Archaeologists excavating the burial mound at Herlaugshaugen on the island of Leka have confirmed that the site once contained a ship, settling a long-standing question surrounding one of Norway’s best-known prehistoric monuments.
Large burial mounds are found throughout northern Europe and are often associated with people of high status. In some cases, they include ships, as at Sutton Hoo in eastern England.
Herlaugshaugen has been in the spotlight for decades because of its size and its connection to the semi-legendary King Herlaug. Even so, direct evidence of a ship burial had not been found until now.
Recent excavations have uncovered a small group of iron nails, several still attached to fragments of wood. Around 15 were recorded. Their form identifies them as clinker nails, used in early shipbuilding to fasten overlapping planks along a hull. Finds of this kind are closely tied to boat construction and point to a vessel having been placed inside the mound.
Radiocarbon dating of the wood places the burial at around AD 700. This is earlier than most known Scandinavian ship burials, which are usually linked to the Viking Age from the late eighth century onwards. The date places Herlaugshaugen among the earliest confirmed examples in the region.
The find helps connect earlier burials in England with later Scandinavian traditions. Ship burials at Sutton Hoo date to the early seventh century, while most Scandinavian examples appear later. The Leka mound sits between these phases and shows that the practice was already present before the Viking period.
Location adds to the picture. Leka lies well north of the main concentration of known ship burials. Its position along the Norwegian coast suggests it was part of wider travel and exchange routes linking different regions.
Researchers believe such routes allowed both goods and ideas to move over long distances. Burial customs, including the use of ships, may have spread in this way rather than developing separately in each area.
The find also points to the role of ships beyond everyday use. In burial settings, they likely carried symbolic meaning tied to status, identity or beliefs about the afterlife.
Further work is expected, but the evidence from Herlaugshaugen already adds weight to the idea that ship burial in Scandinavia has a longer history than once thought.
Header Image Credit : Hanne Bryn
Sources : Antiquity
