UPPSALA, SWEDEN—Newsweek reports that two ship burials have been discovered on a construction site near Sweden’s eastern coast. Archaeologist Anton Seiler of Sweden’s State Historical Museums said one of the graves was intact, and contained the remains of a man, a horse, and a dog, who had all been placed in the vessel’s stern. Iron fittings thought to have been part of the horse’s equipment, a sword, a spear, a shield, and an ornate comb were also recovered, along with the boat’s iron rivets and wooden planks. The boat in the second tomb is thought to have measured about 23 feet long, and to have been slightly larger than the boat in the other burial, but it was damaged by previous construction at the site. Such high-status burials are thought to date to the Vendel Period (A.D. 550–800) or the Viking Age (A.D. 800–1050). To read in-depth about the Vikings, go to "The Vikings in Ireland."
