A Boat with A Man, Horse, And Dog Found in Sweden

Recently, the archaeologists are so happy to announce that they have discovered two rare boat burials in Uppsala, Sweden. One of the two was still intact. The remains inside this burial included not just a human but also a dog and a horse. According to the archaeologists, the burial must have belonged to a man with high social status. 

The last burial grave found in Old Uppsala was about 50 years ago. So this grave excavation is unique and important. 

There once was a Viking ship  

Ship burials were very common in Scandinavian countries. But the real ship burial which was a grave with a row-able ship was dedicated to those with wealth and high social status. Another type of ship burial was made to resemble the ship, for example, the stone ship burial grave.

Those who were buried with a real ship were also buried with rich grave goods and some types of animals. 

By far, there has been no confirmation about the date of the grave. But with a guess, the archaeologists assumed it belonged to the end of the Viking Age, around the 1050s. 

In Sweden, about ten ship burials like this had been discovered however, those were not in the best condition. Therefore, the one which is intact is unique. 

The two ship burials were found in Old Uppsala, or Gamla Uppsala. The team had been working on this site for another purpose. They had unearthed a medieval well and cellar when someone in the neighbor saw one boat protruding out from beneath. 

So it took a month to bring both of them to the light. 

The archaeologists working on the burial

One was seriously damaged. The archaeologists concluded that in the 16th century, a cellar had been built on top of it resulting in its damage. 

The other contained the remains of an adult in the stern, a horse, and a dog in the bow. Additionally, the grave contained weapons like sword, shield, spear, and a patterned comb. 

Almost everything about the burial and the man inside the grave remains a mystery, whether he was ill or injured. Maybe we all have to wait for a long time to finally get the answer from the archaeologists.