Boat graves are not unknown. They have been discovered in Scandinavia and in Britain. There is the famous large boat grave found in Suffolk, which is now part of a museum. Many of the artifacts found in the grave are on show in the British Museum in London. The Vikings would bury their chiefs and other important people in boat graves.
This particular one was discovered in Northern Norway and contained the body of a woman. She was not alone, as the archaeologists also found a dog next to her. The burial site was near the village of Sand on the island of Senja. This is well inside the Arctic Circle. Like many ancient graves, if there were valuable objects buried with the person, you knew they were part of the top of their society. This grave was one such burial.
The dog was found at the feet of the woman and possibly indicates it was a beloved pet. The woman was placed in the middle of the boat with her head facing towards the north. In support of her being important and rich, some of the artifacts discovered with her included adornments such as brooches and beads as well as a metal ring for tying back the hair. There was also a sickle and a stone for sharpening knives. This collection may sound strange but they could perhaps be useful to her in the “afterlife”. We only have to think of the objects found in the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt in the early twentieth century, to know that some cultures sent their past rulers well-equipped for the afterlife.
John Pullen 