The Lilleberge Viking Burial or ''Lilleberge Ship Burial'' is a major hoard of
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
objects found in a barrow at Lilleberge in Namdalen, central
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
in the late nineteenth century. Since 1891, it has been an important part of the British Museum's early medieval collection.
Discovery
Lilleberge is located in
Nord-Trøndelag county in the district of
Namdalen
Namdalen ( sma, Nååmesjevuemie) is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Nærøysund, Høylandet, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, and Namsskogan, all in Tr ...
. A large ship
barrow in the vicinity of Lilleberge was excavated in the 1886 by the British archaeologist, Alfred Heneage Cocks. The barrow was over 40 metres in length and contained a ship that was 10 metres long. Cocks later took all the finds to England and sold them to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1891.
Description
The grave group from Lilleberge represents an important assemblage of
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
and other artefacts that belonged to a prominent female dignitary from the local tribe. Probably the most significant object from the burial is the almost intact
whalebone plaque which may have served as a cutting board for food or as a surface to smooth items of clothing.
Other objects from Lilleberge include a pair of copper alloy oval
brooch
A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with g ...
es, necklaces made of coloured glass beads, a
spindle-whorl, a gilded Celtic mount (that was only recently discovered in the British Museum's stores
Guardian website
/ref>), an iron pot stand, rivets from a Viking boat and skeletal remains from the deceased.
See also
*Scar boat burial
The Scar boat burial is a Viking boat burial near the village of Scar, on Sanday, in Orkney, Scotland. The burial, which dates to between 875 and 950 AD, contained the remains of a man, an elderly woman, and a child, along with numerous grave ...
for a similar whalebone plaque
*Port an Eilean Mhòir ship burial
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
* Tromsø Burial
*Tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...
burial from Villa Farm in Vestnes
Vestnes is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Vestnes is part of the traditional district of Romsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestnes. Other villages in the municipality include Vik ...
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
*Marzinzik S, "Masterpieces: Early Medieval Art", (London, British Museum Press, 2013)
* Graham-Campbell J, ''Viking Artefacts: A Select Catalogue'', (London, British Museum Press, 1980)
*Graham-Campbell J, ''Viking Art'', Thames & Hudson, 2013
*Williams, G., Pentz, P. and Wemhoff, M. (eds), ''Vikings: Life and Legend'', (London, British Museum Press, 2014)
Medieval European objects in the British Museum
Viking ship burials
1886 archaeological discoveries