Valsgärde
Valsgärde is a farm by the Fyrisån River near Old Uppsala . A neighboring hill is famous for its Vendel-Age boat graves . The site houses a total of 15 boat graves and a total of at least 62 cremation graves and 15 chamber graves.
Chronology and type of graves
The first excavations took place in 1928, whereby some elongated depressions on the hill were already interpreted as sunken boats. Over the course of several years the entire hill was completely excavated by Sune Lindqvist . The earliest burials date from the pre-Roman Iron Age . After an interruption of around 400 years, use began again from the late Roman Iron Age and continued into the Scandinavian early Middle Ages. The early graves are represented by some cremation graves and body burials in wooden boxes, most of which, however, were looted. The bulk of the cremation graves comes from the Vendel period, but is only furnished with meager additions. Among the 15 boat graves, grave 8 is one of the oldest and dated around 560–630 AD. Other Vendel- Age graves are 7, 5, 6, 13, 14, while graves 4, 12, 15, 1 and 11 are from the Viking Age .
The boat graves are characterized by rich additions and apparently represent the resting places of leading men who were buried in the back of boats. The boats were placed in gutters and covered with beams and earth. Similar to the boat graves of Vendel , they contain ornate weapons, harness, glass vessels and tools. Several sacrificed domestic animals such as horses, cattle and pigs are also typical.
Grave seven
Grave 7 represents one of the richest boat graves in the complex. Here three shields were placed over the corpse, one of which had two raptor-shaped fittings. In addition, the deceased was given two swords with gilded bronze handles, two wooden sword scabbards and a crested helmet decorated with pressed sheet metal . The eyebrows of the helmet are lavishly decorated with almandin inlays. Other additions included drinking horns, a spearhead, an ax, scissors, an iron kettle, a roasting spit, fire tongs, as well as bony game pieces and dice . Three horses and one cattle were buried with the dead. The burial time can be dated to the middle of the 7th century.
Grave six
Another particularly richly decorated boat grave is grave 6. The deceased was given, among other things, three shields, a helmet decorated with pressed sheet metal with ring chain neck protection, two swords with wooden scabbards and bridles, a spear, three work axes, several arrowheads and various kitchen utensils. The burial time is estimated at around 750.
See also
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- John Ljungkvist : Valsgärde - Development and change of a burial ground over 1300 years. published in: Valsgärde studies: the Place and its People, Past and Present. (S. Norr ed.) (Uppsala 2008) 13-55. online PDF
- Greta Arwidsson: Valsgärde 6. The grave finds from Valsgärde 1. Uppsala 1942
- Greta Arwidsson: Valsgärde 8. The grave finds from Valsgärde 2. Uppsala 1954
- Greta Arwidsson: Valsgärde 7. The grave finds from Valsgärde 3. Uppsala 1977