Massive Viking-era cemetery excavated, reveals 50-meter ship-shaped stone

Archaeologists in Sweden uncovered a massive Viking-era cemetery near the village of Tvååker, located southwest of Varberg in Halland County. The discovery includes at least 139 graves and burial mounds dating back more than 1,200 years.

The excavations, which began in May 2017 and continued until 2019, were initially prompted by plans to build a roundabout and lay new water pipes. What appeared to be routine preliminary work soon revealed much more than anticipated. As the team began to remove the earth, they uncovered not only furnaces and flint but also cremation graves and ship-shaped stone settings. Petra Nordin, project leader and archaeologist at Sweden's National Historical Museums, expressed her surprise at the magnitude of the site. "As soon as excavations began, we realized that there was a large Viking burial ground that we had to focus on," She stated.

The Express, The Independent, and Archeology Magazine were among the websites that reported on the findings.

The cemetery includes more than a hundred graves and burial mounds, some surrounded by stones arranged in the shape of boats—a practice known as "stone ship burial" that symbolizes the journey to the afterlife according to Viking beliefs. The site features three large ship-shaped stone settings and a ship-shaped mound, serving as massive grave markers. One significant find was a 50-meter-long ship-shaped stone setting on the ridge.

Among the artifacts discovered were human and animal bones, metal objects, ceramic vessels, iron arrowheads, woven weights, jewelry, and brooches. A particularly notable find was a clipped Arab silver coin dated between 795 and 806 A.D., which aligns well with the oldest graves at the site. This coin confirms the Vikings' interaction with international trade networks and highlights the extent of Viking expeditions, which extended far beyond Scandinavia.

The excavation team found evidence of Viking burial customs, including cremation pyres where the dead were burned. "After burning the dead, unburned animals were placed on top before closing the graves definitively. The most common bones were of cattle, like cows, and they were probably food sacrifices," Nordin explained. Animal bones from birds, dogs, cattle, and pigs were uncovered alongside human remains. Nordin noted the frequent presence of animal remains, particularly dogs, on cremation pyres.

Despite the wealth of findings, the archaeologists faced significant challenges due to the site's condition. The land had been previously plowed and leveled to create pastures, which destroyed much of the above-ground remains and burial structures. "We have had to interpret everything from heavily truncated remains," Nordin said.

According to Nordin, only six percent of the total area has been excavated, suggesting that many more graves and artifacts remain hidden, possibly under modern buildings that now dot the landscape.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the discovery is the absence of an associated settlement. While experts believe there was probably a village in the Tvååker area that had expanded during the earliest Viking period, the exact location remains a mystery. The cemetery is strategically located on a flat ridge along two important transport routes from the Viking Age: the Tvååkersån river and a road known as Järnbäravägen, which facilitated iron transportation from Spannarp to Gamla Köpstad. "Is the village located at the mouth of the Tvååker River or is it near the burial ground? We don't know. But it is exciting to see what will emerge in the future," Nordin remarked.

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq