The boat grave from the Viking Age on Senja, an island in Northern Norway, was found just 20 centimetres beneath the surface.
It could easily have been destroyed by ploughing.
But two years ago, a metal detector beeped at the site.
A small hole was dug, revealing two oval brooches and some ribs.
Since oval brooches are typical Viking Age women's jewellery, archaeologists believed they had found an unknown woman’s grave from that era.
Annonse
The grave was dated to around 900-950 CE based on the style of the brooches.
What is special about the boat is that it is a so-called sewn boat; the planks are not primarily fastened with iron rivets, but with some other kind of material. The wood has completely decomposed and is now only visible as darker areas in the sand.(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
Just below the surface
Archaeologists at the Arctic University Museum of Norway later applied for permission to properly excavate and secure the grave.
"We were concerned about the condition of the grave and wanted to prevent further damage. It lies just beneath the surface, covered by only a thin layer of topsoil," Anja Roth Niemi tells Science Norway.
But it was not until the landowner decided to expand a nearby garage that things started moving.
Last week, the archaeologists were finally able to remove the topsoil.
Beneath it, they found the remains of a Viking woman and her dog, buried in a boat about 5.4 metres long.
Right next to the skull, archaeologists found a ring-shaped pendant, which they believe may have been attached to the ear or to a headpiece.(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
Oval brooches with silver thread
"Only the elite would receive a burial like this," says Niemi.
Some researchers have suggested that perhaps only one or two individuals per generation were buried in this way – in a boat and accompanied by valuable objects, the archaeologist explains.
"We believe the woman buried here held significant status locally, and perhaps even across the region," she says.
The oval brooches are of a more refined variety, decorated with silver thread.
"She wasn't at the very top of the social ladder, but she was clearly an important figure," says Niemi.
The small dog was placed at the feet of the deceased. While Niemi is unsure whether they will be able to identify the exact breed, she believes they will likely be able to determine what kind of dog it was.(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
Vikings loved dogs too
Annonse
And there, at her feet, lay a dog.
"It appears to have been placed with real care," says the archaeologist.
Dogs have been found in graves before, according to Niemi. It's not entirely uncommon, but not very common either.
The idea that dogs were cherished companions even in Viking times is supported by saga literature, she adds.
"There are stories of prominent people doing everything in their power when their dog became ill. So even back then, people had deep bonds with their animals," she says.
At first glance, the skeleton appears to be very well preserved, but the smaller parts are extremely fragile.(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
A grave of high status
In the grave, archaeologists found several objects typically associated with high-status burials, including two beads made of bone or amber and a ring-shaped pendant.
An elongated object appears to be made of whale bone and may be a weaving sword – a textile tool.
"It's poorly preserved and was removed along with a lot of surrounding soil, so we need to examine it further before we can be certain," says Niemi.
"But so far, that's the most likely explanation," she adds.
They also found what could be a spindle whorl. According to Niemi, overseeing textile production was traditionally part of the responsibilities held by the lady of the household.
The woman was also buried with a whetstone made of slate and an iron sickle, both tools associated with agriculture.
One of the two oval brooches, still undergoing conservation.(Photo: Ida Fløystad Brevig, The Arctic University Museum of Norway)
Good preservation conditions in the north
Some parts of the excavated skeleton are well preserved, especially the larger bones and the sections of ribs that were in contact with the bronze brooches.
"The metal here prevents bacterial growth," Niemi explains.
Still, much of the bone material is very porous. The smallest bones, like fingers and toes, were only preserved as yellow stains in the sand.
Well-preserved skeletons are not unusual in Northern Norway, where the soil offers favourable preservation conditions.
Many graves in the region are dug into shell sand – sand from old seabeds rich in lime – which helps preserve bones. Niemi also took part in excavating a similar boat grave on Hillesøy in 2018. That skeleton was also well preserved (link in Norwegian).
Cremation burials were also less common in the north during this period.
They hope to learn more about who she was
Bone analysis will eventually confirm whether or not the remains belong to a woman.
Niemi is fairly confident. Oval brooches have never been found in a man's grave. But it is still important to get it confirmed.
The analyses will also provide information about her age and height, what she ate, whether she was ill or had suffered injuries.
"The skeletal material can provide a wealth of information about the individual, but also about the society she lived in," says Niemi.
"We’ll learn about the kind of work she did, whether she went through periods of poor nutrition, and whether she lived in different places during childhood and adulthood," she says.
More advanced DNA testing could even provide details like hair and eye colour, but that is not currently part of the project.
"It’s always incredibly exciting, and a completely different experience from excavating something like the remains of a house," says archaeologist Anja Roth Niemi. "We get very close to those who lived long ago. It's been well over 1,000 years since this person was alive."(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
Traces of textiles and more
When the metal detectorists dug their hole, they went slightly deeper than the plough layer – which they are normally supposed to stay within.
"In this case, the plough layer was very thin, so it may have been hard to tell the difference between cultivated soil and subsoil," says Niemi.
Fortunately, after that, the detectorists followed all the correct procedures.
They contacted the proper authorities and collected the brooches and rib bones with soil still attached.
"Because there was no washing or scrubbing, we’ve preserved textile fragments from the deceased’s clothing, along with other organic material that could give us valuable insights into the burial and funeral practices," says Niemi.
The photo shows the burial site on Senja.(Photo: The Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT)
The dog makes this find special
Archaeologist Håkon Reiersen from the University of Stavanger considers this boat grave an especially compelling discovery.
"Often, brooches like these are found through metal detecting on ploughed land, and in those cases, the grave is usually completely destroyed and scattered by the plough. In this case, the grave was largely intact, and it's extremely important – and fortunate – that there was an opportunity to excavate and document it," he says.
What stands out most, according to Reiersen, is the presence of the dog. He refers to Arild Klokkervoll, who has written about animal finds in Iron Age graves in Northern Norway.
"Dogs are the animals most frequently found in these types of graves. They’re often seen as companions in life and in the journey to the afterlife," says the archaeologist.
Boat graves themselves are fairly common in Norway, he adds.
"But it's rare for the bones to be as well preserved as this find on Senja. Northern Norway is known for particularly favorable conditions for preserving skeletal material," he says.
Possibly part of a larger burial ground
Niemi and her colleagues are keen to explore more of the area where the grave was found. Just a few metres away from the excavated site, they found another oval brooch.
"There's reason to believe there's another grave there, possibly still undisturbed," says Niemi.
She speculates that there may have been a tradition of burying people along these low beach ridges, not far above the shoreline.
"We'd really like to survey the area with ground-penetrating radar to see if there's more to uncover," she says.
