Surprising discovery: the remains of two Iron Age warriors found buried on a luxurious bed of feathers

The remains of two iron age warriors They were found a few days ago in an old cemetery on a luxurious bed of feathers from a variety of birds, new research in Sweden has shown.

the Valsgärde cemetery, near Uppsala, in the center of the Nordic country, is famous for its ship graves from 600 and 700 AD, and houses around 90 burials from the Merovingian period, to the pre-Viking era.

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Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology museum studied the graves of two men, believed to have belonged to high-ranking warriors because their ships were equipped with ornate helmets, shields and weapons for their journey to the “underworld”.

The boats were about ten meters long and had room for four or five pairs of oars, and they were equipped with provisions, cooking and hunting tools for their last voyage. Animals, including horses, were placed near ships.

“The buried warriors appear to have been equipped to row in the underworld, but also to be able to reach land with the help of horses,” Birgitta Berglund, professor emeritus of archeology at the NTNU University Museum, said in a statement.

But the researchers also discovered something more surprising: several layers of cushions filled with feathers were found under the warriors.

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“Restful sleep also occupied death,” said the researcher.

Berglund added that while the wealthy Greeks and Romans had used stockings a few hundred years earlier, wealthy Europeans did not do so en masse until the Middle Ages.

Experts say the detail could indicate the Warriors belonged to the highest echelons of society.

Microscopic analysis of the litter showed it to contain feathers geese, ducks, grouse, crows, sparrows, waders and, to the researcher’s surprise, eagle owls.

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“I am always amazed at how well the feathers have been preserved, even though they have been buried in the ground for over 1,000 years,” said biologist Jørgen Rosvold, who has studied the material.

According to Berglund, in Nordic folklore, the presence of feathers on the deathbed indicated that someone was important.

“People believed that the use of feathers from domestic chickens, owls and other raptors, pigeons, crows and squirrels would prolong the fight after death. In some Scandinavian regions, goose feathers were considered the best for allowing the soul to free itself from the body, ”he said.

The experts they also found a headless owl in one of the graves. “It is possible that his head was cut off to prevent him from coming back from the dead,” he said. In some Viking burials, swords were folded before being buried with a warrior to prevent them from being used if the warrior woke up, the researchers noted.

“In Salme, Estonia, ship graves from the same period were recently discovered, similar to those in Valsgärde. There they found two raptors with severed heads, ”Berglund said.