Mariann Kristiansen and her spouse, who live outside the town of Bodø, have found the remains of what is believed to be a Viking grave while renovating their house, which has been family property for several generations.
The couple made the discovery while removing pebbles under the floor and was quickly joined by archaeologists from the Tromsø University Museum, who started excavations of their own.,
“I've been doing excavations for 30 years. This is the first time I have seen something like this," Tromsø University archaeologist Jørn Erik Henriksen told national broadcaster NRK.
While the couple initially found a glass bead and an axe from the Viking Age, archaeologists made new discoveries, which include an arrowhead.
“The arrowhead is of iron. This finding definitely indicates that we are dealing with a grave. It is also probably from the late Viking era”, Henriksen said.
In what is believed to be a Viking tomb, a bone was also found. Its origin, however, is less certain. According to Henriksen, it may have been from a waste pit, as they are often located close to Iron Age burial mounds.
Henriksen praised the couple for quickly notifying the authorities of their find and “doing exactly the right thing”.
The Viking Age (793-1066 AD) was marked by Norsemen known as Vikings launching sea journeys characterised by raiding, pillaging, conquest and trade throughout Europe. From their homelands in Scandinavia, the Norsemen settled in the Faroe Islands, the British Isles, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, on the Baltic coast, and even in Russia and Greece along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes in eastern Europe.
