The spectacular coffin found in Viking burial in Denmark –

Archaeologists discovered Viking-era cemeteries in Lisbjerg, four miles north of Aarhus, Denmark. The history of the tombs dates back to the 10th century, and so far they are all pagans. The size and funerals vary, indicating that people of multiple social statuses are buried there. Several graves were so extraordinary that the merchandise of luxury graves had shown connections to the Danish royal family.

“The burial site is likely to be related to the Viking Age Lisbjerg Noble Farm, which is less than a kilometer from the burial site. The objects we find in the grave tell us that the people buried are high status people – perhaps the large family of the farm itself was buried here.”

Mads Ravn
Moesgaard local cultural heritage manager

Thirty graves have been discovered so far. The highest-ranking people include serious commodities such as coins, beads, ceramics, etc., and the most famous are extremely rare coffins. The coffin may have been buried on a woman, containing a silver wire bead, possibly a brooch, a needle, a ribbon with gold thread and a pair of 14 cm (5.5 inches) long scissors.

The coffin has been removed in the soil blocks, so it can be excavated under laboratory conditions to retain any surviving organic material, but the X-rays show the structure of the box and its contents. It is a 32cm (12.6 inches) square, made of wood, with metal accessories around corners, sides and across the top. It has a delicate locking mechanism. There is evidence that the accessories are silver plated.

The accessories of the X-ray-visible box are reminiscent of the Bamberg coffin, a Viking coffin that was a Viking coffin decorated in the style of the mother in the second half of the 9th century. The coffin is a square oak box with a dome pyramid cover and gilded copper accessories that form the ivory board of walrus ivory engraved with intricate, stylized birds, predators and at least one human face. It has survived in a special state, as it has been the respected coffin of St. Cunigunde (c. 975-1040) for centuries in her shrine in Bamberg Cathedral. It is believed to have been created in Denmark, and similar coffin accessories were found in 2004 in Haldum, just eight miles northwest of Lisbjerg.

“The discoveries in Lisbjerg are part of a series of fine discoveries in the Aarhus area. Together they depict images of aristocratic environments related to royal power, part of the huge and vibrant world of the Vikings,” said Kasper H. Andersen, historian of Moesgaard, Moesgaard of Moesgaard of viking Age Age Age Age.