A large Viking cemetery with 139 graves was discovered

Archaeologists have discovered a huge Viking cemetery with over a hundred graves, including some in the shape of ships.

The burial site came to light during research into an earlier Stone Age settlement in the town of Tvååker in the municipality of Varberg in southern Sweden, Arkeologerna (Archaeologists), the country’s leading archeology and cultural environment consultancy, said in a press release.

It dates back to the Viking Age, a period in medieval history, roughly from the late 8th to 11th centuries, when the Norse people of Scandinavia, commonly called Vikings, raided, colonized, explored, and traded on a wide scale throughout Europe and far beyond.

In total, archaeologists have so far identified 139 cremation graves in the cemetery, although it is possible that the site is much larger.

“We calculated that we only excavated six percent of the burial area,” said Petra Nordin, project manager at Arkeologerna, part of the National History Museums Newsweek.

Interestingly, archaeologists also identified several ship-like graves at the burial site. These include three “ship-shaped stone settings” and a ship-shaped mound.

Ship-shaped stone burials, also called stone ships or ship burials, are a type of Viking Age and earlier gravestones or ceremonial structures found in Scandinavia and other parts of Northern Europe.

These arrangements consist of large stones placed on the ground in the outline of a ship, sometimes reaching up to tens or hundreds of feet in length. They were primarily used as burial monuments or monuments and symbolized the journey to the afterlife, considering that ships were considered vessels used to transport the dead to the next world.

These stone “ships” vary in size and detail, from simple arrangements with a few stones to elaborate decorations with multiple rows of stones. Archaeologists have discovered that some stone ships contain cremated remains or artifacts.

According to Nordin, the largest of the ship-shaped stone tombs identified at the Tvååker site is over 50 feet long.

Viking Age ship mounds are burial mounds built in the shape of a ship, often using earth and stones. In some cases, these mounds contain the remains of real ships that were ritually burned.

One of the graves in the cemetery appears to contain evidence of this practice. In grave 68, Nordin said, the ship was likely burned on a “rock mound” about 50 feet long. In archeology, stone sealing refers to stones placed around or under an object, structure, or feature to provide stability, protection, or support.

According to Nordin, archaeologists found human remains in almost 85 percent of the graves. The deceased buried here was probably burned on funeral pyres. However, researchers also discovered many other remains, including animal bones, jewelry and pottery.

Most of the objects found were heavily damaged by fire. Among the most intriguing finds was an Arab silver coin dating to 795–806 AD, and the range aligns well with the oldest graves at the site.

Animal bones discovered included those of dogs, birds, cattle and pigs, although in many cases they could not be classified.

“After the dead were burned, unburned animals were placed on the mountain before the graves were finally closed,” Nordin said in a news release.

Where the people buried in this place lived is still a mystery. There was probably a village in the Tvååker area that developed significantly during the early Viking era. But such a settlement has not yet been identified.

“It’s exciting to see what will emerge in the future,” Nordin said in a press release.

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