Swedish archaeologists are excited about new discoveries, two burial ships found in Uppsala last fall, and examined in detail last month. The full-size ships were buried as graves of high-status Vikings, and carried goods and animals they might need for afterlife.
One of the graves, more intact than the other, contained remains of a man, a horse and a dog, along with weapons and an ornate comb. Anton Seller, an archaeologist for Swedish museums, told reporters that “This is a unique excavation, the last burial ship was examined 50 years ago. It is a small group of people who were buried in this way. You can suspect that they were distinguished people in the society of the time since burial ships in general are very rare.”
The graves have been dated to either the Vendel period, 550-800 AD or the Viking Age, 800-1050 AD. Finds from the graves will be displayed at the Gamla Uppsala Museum and Stockholm’s Swedish History Museum.
