{"id":325039,"date":"2025-11-30T18:35:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T18:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/mysterious-viking-age-woman-found-buried-with-scallop-shells-covering-her-mouth\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T18:35:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T18:35:52","slug":"mysterious-viking-age-woman-found-buried-with-scallop-shells-covering-her-mouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=325039","title":{"rendered":"Mysterious Viking Age Woman Found Buried With Scallop Shells Covering Her Mouth"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Archaeologists discovered the unusual ninth-century grave on a farm along the coast of central Norway<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Sarah\n <\/div>\n
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Sarah Kuta<\/a><\/p>\n

– Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

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Researchers found bird bones and jewelry, including this bowl-shaped brooch, in the grave.
\n Raymond Sauvage, NTNU Science Museum<\/span>
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Metal detectorist Roy S\u00f8reng was scouring a field in Norway when he stumbled upon an oval-shaped metal brooch. When archaeologists arrived to investigate, they made an even bigger discovery: the remains of a Viking Age woman who appeared to have been buried with two scallop shells placed near her mouth.<\/p>\n

Until now, this unusual burial practice had never been documented in pre-Christian graves in Norway, according to a\u00a0statement<\/a> announcing the find.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an incredibly exciting discovery,\u201d says Hanna Geiran, who leads the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, in the statement, per a translation by\u00a0La Br\u00fajula Verde<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Guillermo Carvajal. \u201cIt is very rare to find such a well-preserved skeleton in ancient graves. This find has great cultural value and scientific potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The woman was found in a coastal field in central Norway.<\/p>\n

Raymond Sauvage, NTNU Science Museum<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Archaeologists unearthed the grave earlier this year in a privately owned coastal farm in the county of Tr\u00f8ndelag, located in central Norway. They secured extra funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural Heritage to carry out the excavation, and they asked landowner Arve Innstrand to hold off on plowing the field until they could preserve and document as much of the site as possible.<\/p>\n

In addition to the human remains, they found small bones that likely came from bird wings and several pieces of jewelry, which may have been part of her clothing. They think the woman was buried sometime in the ninth century wearing a halter-style dress that had two oval brooches attached to the straps. She also donned a petticoat with a smaller brooch affixed to the neckline. Based on her garments, the researchers suspect she may have been a married woman on a farm.<\/p>\n

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Quick fact: Who were the Vikings?<\/h4>\n

The Vikings<\/a> were a Scandinavian group that raided regions of Europe between the 9th and 11th centuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not clear why the woman was buried with bird bones, nor why she had two large scallop shells on her face. Researchers found the shells with the curved side facing outward and the straight edge turned up, so that they covered part of her mouth.<\/p>\n

The scallop shells might have once been part of some larger artifact that has since disintegrated, though researchers haven\u2019t found any evidence\u2014such as holes in the shells\u2014to support that theory, reports\u00a0Live Science<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Kristina Killgrove.<\/p>\n

Later, in the Middle Ages, scallops had Christian significance associated with the cult of St. James. But they are very rarely found in pre-Christian graves, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is likely that the scallop shells had a symbolic meaning intended to be communicated to those witnessing the burial; unfortunately it is difficult to guess what this meaning could have been,\u201d Raymond Sauvage<\/a>, a senior engineer with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology\u2019s University Museum who is managing the project, tells Live Science<\/em> in an email.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Farm

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The unusual grave was found on a privately owned farm.<\/p>\n

Kristoffer Rantala, NTNU Science Museum<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The shells were probably collected locally, as\u00a0Great Atlantic scallops<\/a> live throughout the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, including along the Norwegian coast. However, their specific origins remain a mystery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese parts of Norway are excellent grounds for collecting scallops,\u201d Sauvage tells Live Science<\/em>. \u201cHowever, you need to dive to catch them; thus, it is uncertain if they were caught via free-diving or if they are dead shells gathered at the beach.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same farm, archaeologists also unearthed another skeleton\u2014though it appears to be one to three generations older than the Viking Age woman, likely dating to the eighth century. They hope to continue their research to learn more about both individuals, including whether and how they may have been related.<\/p>\n

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