Unique Iron Age and Viking Age burial houses discovered in Norway

Recent work published by Dr. Raymond Sauvage and Dr. Richard Macphail in Medieval Archaeology describes the excavation and interpretation of three Iron Age and Viking Age burial houses in central Norway, Skeiet, in the village of Vinjeøra.

The three structures date from between 500 and 950 AD and were likely part of funerary rituals that allowed the living to visit and interact with the dead on multiple occasions.

Between 2019 and 2020, the planned construction of a road required excavations, which confirmed the existence of a pre-Christian cemetery, partially dug in a test pit in 1996. Surprisingly, next to flattened burial mounds, three mortuary houses were discovered.

Mortuaries, usually located in funerary contexts such as cemeteries, are versatile and can contain tombs, burials, or even serve to store the cremated remains of the deceased. Some were also used as places where the living could leave offerings for the deceased or venerate their dead.

The burial houses discovered in Scandinavia may have had a similar function. However, unlike other burial houses, including 12 in Norway and one in Sweden, the ones at Vinjeøra are unusual in that they do not have a permanent burial.

“I think the most surprising thing is that we found no evidence of a permanent grave or of people buried inside the houses. Also, the fact that they had doors and entrances that could have led to the mortuary house and the mound was something I hadn’t thought about before the analysis,” says Dr. Sauvage.

The existence of doors and entrances suggests that the mortuary houses were permanently open so that the living could revisit the interior. The trampled ground that constituted the entrance confirmed this, suggesting frequent use by the living. These entrances were low and individuals had to crouch to reach the interior.

According to Dr. Sauvage, this was not unusual: “Based on the relationship between the size of the mound and the plan of the house, we must assume that crouching was required. The room inside must have been quite small and dark, while the door must have let in some light that illuminated parts of the interior. Most of the mortuary houses I know of are of similar size.”

Based on dates obtained from the burial houses, the first structure was erected between 450 and 600 AD, during the Iron Age. At that time, cemetery practice used cremation as the primary form of burial. Later, a second structure was built, around 600-800 AD, just as the cemetery began to shift to more frequent burials. Finally, the third burial house was built between 800 AD and the mid- to late 900 AD, after cemetery practice had shifted from cremation to burial.

Each structure was used for nearly 100 to 200 years, suggesting that while the burial practices surrounding them may have changed, the funeral homes remained an essential part of the rituals.

Dr. Sauvage explains these changes as follows: “It seems to me that funerary practices appear to have been affected by a number of factors, such as the influences of travel and contact and changes in motivation behind what to amplify in the more public manifestations seen in funerary rituals.

“Funeral homes exhibit a more stable continuity of use, probably related to the tradition of families to venerate their deceased and their ancestors. These rituals could have been more private and have been more stable over time.”

Although no burials have been found in the burial houses, other finds, such as bone fragments, arrowheads, and nails, may help shed light on the intended use of the structures.

Among the bones found, the remains of a horse were identified. This may be the result of a sacrifice similar to the blót, a sacrificial ritual at the heart of many Norse religious practices. This practice was often mentioned in later and contemporary accounts of the Old Norse religion and was usually linked to festivals and funeral rituals.

Although there is no evidence of the actual sacrificial act, all other animal bones found in the wall trenches bear traces of burning. This could indicate that they were cooked, perhaps as part of ritual meals related to the dead or funerary rites.

This may recall the pre-modern tradition in Norway, where food and drink were left on burial mounds to be shared with the dead.

Similarly, the construction of funeral houses, similar to that of contemporary dwellings, may refer to the idea that the deceased lived in tumuli.

However, since no burials have been found in these funerary houses, it is possible that the bodies were stored while they were prepared for burial. This description is similar to that of the 10th-century traveler Ibn Fadlan, who described the Norse burial ritual he witnessed on Russian territory. The body was to be stored in a wooden burial chamber for 10 days while food and grave goods were prepared.

The funeral houses of Norway are still very enigmatic and further research will be needed to truly understand their function.

“Future studies should focus more on the interior to obtain better data on their use. Our evidence was fragmented and several questions remain unanswered, such as the appearance of the interior, the existence of a designated space to arrange the body, and the appearance of the entrances.

“We should also try to understand their relationship to the barrows better. Can we recover stratigraphic evidence that they were covered by the barrow, or was the barrow built later?”

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