Shipwrecks, Treasure, and 139 Viking Graves: Vast Cemetery Discovered in Sweden

A phenomenal find unfolds in Sweden! Archaeologists were all set to investigate a settlement from the Stone Age outside Varberg. But the work took a new direction when they stumbled upon a gigantic burial ground from the Viking Age. Remains of 139 graves with, among other things, animal and human bones, costume jewelry, clay pots, bonfires and even shipwrecks were found.

“We have only excavated about six percent of the burial field”, says Petra Nordin, project manager at Arkeologerna, (the Archaeologists) at the State Historical Museums.

A Swift Change of Focus

On paper, it appeared to be a normal preliminary investigation of a Stone Age settlement, when the archaeologists began investigating the site in Tvååker, in May 2017. The municipality planned new water pipes and a roundabout, and the site would be excavated in stages. Finds were made of flint and a furnace, but the area turned out to be hiding an even bigger secret.

Even in the first year, Petra Nordin realized that it was a bigger job than anyone had imagined when they started finding remains of Viking age burials:

“We had found five graves with bone remains and fire layers. The bones were from dogs and humans. Then we realized that here was a large Viking burial ground that we had to focus on.”

Petra Nordin examines one of the graves, grave 20. (Arkeologerna)

Cemetery Location

The burial ground is strategically well placed on a flat ridge along two important transport routes. In the east flows the Tvååkersån (formerly Uttran) which flows out at Galtabäck. The old country road (järnbärarvägen) from Spannarp to Gamla Köpstad also runs over the burial ground. The name of the village – Tvååker – and place names such as Järnmölle, Järnvirke, Gamla köpstad, Vare, Galtabäck and Utteros are all mentioned in early historical sources.

Petra Nordin explains the state of the find:

“The problem is that the ground has been plowed down and leveled to cultivate and create pastures, so all the superstructures have disappeared, and the graves have been plowed to pieces. We had to interpret everything from below because it was so torn apart. But we have investigated where the bonfires are and, among other things, found what we interpreted as a 50-metre-long shipwreck [ship burial] up on the ridge”

She adds, “We often found dogs in small round campfires and people in oblong campfires. The dog was a companion and accompanied the human on the pyre.”

In total, the archaeologists found three large shipwrecks and a ship-shaped mound. A large part of the burial field is probably under modern construction, as only an estimated six percent has been excavated.

Left, Buckle with horse biting its tail. Right, Gilded bird pendant. (Arkeologerna)

Petra Nordin believes that the project is unique in the scientific way in which it has been worked:

“When you work normally, you have already formed an idea of ​​how big a grave is from the beginning, but here, where we have had to interpret everything from below, then there is a big focus on the cremation sites. We have interpreted an area as the place where people dug in and built a fire. In another location we found a square burial with three large fire pits and a shard packing. In the grave were 17 downed vessels, human and animal bones as well as woven weights and iron arrowheads. We have interpreted the square as a supply air construction for a fire above ground,” she says.

It has been problematic and difficult to try to decipher what appeared when the archaeologists cleared away the earth.

“Looking for bones and finding pits where the raised stones may have stood or bottoms of mounds where superstructure is missing, it’s exciting, but incredibly difficult. Sometimes we have gone with a metal detector and found objects in a place that allow us to say that this is probably actually a grave” says Anders Kjellin from Arkeologerna.

For comparison see this rich woman’s grave at Fyrkat .

The Viking Treasures

Most of the objects found were heavily affected by fire. Among the finds were costume buckles such as fibulae and clasp buckles, ceramics, as well as a clip of an Arab silver coin. It is dated to between 795 and 806 AD, which matches well with the oldest graves at the site.

Left’ A gilded clasp buckle. Center, Part of an Arab coin, a so-called Abbasid. Right, A bronze pin. (Arkeologerna)

Animal bones of birds, dogs, cattle and pigs as well as human bones have also been found. The most usual burial ritual during this time period was cremation.

“After the dead have been burned, unburnt animals have been placed on top, before finally closing the graves. The most common were cattle, and it is probably about food sacrifices”, says Petra Nordin.

But where did the people who were buried here live? It’s something that still baffles archaeologists. There was probably a village in the Tvååker area that expanded heavily already during the older Viking Age. The burial field thus becomes an important piece of the puzzle for Iron Age studies in the area. Petra Nordin says that it is still a mystery where the village has been, but that there are theories.

– There has been talk, among other things, that there may have been a Viking-era trading post at Gamla Köpstad south of Varberg. Or at Galtabäck harbour. Is the village at the mouth of Tvååker or is it near the burial ground? We don’t know. But it is exciting to see what will emerge in the future.

This article was originally published under the title, ‘Large Viking Age burial ground in Tvååker in Halland provides new knowledge’ by Arkeologerna as a press release.

Top image: Left, Standing Stones near the site, Right, artifacts from the cemetery.        Source:  Arkeologerna