Possible Viking Boat Burial Uncovered in Norway

News September 20, 2017

(Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage)
SHARE:
Norway boat burial
(Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage)

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY—According to a report in Live Science, a possible boat burial dating to between the seventh and tenth centuries A.D. has been discovered in a market square in Trondheim. The burial, which may have at one time been covered with a mound, was damaged by later construction. Ian Reed of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage said nails and lumps of rust are all that remain of what could have been a flat-bottomed, wooden boat built to travel the shallow waters of the Nidelven River. Two long bones were found in the boat, but they were not well preserved. DNA tests may be able to determine whether the bones came from a human. A piece of bronze, part of a spoon, and the remains of a key that would have opened a chest were also found in the grave. For more, go to “Hoards of the Vikings.”

  • Features July/August 2017

    Set in Stone

    Why did prehistoric Native Americans fashion the enigmatic objects known as bannerstones?

    Read Article
    (John Bigelow Taylor)
  • Letter From Peru July/August 2017

    Connecting Two Realms

    Archaeologists rethink the early civilizations of the Amazon

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Quirino Olivera Nuñez)
  • Artifacts July/August 2017

    Bone Rosary Bead

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Border Archaeology)
  • Digs & Discoveries July/August 2017

    Ka-Ching!

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Jersey Heritage)