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In an Iron Age cemetery in what is now Sweden, two warriors who died in the 7th century AD were lavishly buried in boats with an unexpected touch of luxury: plush bedding filled with feathers, to rock gently the deceased on his journey to the realm of the dead.
The Valsgärde burial site, a farm in Uppsala, Sweden, near the country’s southeast coast, is home to 15 boat burials dating from the third century BC – possibly even earlier – to the 12th century AD
Researchers recently investigated the unusual feathery contents of two of the graves, known as Valsgärde 7 and Valsgärde 8. Both graves contained “richly equipped boats” which were positioned with their sterns pointing towards the Fyrisån River, as s ‘they were ready for the occupants’ journey to the afterlife. Pillows from boats, dated to around 1,400 years ago, are the oldest litter-related artifacts in Scandinavia, according to a new study.
Related: In photos: Boneyard from the Iron Age warriors
The delicate feathers degrade quickly and are therefore rarely documented in archaeological records. However, the exceptional preservation of the Valsgärde litter allowed researchers to extract and examine feathers from several places inside the boats. The team’s analysis allowed them to identify which bird groups and even which species the feathers came from, the researchers reported in the April 2021 issue of the. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Helmets, swords, and knives lay beside the bodies, and several shields covered the remains of each ship. The graves also contained cooking and hunting tools for the afterlife. The mourners had placed the warriors on pillows so that “beauty sleep is also supported in death,” said lead study author Birgitta Berglund, professor emeritus of archeology at the University Museum of Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU Museum) in Trondheim, Norway, said in a report.
Horses and birds in tombs further hinted at the high-ranking status of warriors, although one of the animals – an eagle owl (Bubo bubo) – his head was missing. His beheading may have had ritual significance for the burial, and the feathers filling the cushions may also have been selected for their symbolic significance, the scientists said.
![Microscopic images of various beards and downy feather barbs of Valsgärde 7 (a and c) compared to examples of similar reference material from groups of birds: b) Galliformes (black grouse [Tetrao tetrix]) and d) Passeriformes (Eurasian jay [Garrulus glandarius]).](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ES7grrjBzVtUgtmaJ2h9kG-970-80.jpg.webp)
“A deeper meaning”
To identify the feathers, the researchers collected eight feather samples from Valsgärde 7 and three samples from Valsgärde 8, then carefully teased the brittle and intertwined pieces, looking for feathers that retained their original structures as much as possible. They separated the samples into two categories: contour feathers, which are used for flight, and “real down”, which comes closest to the skin of birds and provides insulation.
After all the teasing and sorting was done, the scientists created feather sample slides and examined them under a microscope that magnified the samples up to 400 times. Next, the team compared the feathers to reference samples of feathers from Northern European birds in the scientific literature and in the library of the NTNU Museum.
“These are, as far as we know, the oldest bird feathers from human burials examined in this way,” the study authors reported.
In samples from four litter locations at Valsgärde 7, duck and goose feathers were the most common; in the one location sampled at Valsgärde 8, all the feathers resembled those of geese. But other types of bird feathers were also present at Valsgärde 7; there were feathers from land birds, like chickens, as well as songbirds, wading birds and even an eagle owl.
According to Nordic folklore, feathers had special significance for rituals surrounding death and funeral rites, Berglund said. Most of the records of these traditions date from the 18th century or later, but the rituals probably originated much earlier, she added. For example, the feathers of owls and other predatory birds were associated with prolonging the fight against death. And in parts of Scandinavia, “goose feathers were considered the best for allowing the soul to be released from the body,” Berglund said.
“Valsgärde’s bedding probably also had a deeper meaning than just serving as a filler,” she said in the statement.
Scientists’ findings demonstrate that it is possible to identify certain groups of birds from very tiny fragments of ancient feathers – less than 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) long. Scientists generally overlook pieces of feathers at archaeological sites, and their research could provide valuable clues to Iron Age life and how people interact with nature, “including the relationship between man and woman. birds, ”the study authors wrote.
Originally posted on Live Science
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