Cosmology, Death And Burial

Question 1

What style of burial was common amongst Vikings?

Answer 1

Both inhumation and cremation.

Question 2

Where do examples of burial mounds exist?

Answer 2

Gamla Uppsala, Birka and Heath Wood, England.

Question 3

What style of burials are present at Birka, Sweden and what are they associated with?

Answer 3

Chambered graves associated with the trading town

Question 4

When was the boat burial of Tune excavated?

Answer 4

1864

Question 5

When was the boat burial of Golstad excavated?

Answer 5

1880

Question 6

When was the boat burial of Oseberg excavated?

Answer 6

1904

Question 7

What examples of finds come from Oseberg?

Answer 7

A wagon 
Sledges 
Chests 
Lamps 
Tapestries 
Weaving equipment

Question 8

What does the lack of jewellery from the Oseberg burial suggest?

Answer 8

either contemporary or antiquity robbery

Question 9

What is interesting about the wagon from the Oseberg burial?

Answer 9

It was very advanced, could turn and be collapsed for journeys (sure there’s an ikea joke here somewhere?)…

Question 10

When was the Oseberg ship originally thought to date from, and why?

Answer 10

850 - on typological grounds

Question 11

When does Dendro dates place Gokstad?

Answer 11

900-905

Question 12

When does Dendro dates place Tune?

Answer 12

905-910

Question 13

When does Dendro dates place Oseberg?

Answer 13

834

Question 14

Why are artefacts not to be trusted for typological dating?

Answer 14

They were not made when they were deposited, could be a lot older than you he deposit as they could be heirlooms etc

Question 15

What was contained in the Gokstad ship?

Answer 15

The burial of an old man

Question 16

How many bodies were found at Oseberg and what were there sex?

Answer 16

Two females

Question 17

What age were the bodies from Oseberg and what assumption has been made from this?

Answer 17

One old and one young, assumed one was a princes and the other was her servant

Question 18

What type of burials does the N isles seem to lack?

Answer 18

Cremations

Question 19

Where is a Viking boat burial located in the N isles and what is associated with it?

Answer 19

Westness, Rousey, Orkney. An Irish brooch.

Question 20

What animal was commonly buried with inhumations in Iceland?

Answer 20

Horses.

Question 21

One example of a Viking boat burial in Iceland?

Answer 21

Citlu-Nupar, western Iceland.

Question 22

What style of burial is most common in England?

Answer 22

Single burials

Question 23

One example of a Viking cemetery in England?

Answer 23

Cumwhitton in Cumbria

Question 24

What is assumed to be buried at Cumwhitten in Cumbria?

Answer 24

A single family group

Question 25

What was found at Cumwhitten in Cumbria?

Answer 25

4 males and 2 females 
Swords 
Spears 
Horse riding gear 
Silver rings

Question 26

What status is often attributed to the Cumwhitten burials?

Answer 26

An elite family

Question 27

What issues surround Cumwhitten which inpede further investigation

Answer 27

Poor preservation and plough damage

Question 28

What was found in Dorset?

Answer 28

51 decapitated bodies

Question 29

What does C14 dates give the Dorset bodies?

Answer 29

910-1030

Question 30

What ages were the Dorset bodies?

Answer 30

All late teens - 25

Question 31

What does isotopic analyses say about the Dorset bodies?

Answer 31

They originated from colder climates than Britain

Question 32

What does at least one individual have which may suggest a violent culture?

Answer 32

Filed teeth