Iron Age warrior discovered at 'Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo' was buried in a boat
Iron Age warrior discovered at 'Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo' was buried in a boat alongside a beheaded OWL and a down duvet 'to ease the journey to the realm of the dead'
By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:24 EDT, 26 March 2021 | UPDATED: 11:31 EDT, 26 March 2021
Two 7th century warriors at an ancient burial ground in Sweden were laid to rest with comfy bedding stuffed with feathers from a variety of birds, research shows.
New microscopic analysis of the bedding shows traces of feathers from local geese, ducks, grouse, crows, sparrows, waders and even eagle owls.
Bizarrely, in one grave, an Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) had been laid with its head cut off – and the experts aren't entirely sure why.
The graves are two of 15 that were uncovered and excavated by archaeologists in the 1920s in Valsgärde outside Uppsala in central Sweden.
Valsgärde is described by the team as Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo – the famous English burial site near Woodbridge in Suffolk, which is the subject of Netflix's film The Dig, starring Lily James, Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes.
Weirdly, horses and other animals were arranged close to the boats when they were buried – about 1,400 years ago.
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9405871/Iron-Age-warriors-buried-Sweden-luxury-bedding.html
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