50 well-preserved Viking graves discovered in Osum, Denmark – The

A Viking cemetery containing 50 well-preserved inhumation graves and 5 cremation graves has been unearthed in the Danish village of Osum, east of Odense. It is one of the largest Viking Age burial sites found on the island of Funen. Based on the artifacts found in the tomb, it is tentatively estimated that the tomb is between 850 and 970 AD.

The cemetery was discovered during archaeological surveys before the grid was renovated. Metal detectors scanning the site revealed numerous objects, but the discovery of a Viking burial ground was completely unexpected, let alone one of such large and well-preserved proportions.

Due to the high water table in the area, the skeletal remains are in unusually good condition, with intact articulated skeletons and surviving fragments of textiles and wood. Low oxygen levels in a waterlogged environment slow down the decomposition process. It is rare to find such well-preserved organic material west of the Great Belt, the strait that separates Zealand from Funen. The remains of two other Viking cemeteries of similar size on the island of Funen are in much worse condition.

Several of the tombs belong to people of higher status, the most famous of which is that of a woman who was buried in the carriage section of a carriage that served as a coffin. This practice only occurred in the mid-ninth century and is very rare. The wood is gone, but it left its mark on the soil, and the rivets and nails that held the car together remain.

[Museum Odense archaeologist] Michael Borey Lund says:

“The woman was buried in the carriage she probably rode in. We have to imagine she was buried with her best clothes and belongings. They gave her a beautiful necklace of glass beads, an iron key, a belt There was a knife with a silver wire handle and, most notably, a small shard of glass that might have been used as a talisman. There was a beautifully decorated wooden box at the foot of the carriage, but the contents are unknown.”

One of the other high-status tombs contained the remains of an adult woman wearing a very elaborate iron collar. This is not made locally. It is of the type made in Gotland. There is also a large bronze button in the shape of an animal head on her chest, also from Gotland. More than 1,000 such brooches have been found there, but only 50 (now 51) have been found south of Gotland, and this is the only one found on the island of Funen. Its rarity suggests that she was an important figure in the community, and since the buckle is part of the national costume, it is likely that she was from Gotland, or was related/married to someone from Gotland.

Another collection included a trefoil brooch, red glass beads tied to a string around the deceased’s neck, an iron knife and a crystal.

Michael Borey Lund says:

“Crystal does not occur naturally in Denmark and was most likely imported from Norway. Some objects from many graves in Osum suggest that the buried Vikings were connected to the international trade networks that developed during the Viking Age.”

The presence of imported grave goods and the tombs of several high-status individuals prove that Osum was an important trading center when the future Odense was still the small settlement of Odin VI a few miles to the west. Funen’s longest river, the Odense River, flows through Osum. Nonnebakken is a massive ring fortress built by King Harald Bluetooth to control access to the river around 980, with a cemetery that was only put into use in recent years.

The remains will be sent to the Panum Institute of the University of Copenhagen for osteological examination and further research. The bones are so well preserved that scientists believe they will be able to successfully extract ancient DNA from most of the skeletons. If the DNA extraction goes well, it will be the first time DNA analysis has been conducted on nearly all the burial sites. Researchers will determine whether the deceased were related and whether they came from or had genetic links to other parts of Europe.