Excavations of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark have unearthed 50 unusually well-preserved bones that archaeologists expect will help shed light on the lives of the Nordic people best known for their fishing activities in the Middle Ages.
The bones, found near Denmark’s third-largest city Odense, were preserved by high water levels and favorable soil conditions that prevented them from decaying, according to Michael Borre Lundoe, excavation leader at Museum Odense.
“Usually when we excavate Viking graves, we are lucky if there are two teeth left in the grave without the goods. But here we have fully preserved bones,” said Lundoe.
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“The bones are amazing. Very well preserved. There are five fingers, five toes. And that opens up a whole new set of discovery opportunities,” he said.
Rare artefacts such as knives, glass beads and brooches dated between 850 and 970 were also found during the excavation, which began six months ago.
Lundoe said the grave goods indicated that most of the people were part of a small farming community, although a high-ranking woman was buried with a silver-plated knife and glass that were rare in the Viking Age.
Archaeologists take soil samples and look for pollen to find out what time of year a person was buried and what clothes they wore.
An X-ray of a block of soil from the site revealed an oval brooch, a Viking Age piece of jewelery associated with women’s clothing, covered in wood and human remains.
Behind another brooch with period-specific decorations, fragments of woven fabric with minerals have provided evidence of the type of clothing worn during the Viking Age, archaeologists said.
Most of the bones were removed from the cemetery and packed in cardboard boxes in the museum to dry before final examination and cleaning.
