
Archaeologists recently discovered a huge cache of jewellery, silver coins and other relics in ancient cemeteries in western Norway. At least three of them appear to belong to a triumvirate of wealthy and highly respected Viking women. But don’t expect archaeologists to find their bones — or any other human remains — at the estimated 17 other nearby burial sites.
Last year, artifact hunters using a metal detector discovered an ancient coin and a brooch near the town of Vitjar. The discoveries soon prompted a team of archaeologists to travel to the site, known as Skumsnes, to investigate further. According to the researchers, their preliminary results indicate the presence of up to 20 graves dating back to the early ninth century AD. The site is so littered with relics, in fact, that experts only had enough time to examine the graves of the three initial women.


“From a research point of view, this is a small treasure,” said Soren Denhof, an archaeologist at the University of Bergen Museum. Science Norway On December 17th.
Skumsnes is also likely to serve as a profitable port for travellers, Dienhoff said. These strategically located plantations were often owned by kings or local chieftains, and generated additional income for the estate. This would help explain why the women buried there possessed valuable jewelry, including glass beads, silver coins and oval brooches.
However, these graves were not typical modern burials. For example, a woman was buried in a natural rock cleft covered with stones, a common regional practice for Vikings at the time. Another tomb of a higher-ranking woman features stones arranged in the shape of a boat approximately 13 feet long intended to accompany her to the afterlife. Besides her ship, the Vikings were also buried with multiple tools associated with weaving weaving, indicating a respected woman’s occupation in Skumsnes.
“Textile production was prestigious. Farms that made fine clothing had high status,” Dienhoff explained, adding that the inclusion of the bronze key also represented her role as head of the household.
Dienhof also believes that one of the coins is the “most amazing find” at Skumsnes, a rare coin from the Danish Viking city of Hedeby or Ribe. This, along with what appear to be other silver coins from the Frankish Empire, suggests that the women had connections to continental Europe. One theory is that they came from abroad and married into the Skumsnes community.
Despite each grave’s wealth of jewelry and personal belongings, none contain any bones from the Viking women themselves. One possible reason relates to the environmental conditions at Skumsnes.
“This is the problem with western Norway. The soil here is consuming bone remains,” Dienhoff said.

But some evidence points to another theory: At least the Stone Ship Woman may not have been buried in her grave in the first place. In this grave, archaeologists discovered a collection of coins and glass beads on a mass of decaying organic material, which they believe may have been a leather bag. This means that the woman was not wearing it at the time of her arrest, which is not consistent with Viking burial practices. If this is true, the grave may have served as a memorial marker known as a monument.
Dienhof added that a small, “insanely interesting” detail lends further support to this theory: a “vulva stone” that was arranged in place of the ship’s stone mast.
“This looks like a stone [genitalia] It’s no coincidence. “It’s very clear,” Dienhoff said.
While there is currently no evidence to show where the woman’s body ultimately lay at the time of her death, Dienhoff’s team hypothesizes that the vulva stone may have served as a marker for her. This would also help explain the lack of any human remains.
Regardless of the solution to the mystery, the Skumsnes graves are prime examples that highlight the important roles women often played in ancient Viking culture, as well as the care given to them before their journeys into the afterlife.