A Norwegian amateur treasure hunter armed with his metal detector recently discovered a Viking-era metal brooch in the Trøndelag region of central Norway. The find, already exciting, made archaeologists want to search the site in more detail and what they found there was even more so: an entire burial was revealed and with it, a mysterious ritual that is currently unexplained.
Inside the tomb, the remains of a woman were discovered. The latter was dressed in typical clothing from the Viking era and adorned with jewelry from the 9th century, as described by the media Live Science. But the most surprising detail lies in the two scallop shells placed near the mouth of the deceased. Researchers believe that it could be an atypical funeral ritual, never before observed.
Mysterious shells
According to archaeologists, the woman wore an “external” dress fastened with two oval brooches at the shoulders, as well as an inner dress fastened with a small brooch. Her jewelry and clothing say “that she was a free woman and probably married, perhaps the mistress of the farm», explains Raymond Sauvage, senior engineer at the University Museum of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and project manager.
This discovery is all the more surprising since it is unusual to find such a well-preserved skeleton in such ancient tombs, underlines Hanna Geiran, general director of the Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage.
But then, why these typos? At the moment, it’s a bit vague. “We have not yet observed any marks such as holes», Indicates Raymond Sauvage. Additional analyzes are underway to try to provide answers. However, researchers believe that these particular ornaments come from the region, as scallops are common in the waters of the northeast Atlantic, notably in Trøndelag.
The symbolic meaning of these shells and the bird bones found in the tomb still escapes us. Scallop shell motifs on a 9th century Roman coffine century have been interpreted as a symbol of the afterlife; in the Middle Ages, we know that they were similar to a Christian emblem associated with Saint James and the pilgrimage of the same name. However, nothing explains their use by the Vikings.
Earlier this year, a second skeleton was discovered in the same field, more likely dating from the 8th century.e century. Archaeologists are now seeking to understand who these individuals were and why they were buried so close together, through samples and close examination of the skeleton. “The goal is to learn more about this person and, if possible, any relationship to the previous discovery at the same site»concludes Raymond Sauvage. What if they loved eating scallops that much?
