Viking woman buried with scallop shells cupping her mouth

Archaeologists have unearthed a 9th century skeleton in Trøndelag, Norway, buried with two scallop shells on each side of the mouth. This feature is completely unique on the Norwegian archaeological record. The only other possible examples are scallop shell fragments discovered in seven or eight graves in western Norway more than a century ago, and they were so small and scattered they could have been natural parts of the sandy soil.

The grave was very shallow, just 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) below the surface. It had been damaged when a ditch was dug across the foot of the grave in the 60s or 70s, but only the legs of the skeleton were harmed. The rest of the skeleton was preserved, albeit under threat from the increasingly acidic soil and from agricultural work which continues on the private land.

The deceased was likely a married woman of high status, as evidenced by the presence of a pair of large oval cup brooches in the grave. They were used to fasten the shoulder straps on a woman’s halter dress. There was also a small ring brooch that was used to close the gap in her petticoat.

Small bones from birds, likely the remains of wings, were found around the skeleton. Archaeologists believe the bird wings may have been sewn to a garment or blanket and the bones are all that’s left of it. Another possibility is that she was laid to rest on a bed of feathered wings not attached to a textile. Bird wing remains have been found in an ancient grave in Norway before, but they were in a cremation burial that was found to contain wing parts from 29 different birds.

“The most striking thing is two scallops placed at the mouth of the deceased. This is a practice that is not previously known from pre-Christian graves in Norway. We do not yet know what the symbolism means,” says [NTNU Science Museum senior engineer Raymond] Sauvage, who is also the project manager for the research.

The shells were lying with the curved side out and the straight edge up, so they partially covered the mouth.

A second skeleton from the 8th or 9th centuries was found just 30 feet away from the scallop lady earlier this year. Archaeologists will test both skeletons for DNA to see if they’re related. Stable isotope analysis will shed light on whether they were of local origins or spent their childhoods somewhere else.

* This article was originally published here