Unusual stones in Sweden turn out to be Viking-era grave. See its treasures

Miami Herald

01-05-2025

On the outskirts of a city in southern Sweden sat a row of unusual stones surrounded by miles of plains. Even from a distance, the rocks piqued the interest of archaeologists — and turned out to be a Viking-era grave.
Archaeologists began excavations near Linköping in fall 2022 ahead of some planned construction and focused their work on a stone structure, Arkeologerna, a department of Sweden's National Historical Museums, said in an April 24 news release.
Drone footage showed several rows of standing stones with an indent in the center, Annika Helander wrote in a 2025 report for Arkeologerna about the site. A photo shows what the structure looked like from above.
Archaeologists dug in the center and unearthed a burial from the Viking Era, or the ninth century. No traces of the deceased person remained, but their coffins and artifacts had.
The 1,000-year-old grave had two coffins, archaeologists said. The outer coffin was made of stone while the inner coffin was made of wood. Excavations uncovered 15 nails that once held the wooden coffin together. A photo shows one of these rusty nails.
Inside the coffins sat an ax blade with traces of its wooden handle, the report said. A photo shows the roughly 8-inch-long, wedge-shaped tool.
Next to the ax, archaeologists found fabric fragments made of two unidentified types of material, likely the deceased person's clothes. A photo shows the slightly yellow textile.
The Viking-era burial also contained a roughly 7-inch-long knife, likely buried in a wooden case, archaeologists said. A photo shows the fragmented weapon.
Based on the grave's age, design and contents, archaeologists identified elements of Christian traditions and pagan customs and identified it as a unique example of a period of changing belief systems.
Excavations also found several earlier cremation burials underneath and around the Viking-era grave, the report said. The latter burial might have been added on top as a way of consecrating an older burial ground during the transition from pagan to Christian customs.
Archaeologists described the site as unexpected and valuable for understanding how burial traditions changed over time.
Excavations near Linköping finished in October 2022, and the ruins have been removed, archaeologists said.
Linköping is a city in southern Sweden and a roughly 125-mile drive southwest from Stockholm.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release and report from Arkeologerna.