The first grave of a Viking woman discovered in the Swedish mountains

Chance sometimes does things well. While a mountaineer pitched his tent on the peaks of Jämtland in Sweden, a small rusty object, still in the ground, intrigues him. “My first thought was that I had found a mine, but when I dug I realized that was not possible,” explains hiker Eskil Nyström for Arkeo news .

He brings his discovery home and tries to unravel the mystery of this object, in vain. A year later, Eskil Nyström contacted the Jamtli Museum in Östersund and realized the archaeological significance of what he found on his trek. Indeed, it is a 1200 year old brooch, probably from the first female tomb of the Viking era (between 793 and 1066) discovered in the Swedish mountains.

Archaeologist Anders Hansson and his team examined the find site for the first time on Wednesday August 17, 2022. They found soot and burnt bones but also a second oval pin (not really a surprise because these accessories were worn in pairs). “What has been established is that this is a Viking Age cremation grave and most likely a woman’s grave,” explains Anders Hansson to Arkeo news. This discovery is therefore a first, because until now only five Viking tombs had been discovered in the mountains and all belonged to men.

A cremation pit in the mountains

“It looks like these people were on their way when the woman died. The burial took place here, where the woman breathed her last. They could have taken the woman back to where they lived, but instead they made a cremation pit on the mountain,” said the archaeologist. According to him, the tomb is richly equipped: “It’s really very pretty. She is completely socially and religiously correct. The Viking woman took all her most prized possessions to her grave, but there are no monuments, burial mounds or cairns. It’s just a flat hill,” he continues.

This tomb, somewhat different from other Viking tombs already discovered, will help to better understand the funeral rituals of this ancient people. The excavations of the tomb of this Viking woman are not planned before the summer of 2023.

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