This Viking Woman Was Buried With a Small Dog at Her Feet 1,000 Years Ago
Archaeologists unearthed the burial site during excavations in Norway. They say the discovery provides unique insights into the bonds humans form with their animals
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The Vikings may have earned a reputation for being fearsome warriors—but even they appear to have had a soft spot for their pets.
Archaeologists in Norway recently discovered the 1,000-year-old grave of an elite Viking woman who was buried with a small dog at her feet.
“[The pet] appears to have been placed with real care,” says Anja Roth Niemi, an archaeologist with the Arctic University Museum of Norway who helped excavate the site, to Science Norway’s Ida Irene Bergstrøm. “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.”
The burial site was discovered two years ago by metal detectorists exploring a field on Senja, an island above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. After digging a small hole, they discovered two bronze oval-shaped brooches and several rib bones buried roughly eight inches below the surface.
When they realized they might have stumbled upon something important, the metal detectorists alerted the local authorities. Last month, archaeologists were able to start excavating and securing the site, which is located on a low beach embankment and protected only by a thin layer of topsoil.
The researchers unearthed the remains of a human and a canine buried in an 18-foot-long boat around 900 to 950 C.E.
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Based on the valuable grave goods they found alongside the bodies, archaeologists suspect the individual was a woman with significant local or regional status.
“She wasn’t at the very top of the social ladder, but she was clearly an important figure,” Niemi tells Science Norway.
The woman was buried with her knees bent up against one side of the boat and her arms gathered in front of her pelvis, according to a Facebook post from the Arctic University Museum of Norway.
The boat itself is not well-preserved, though the collapsed woodwork is still visible as a thin, dark strip. Archaeologists suspect the vessel was a sewn boat, a type of wooden vessel that’s made by stitching planks together using natural fibers, rather than iron nails.
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The woman appears to have been buried with a ring-shaped pendant attached to her ear or to a headpiece. They also found two beads made of either amber or bone, a whetstone made of slate and an iron sickle. The oval brooches found with the body were decorated with silver thread.
Archaeologists also unearthed artifacts they suspect may have been used for textile production, a process that was typically overseen by the woman of the household. One is an elongated tool likely made from a whale bone that they think was a weaving sword, while the other appears to be a spindle whorl.
They were also able to recover fragments of the individual’s garments, which may offer additional insights into the funerary practices of the region.
Once the excavations are complete, the archaeologists will transport the grave’s contents to a laboratory in Tromsø for further documentation and testing. By analyzing the human remains, researchers hope to learn more about the individual’s age, height, health and lifestyle.
“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,” Niemi tells Science Norway.
The researchers found another brooch several feet away from the grave, and they hope to revisit the site in the future. They suspect they might find even more Viking burials in the area.
Overall, archaeologists are thrilled to get the opportunity to excavate and preserve the grave, since historic sites like this one are often destroyed by farmers’ plows. However, they’re most excited about finding the small dog’s remains.
The Vikings’ affinity for animals, including dogs and horses, has been well-documented. However, finding one adds a personal, humanizing touch to the burial site.
“We get very close to those who lived long ago,” Niemi tells Science Norway.
