Viking Woman And Her Pet Dog Discovered In 1,000-Year-Old Boat Burial

The small dog appears to have been placed at the woman’s feet “with real care”, archaeologist Anja Roth Niemi told Science Norway, something which, while not completely unprecedented, is rarely seen in Viking burials. 

“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.”

As well as her beloved pet, the woman was buried alongside various grave goods – including ornate bronze brooches decorated with silver thread, beads made of amber or bone, a ring-shaped pendant, and what appears to be a weaving sword made of whale bone.

Dated to 900–950 CE, the grave is indicative of the deceased’s high social status, Niemi explained. “Only the elite would receive a burial like this,” she said. “We believe the woman buried here held significant status locally, and perhaps even across the region.”

The trove was discovered in a boat about 5.4 meters (18 feet) long by metal detectorists on the remote Senja Island. Back in 2023, they stumbled upon a pair of brooches and what appeared to be rib bones, just 20 centimeters (8 inches) beneath the soil. Archaeologists at Norway’s Arctic University Museum were finally able to excavate the site earlier this month, and have set about identifying and dating their unusual finds.

Some parts of the burial have been remarkably well preserved – the larger bones and the sections of ribs that were in contact with the brooches, for example – and the researchers even found preserved textile fragments from the woman’s clothing, and other traces of organic material. Other parts were not found in such good condition, such as smaller bones (fingers and toes), which were only recognizable as stains in the sand.

“Northern Norway is known for particularly favorable conditions for preserving skeletal material,” archaeologist Håkon Reiersen from the University of Stavanger told Science Norway. “But it’s rare for the bones to be as well preserved as this find on Senja.”

Future analysis will hopefully confirm the skeleton’s sex and shed some light on the individual’s age, height, diet, and general health. “The skeletal material can provide a wealth of information about the individual, but also about the society she lived in,” added 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.”

It’s possible that this isn’t the only Viking burial in the area: the team have found another brooch just meters from the excavation site and are eager to investigate further.