Ship burial
A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was used in the Vendel era and by the Anglo Saxons, the Merovingians, the Vikings and occasionally the Ancient Egyptians.
Examples of ship burials
- Khufu ship, Giza pyramid complex (Fourth Dynasty)
- Gokstad, Norway
- Ladby, Denmark
- Oseberg, Norway
- Snape, East Anglia, England
- Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, England
- Tune, Norway
- Valsgärde, Sweden
- Vendel, Sweden
- Rurikovo gorodishche near Novgorod
- Sarskoe gorodishche near Rostov
- Timerevo near Yaroslavl
- Black Grave near Chernigov
- Ibn Fadlan gives an eye-witness account of a 10th century ship burial.
See also
Categories
Anglo-Saxon archaeology | Archaeology of death | Death customs | Viking Age | Viking practices | Funeral transportation