Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - As reported last week, a Norwegian couple was extending their home when they suddenly noticed something unusual sticking up from the earth. It looked like a sword, and that is exactly what it was.
Oddbjørn Holum Heiland and his wife Anne were digging behind the Setesdalshouse from 1740, in Valle municipality in Setesdal in Southern Norway, and the discovery of the sword was unexpected. When Oddbjørn also found a curious stone that looked like a gravestone, he decided experts should visit the place.
Four such oval brooches were found in the grave. These were mass produced during the Viking Age and were used to fasten women’s dresses. (Photo: Emma Norbakk)
When archaeologists were called in to investigate, they could confirm this was the burial of a Viking.
The grave in Setesdal didn’t just contain a sword and a possible gravestone. A lance, a long spear designed to be used on horseback, had also been placed in this grave.
Artifacts excavated by the archaeology team revealed this was a particularly rich weapon grave, and whoever was buried here once upon a time was from the higher echelons of society.
Scientists decided to examine the burial, and after two days of intense excavations, archaeologists unearthed plenty of jewelry, an axe, and a shield. Researchers have also found what appears to be a frying pan, and perhaps also a pet rock.
Initially, archaeologists did not expect to find much. Perhaps just a few bones, but there were many secrets inside this Viking grave.
Scientists found many brooches, hundreds of beads, "an axe and a shield, and possibly some knives. Together with the lance and the sword this makes up a complete set of weapons for a warrior," Science in Norway reports.
The large number of beads would suggest they were part of several Viking necklaces.
“Oddbjørn's excavator had revealed fragments of oval brooches, but when we dug in we found lots more,” Jo-Simon Frøshaug Stokke from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo says.
The grave contained several large oval brooches that would have been used to fasten dresses.
“We found as many as four of these, that is not common,” Stokke says.
Around a hundred beads in different styles were unearthed. The archaeologists and conservators will be able to not only date these, they will also be able to tell where in the world they were made. (Photo: Emma Norbakk)
“Men might have used these, but they are first and foremost associated with women during the Viking Age.”
Some of the jewelry was laid down in the grave in a wooden jewelry box.
“It was probably once quite elaborately adorned, but the wood has disintegrated. We could see the imprint of it, but it wasn’t possible to make out anything more,” Stokke says.
Jewellery boxes and chests filled with grave goods is known from the Viking Age. The Oseberg ship, for instance, had several. But it is a rare find, according to the archaeologist.
It is still unknown whose burial this could be, but scientists think this a the resting place of a woman and a man. The large number of artifacts suggests it could be a double burial.
As reported by Science in Norway, "during the beginning of the excavation, the archaeologists thought that this is an unusually rich grave. But as they continued to reveal new artifacts, they started comparing their finds with other Viking graves found in the area previously.
“You don’t have to move further than to the neighboring farm a couple of hundred meters away. Here they found some graves during the beginning of the 20th century that also contained weapons and jewelry,” Stokke says.
In total there are about 2-3 nearby graves from the Viking Age.
Is this the handle of a frying pan? Or is it something entirely different? X-rays and conservation will provide answers. (Photo: Emma Norbakk)
“And they are completely identical to the one we just excavated, the differences are minimal. They have the same type of sword, the same type of brooches, glass beads. It appears as if there is an identical set of grave goods put down here,” Stokke says.
An iron aristocracy?
Some of the largest iron extraction sites from this time period are found a bit further north in the valley. Extracting iron was something the farmers could do during the wintertime, and the Vikings exported iron in massive quantities to Northern Europe and England.
The shield boss after it was excavated. (Photo: Emma Norbakk)
“These exports were so huge that somebody must have gotten quite wealthy from it. And these finds make it tempting to connect the iron extraction business to Valle,” Stokke says.
“It’s a captivating thought to imagine such an aristocracy here in Valle, a group of people that have had a style and identity markers that have shown that they belong to this segment of society. Not simply that they are part of the upper echelons because they own swords and such, but that they actually make up a small aristocracy. They’ve dressed in similar ways and brought the same items with them in the grave.”
“We don't know what it was like when they were alive, but when the members of this aristocracy were buried, they clearly had to be buried in a very specific way,” Stokke says.
The grave is unusually rich, and it is a rarity to excavate such rich graves.
The research team also found a sickle, two spindle whorls used to make thread, and a pet rock.
“A pet rock is a round stone that doesn’t have any other function than that it is smooth and nice to hold in your hand,” Stokke says.
Two spindle whorls used to make thread. (Photo: Emma Norbakk)
“They turn up in the oddest contexts, often in graves. This particular rock is round, about the size of a grape. It’s difficult to say whether somebody has made the round shape, most likely it’s just a naturally nice stone,” Stokke says.
And then they found something that might be a frying pan.
“This was the last thing we took out of the grave. It is not unique, but I haven’t encountered it before so I’m not sure how to interpret it,” he says.
The possible frying pan is possibly stuck together with other rusty items. X-rays and conservation will be able to say what it once was. Perhaps the handle of the frying is exactly that, a handle. Or perhaps it’s an iron ingot that could have been used as payment.
A funeral show
The two who were most likely buried here once upon a time, have seemingly been put in the grave with everything they might need in the afterlife.
But perhaps more importantly, they were put in the grave with the objects necessary to uphold the aristocracy for the still living.
“A burial of such an aristocracy during the Viking Age would have been a show for an audience,” Stokke says.
“This was not a private event, the entire village would have been present, as well as people from afar who had a relationship with the deceased. The items that were put in the grave would have been on display, to show off the wealth and status of the deceased. This show is put on by the descendants of the dead,” Stokke says.
After a hectic excavation, the riches that were once buried here have now been carefully wrapped and put in boxes, and are on their way to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Science in Norway reports.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff
