: they were diplomats from central Sweden, killed while on a mission to talk rather than fight.

Skeletons found on ancient ships on the edge of the Baltic Sea  

JAANUS VALT

The proposal, outlined in a study in the current issue of Antiquity, runs counter to previous interpretations that the men were raiders or warriors. Whoever they were, their bones give researchers a priceless window into life at the dawn of the Viking era.

The “graves gives us a rare – if not unique – glimpse of a Viking Age drama,” Ole Thirup Kastholm, a curator at Denmark’s Roskilde Museum who was not involved in the new study, says via email. “It (poses) the most intriguing mystery with plenty of questions to investigate: Who are the dead men? What was the purpose of their journey? ... And perhaps the most interesting questions: Who did it?”

Whoever interred the dead aboard two ships in what is now Salme, Estonia, in about 750 AD went about their work with great care and respect. Many of the 41 bodies were carefully positioned, and valuables were scattered among the remains. Researchers found swords bedecked with gold and jewels and hundreds of elaborate pieces from a  a chess-like strategy game called Hnefatafl, or The King's Table.They also found two decapitated hawks and the skeleton of a large dog, which had been cut in half.

In life the men must have been fearsome figures. They were young and tall, at least one nearly six feet. Analysis of their teeth, combined with the design of the buried artifacts, suggests that they came from central Sweden, not Estonia, says study co-author T. Douglas Price, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The skeletons on the larger of the two ships showed signs of violent death: stab wounds, decapitation marks, and an arm bone cleaved by a blade.

A selection of different sword handle parts and scabbard plate of gilded bronze.  

REET MALDRE

Following the discovery of the smaller ship in 2008 and the larger in 2010, researchers thought the men died on a mission of conquest or plunder. But the evidence didn’t quite fit.

The blinged-out swords seemed more suitable for projecting power than for fighting, and Viking-era warriors generally relied on spears and battle axes rather than swords, study co-author Jüri Peets of Estonia’s Tallinn University says via email. Game pieces and animals seem impractical for a military expedition but would’ve provided welcome amusement on a diplomatic trip. The men may have been on a voyage to forge an alliance or establish kinship ties, Peets says, when unknown parties set upon them.

Gaming pieces.  

REET MALDRE

Outside opinion on this explanation is mixed. The theory is “a far better solution than … (a) military expedition gone bad,” Kastholm says via email.

But Jan Bill of Norway’s Museum of Cultural History argues that the gaming pieces don’t rule out a voyage devoted to battle. “Soldiers have always had lots of waiting time, and games with them to shorten (this) time,” he says via email. “Whether this group was on a diplomatic mission, or raiding, or both, I don't think we can decide from the evidence of what was used as grave goods.” Study co-author Peets says the idea of a diplomatic mission is a “working hypothesis,” and research continues.

Sword or axe marks on a victim's skull.  

RAILI ALLMÄE

Young aristocratic men of the day routinely took part in war bands, says James Barrett of Britain’s University of Cambridge via email. Whether the men were intent on diplomacy or bloodshed, he says, the burial site “shows the cosmopolitan, albeit very dangerous, character of the Baltic Sea area even before (or at the very start of) the Viking Age.”