Read Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology

Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology

Omega Viking Series

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Description:The Oseberg ship burial is a Viking Age burial mound containing a double female inhumation, which is located in the Oslofjord area in Norway. Through dendrochronological analysis it has been possible to determine the year in which the timbers of the grave chamber were felled, and the burial has consequently been dated to AD834. A popular study of Oseberg has been that of focusing on the women buried in the mound in order to give them an identity. At first Snorri Sturluson’s Ynglingasaga was used and it was proposed that the burial was that of Queen Åsa or of Queen Alvhild, who are the only two queens mentioned in the saga. There are many questions and mysteries about Oseberg that have not yet been answered. We still do not know for sure who was buried in the mound, what position this person held in society and why she was given such a large burial. It is also unclear whether one woman was the most important or whether the two were equally so, if they were related in some way or if they had similar functions in the community. I believe that Oseberg should be viewed within a wider context and compared to female high status burials from the Germanic Iron Age as well as to other burials from the Viking Age. Iron Age burials directly precede Viking Age ones, so that some of the particular characteristics of Oseberg might find an explanation in the earlier Germanic mortuary The burial was formed by pulling a ship ashore, placing it in a trench, and building a grave chamber on its deck. The aft and fore of the ship, together with the grave chamber, were then filled with a large amount of grave goods; the fore of the ship was also occupied by many sacrificed animals which, because of their position, are thought to have been killed outside the ship and then placed on it. The Oseberg mound was first excavated in 1903 and 1904, and since then it has been studied extensively. Many aspects of the burial have been considered by scholars, who have tried to reconstruct the events of the early 9th century in order to explain its grandness and significance.3 The mound has provided much interesting and unique archaeological material, thanks to the excellent preservation conditions which enabled wooden objects to survive underground for almost 1200 years. Probably the most important part of this burial is the wonderfully carved ship, which is 21.5 meters/70.5 feet long and 5.1 meters/16.7 foot wide.4 This ship, an early Viking Age construction, was useful in increasing our knowledge of Viking age ship building and sailing. Although it is thought by some that it was not suitable for ocean voyages, it is nonetheless very well built and highly decorated.5 Other important finds from the burial include decorated wagons and sledges, a wide variety of everyday objects and some woven tapestries. When first excavated, the burial was thought to be that of a Viking Age chieftain, but it soon became apparent that it was lacking the weapons and other artefacts common in male graves, whilst it abounded in everyday objects such as kitchen utensils, which are normally associated with females. The discovery of two human skeletons instead of one also came as a surprise.6 Further studies proved that the burial was a double female inhumation and this led to it being labelled “unique”. There has been much speculation about who was buried in the mound and about which one of the two skeletons was the most important figure. Relevant Keywords: Nordic Vikings Medieval Culture Viking Age Queens Oseberg burial Queen Åsa or of Queen Alvhild Saga Iron Age Germanic societies Runestones pre-Christian customs Iron Age Germanic The ship The human remains The grave goods The tapesWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology. To get started finding Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Description: The Oseberg ship burial is a Viking Age burial mound containing a double female inhumation, which is located in the Oslofjord area in Norway. Through dendrochronological analysis it has been possible to determine the year in which the timbers of the grave chamber were felled, and the burial has consequently been dated to AD834. A popular study of Oseberg has been that of focusing on the women buried in the mound in order to give them an identity. At first Snorri Sturluson’s Ynglingasaga was used and it was proposed that the burial was that of Queen Åsa or of Queen Alvhild, who are the only two queens mentioned in the saga. There are many questions and mysteries about Oseberg that have not yet been answered. We still do not know for sure who was buried in the mound, what position this person held in society and why she was given such a large burial. It is also unclear whether one woman was the most important or whether the two were equally so, if they were related in some way or if they had similar functions in the community. I believe that Oseberg should be viewed within a wider context and compared to female high status burials from the Germanic Iron Age as well as to other burials from the Viking Age. Iron Age burials directly precede Viking Age ones, so that some of the particular characteristics of Oseberg might find an explanation in the earlier Germanic mortuary The burial was formed by pulling a ship ashore, placing it in a trench, and building a grave chamber on its deck. The aft and fore of the ship, together with the grave chamber, were then filled with a large amount of grave goods; the fore of the ship was also occupied by many sacrificed animals which, because of their position, are thought to have been killed outside the ship and then placed on it. The Oseberg mound was first excavated in 1903 and 1904, and since then it has been studied extensively. Many aspects of the burial have been considered by scholars, who have tried to reconstruct the events of the early 9th century in order to explain its grandness and significance.3 The mound has provided much interesting and unique archaeological material, thanks to the excellent preservation conditions which enabled wooden objects to survive underground for almost 1200 years. Probably the most important part of this burial is the wonderfully carved ship, which is 21.5 meters/70.5 feet long and 5.1 meters/16.7 foot wide.4 This ship, an early Viking Age construction, was useful in increasing our knowledge of Viking age ship building and sailing. Although it is thought by some that it was not suitable for ocean voyages, it is nonetheless very well built and highly decorated.5 Other important finds from the burial include decorated wagons and sledges, a wide variety of everyday objects and some woven tapestries. When first excavated, the burial was thought to be that of a Viking Age chieftain, but it soon became apparent that it was lacking the weapons and other artefacts common in male graves, whilst it abounded in everyday objects such as kitchen utensils, which are normally associated with females. The discovery of two human skeletons instead of one also came as a surprise.6 Further studies proved that the burial was a double female inhumation and this led to it being labelled “unique”. There has been much speculation about who was buried in the mound and about which one of the two skeletons was the most important figure. Relevant Keywords: Nordic Vikings Medieval Culture Viking Age Queens Oseberg burial Queen Åsa or of Queen Alvhild Saga Iron Age Germanic societies Runestones pre-Christian customs Iron Age Germanic The ship The human remains The grave goods The tapesWe have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology. To get started finding Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology

Queens of the Viking Age: The Oseberg Ship and the Oseberg Grave - Archeology

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