Archaeologists working near Norrköping have uncovered two exceptionally rare Bronze Age neck rings buried inside an ancient grave, a discovery experts say may be unique in Sweden.
The bronze rings, estimated to be more than 2,500 years old, were found during an archaeological investigation in the Marby area east of the city ahead of planned housing construction. The excavation forms part of a larger study of a Late Bronze Age landscape containing graves, settlement remains, and rock carvings dating between roughly 1100 BC and 500 BC.
What appeared at first glance to be an ordinary wooded hillside turned out to conceal evidence of a complex prehistoric ritual landscape once located beside an ancient coastal inlet.
The discovery was made inside a stone burial structure known as a stone setting, built around a large central block. Archaeologists uncovered cremated human remains placed partly inside an urn and partly within small pits dug into the ground. Burnt bones had also been scattered throughout the stone and soil filling of the grave.
At the eastern edge of the monument, separate from the cremation burials, archaeologists found two bronze neck rings carefully placed between stones.
According to Alf Ericsson of the State Historical Museums, the find was completely unexpected.
“We never expected to discover anything like this,” Ericsson said. “Finding two neck rings together in a burial context like this is unusual — perhaps unique.”
The objects are known as “wendel rings”, a distinctive form of Bronze Age neck ornament produced during the final phase of the Nordic Bronze Age. The rings were cast in bronze and twisted in alternating directions, creating their recognisable spiral appearance.
One of the newly discovered rings is larger and thinner in design, while the second is smaller, heavier, and more strongly profiled.
Wendel rings are considered rare finds in Scandinavia. Most examples have previously been discovered in wetlands such as bogs and marshes, often as part of ritual depositions involving multiple bronze objects. Archaeologists believe they were likely worn by high-status women and may have served as symbols of wealth, identity, or social standing.
Only a small number have previously been recorded in the Östergötland region. One well-known discovery from nearby Häradshammar involved two similar rings found together in a bog deposit.
The Marby discovery, however, differs significantly because the rings were placed inside a funerary monument associated with cremation burials.
Archaeologists are now attempting to determine whether the rings formed part of a ritual offering connected to the dead or represented personal possessions placed during burial ceremonies.
Further analysis of the cremated bones may reveal how many individuals were buried within the grave structure.
The excavation has also uncovered evidence pointing to a far more complicated Bronze Age landscape than previously understood. Researchers identified the remains of prehistoric houses as well as two large stone mounds built from fire-cracked rock, known as cooking pit or “shard” mounds.
For decades, such mounds were often interpreted as simple waste heaps linked to cooking and everyday domestic activity. More recent discoveries, however, suggest they may also have held ceremonial or funerary importance.
One of the stone mounds at Marby appears to have been deliberately converted into a burial monument during the Bronze Age — something archaeologists describe as highly unusual.
The second mound contained large quantities of burnt stone, pottery fragments, and pieces of clay believed to come from the wall of a house destroyed by fire. Beneath the mound, archaeologists also uncovered two concentric stone circles, a feature more commonly associated with burial monuments from the same period.
Researchers say the discoveries provide valuable insight into the symbolic and ritual world of Bronze Age communities living in what is now eastern Sweden.
The excavation continues as archaeologists work to document the site before construction begins in the area.
Sources : Arkeologena
