What Viking Funerals Were Really Like

For a small subsection of Norse society,they might be buried in boats. Some of these graves used relatively simple vessels, while others were monumental affairs packed full of grave goods. Other graves might not have any boats in them at all, but the people inside were deposited amongst stones that had been arranged to mimic

For a small subsection of Norse society, they might be buried in boats. Some of these graves used relatively simple vessels, while others were monumental affairs packed full of grave goods. Other graves might not have any boats in them at all, but the people inside were deposited amongst stones that had been arranged to mimic a ship's hull.

The most spectacular boat burial uncovered so far is surely the Oseberg ship (pictured). First uncovered in 1903 in Norway, it was put in the ground around A.D. 834 and once contained the remains of two women. One was about 70 years old at the time of her death, while the other was about 50, based on an analysis of her tooth roots, according to a 2017 paper published in the European Journal of Archaeology. However, the fragmentary bones make a definitive age almost impossible to declare.

However old they were, both women were obviously a big deal in their community, judging by the numerous animals and expensive goods buried alongside them in the grand ship. These included four sleighs (three of which were intricately carved), costly imported textiles, and 15 horses. A chemical analysis of the bones indicated that both women also enjoyed a high-protein diet that would have been available to upper-class people. The ship itself was 71 feet long and may have been actively used before it was pulled out of the water and placed in the ground.

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