Overview
- Archaeologists excavated a well-preserved Viking-age female burial in Bjugn, Trøndelag, after a metal detectorist reported an oval brooch to authorities.
- Two scallop shells were deliberately positioned to cover the woman’s mouth, a practice not previously documented in pre-Christian Norwegian graves.
- The grave goods include two oval brooches and a ring buckle typical of 9th-century women’s dress, pointing to a free and likely married woman.
- Carefully arranged bird bones were found with the remains, adding to evidence of symbolic or ritual elements in the burial.
- Researchers from NTNU plan conservation, radiocarbon dating and DNA testing to refine the chronology and explore a possible link to an earlier burial in the same field.