Viking boat burial of woman with dog at her feet found in Norway

A boat grave unearthed on the island of Senja in northern Norway contains the remains of a Viking woman with her dog at her feet. In addition to her eternally loyal companion, the woman was buried with several high-status objects, including brooches, beads of bone or amber and a hoop pendant.

The burial was first discovered two years ago by metal detectorists who found two bronze bowl brooches and a few ribs buried only 20 cm (7.9 inches) under the surface of the soil. The design of the brooches dated the grave to 900-950 A.D., the Viking Age, when pairs of bowl brooches like these were worn by women as fasteners for their pinafore straps.

The find was on private property and it was only when the landowner embarked on an expansion of his garage that archaeologists at the Arctic University Museum of Norway were able to secure permission for a thorough excavation. Under that thin layer of topsoil, they unearthed the skeletal remains of a Viking woman buried in a boat 5.4 meters (17.7 feet) long. The dog at her feet was placed with care and was a cherished pet rather than an offering. The wood has decomposed and only the dark imprint of the boat on the sand remains, but the imprint identifies it as a sewn boat, meaning a boat that was not riveted together, but fastened with another material.

An elongated object appears to be made of whale bone and may be a weaving sword – a textile tool.

“It’s poorly preserved and was removed along with a lot of surrounding soil, so we need to examine it further before we can be certain,” says Niemi.

“But so far, that’s the most likely explanation,” she adds.

They also found what could be a spindle whorl. According to Niemi, overseeing textile production was traditionally part of the responsibilities held by the lady of the household.

The woman was also buried with a whetstone made of slate and an iron sickle, both tools associated with agriculture.

The larger bones of the woman’s skeleton are in good condition, as are the ribs that were in contact with the brooches as the bronze is anti-bacterial. Analysis of the bones will confirm that the deceased was female and answer other questions about her age, health, what kind of work she did and any injuries she might have suffered. Stable isotope analysis will reveal whether she spent her early childhood in the area or came there from elsewhere.

* This article was originally published here