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The Oseberg Ship Burial and its Finds

The Oseberg Wagon
(click on the images to enlarge)

The skeletal remains of two females were found in the Oseberg Ship – one was 50 – 60 years old, the other previously thought to be much younger, has now been re-assed as being c. 50 years old (Næss, E.M., “Viking’s Afterlife Voyage”, Current World Archaeology, issue 45, February/March 2011, p 51)

Both women had been placed in beds within a wooden burial chamber hung with woollen tapestries and fine Byzantine silks. The burial chamber has been dendrochronologically dated to 834 (see graph).

The grave-goods accompanying the burial included a wagon, four sledges, items of furniture, buckets, storage chests, kitchenware and a full range of farm hand tools, together with the equipment necessary for producing woollen textiles and the woolen textiles and tapestries thwmselves. The richness of the grave-goods suggests that the deceased was a member of the Vestfold royal family.

One of four elaborately decorated sleighs

Detail from the above image

Further information about some of the wooden objects, including the “Academic” Head (see image below), can be found on the University of Oslo: Museum of Cultural History website with the article: The long soak.Further information about the textiles can be found at The textiles among the Oseberg finds.

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The Oseberg Wagon

The Oseberg Wagon (detail from the above image)

Cauldron, Tripod and Lamp

Wooden Untensils from the burial

Tapestry from the burial – original above, replica below

The Oseberg Wagon

The Oseberg Wagon (detail from image on the left)

Yew wood bucket with a brass and cloisonné enamel ornament of the handle in the shape of a figure sitting with crossed legs.

The “Academic” Head