In a village in central Denmark, archaeologists have made a historical discovery that could provide important clues about the Viking Age: a grave containing about 50 “extremely well-preserved” skeletons.
“It's an exciting discovery because we found very well-preserved skeletons,” said archaeologist Michael Burri Londo, who led the six-month excavation. “Normally we are lucky if we find some teeth in graves, but here we have complete skeletons.”
Odense Museum experts explained that the skeletons were preserved thanks to favorable soil chemistry, especially chalk, and high water levels. The site was discovered last year during a routine survey ahead of work to upgrade power lines on the outskirts of the village of Asom, five kilometers northeast of Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.
Experts hope to conduct DNA analysis and perhaps compile a detailed life history, as well as study Viking Age social patterns, such as kinship, migration patterns, and more.
“This opens up a whole new toolkit for scientific discovery,” said Bori Lundu, standing at the muddy, windswept drilling site. We hope to be able to analyze the DNA of all the skeletons and find out if they are related to each other and even where they came from.
During the Viking Age, which lasted from 793 to 1066 AD, the Normans, known as Vikings, raided, colonized, conquered, and traded throughout Europe, until they reached North America.
The Vikings excavated at Asom were probably not warriors. Mr Bori Lundu believes it may have been an “ordinary settlement”, perhaps a farming community, located five kilometers from the circular castle in what is now central Odense.
The cemetery, which has an area of two thousand square metres, contains the remains of men, women and children. Besides the skeletons, there are a few burned corpses.
In one grave, a woman was buried in a chariot — the top of the Viking chariot was used as a coffin — suggesting she belonged to the “top of society,” Bori Lundu told The Associated Press.
Archaeologists have also discovered brooches, necklaces, knives, and even a small piece of glass that could have served as an amulet.
Mr. Bori Lundu believes that the designs on the brooches indicate that the dead were buried between 850 and 900 AD.
“There are different levels of burial,” he explained. “Some have nothing, others have brooches and pearl necklaces.”
Archaeologists say many of the artifacts come from beyond Denmark's borders, highlighting the extensive trade routes the Vikings took during the 10th century.
“There was a lot of trade and commerce,” Mr. Bori Lundu said. “We also found a brooch from the island of Gotland, east of Sweden, as well as sharpening stones for sharpening knives… all sorts of things pointing to Norway and Sweden.”
The burial site was discovered last year, and excavation work, which began in April, ended on Friday. The boxes of objects were sent to the conservation laboratories of the Odense Museum for cleaning and analysis.
Museum curator Janne Amsgaard Ibsen hopes the soil also contains other organic materials preserved on the backs of pins or knife handles.
“We're really hoping to see the bigger picture. Who were the people who lived there? And who were they interacting with? It's a bit like a puzzle: all the pieces will fit together.”
