A ship burial or boat grave is a
burial in which a
ship or
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on i ...
is used either as the tomb for the dead and the
grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was practiced by various seafaring cultures in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Notable ship burial practices include those by the
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
, particularly by
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
Norsemen, as well as the pre-colonial ship burials described in the
Boxer Codex (c. 15th century) in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Asia-Pacific
East Asia
China
The extinct
Bo people of China's
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...
and
Yunnan provinces are known for their hanging coffins.
The ancestors of the Bo people were instrumental in helping the
Western Zhou overthrow the ruling Yin at the end of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...
. Apart from this, the Bo people differed from other ethnic minorities in China through their burial traditions. Instead of the more common burial on the ground, the coffins of the Bo people were found hanging on cliffs. These coffins were also boat-shaped. Grave goods found in the coffins included blue and white porcelain bowls dated back from the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, iron knife, another smaller knife and two iron
spear points. The Bo people were massacred by the Imperial Army in the later years of the Ming dynasty, and those who survived changed their names in order to escape oppression. Scenes of the typical daily life of the Bo people can also be seen through the cliff and wall paintings they have left behind.
In the area of Sichuan several
boat-shaped coffins have been found and dated to the
Eastern Zhou Period
The Eastern Zhou (; zh, c=, p=Dōngzhōu, w=Tung1-chou1, t= ; 771–256 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the second half of the Zhou dynasty. It was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States.
History
In 7 ...
(770–255 BC). The tombs also contains a big amount of ritual objects.
Japan
A boat-shaped coffin was found in Japan during the construction of the
Kita Ward of
Nagoya. This coffin was found to be older than any other previously found in Japan. Another boat-shaped coffin was found in the tomb of the
Ohoburo Minami Kofun-gun in Northern
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
, dated to the latter half of the
Yayoi Period (4 B.C.-4 A.D.) . The tomb contained grave goods including a
cobalt blue glass
Cobalt glass—known as "smalt" when ground as a pigment—is a deep blue coloured glass prepared by including a cobalt compound, typically cobalt oxide or cobalt carbonate, in a glass melt. Cobalt is a very intense colouring agent and very litt ...
bangle, an iron bangle, and several iron swords. Boat-shaped coffins called
haniwa
The are terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. ''Haniwa'' were created according to the ''wazumi'' techniq ...
were more common during the
Kofun period, and these coffins were seen in paintings along with the representation of the sun, moon, and the stars. This suggests the ritual symbols associated with boats even in Japan.
Southeast Asia
Philippines
There are numerous burial sites in the Philippines that include boat burials and boat-shaped burials. In fact, present-day coffins in the Philippines still resemble canoes made from hollowed out logs. There are two famous sites of burials, the jar burials in
Batanes and in
Catanauan. The burial markers in Batanes are shaped like a boat, with the bow and stern appearing prominently. The markers were made from stone, and were made to appear like the outline of the traditional boat ''
tataya''. Inspection of the Chuhangin and Nakamaya sites in Batanes reveals that the markers were oriented in a Northwest-Southeast direction. Principal site investigators also discovered that the bow of the markers pointed towards the sea. But apparently, when the storms cease to pound on the islands of Batanes, the bow of the boats align with the appearance of the band of the Milky Way Galaxy. This further increases the possibility that the burials were made to align with the cosmos in belief that the boats will carry the dead to the heavens and the stars.
Some 1500 kilometers from Batanes, the Tuhian beach in Catanauan, Quezon lies another boat-shaped burial site. The boats in Catanauan are also oriented in a Northwest-Southeast direction, with the bow pointing towards the sea. The only difference is that the markers in Batanes were made from
andesite and
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
, while those present in Catanauan were made from
coral slabs. Also, while the markers in Batanes contained a single burial, the Catanauan markers were multiple burials.
The alignment of both of these burial sites served as evidence that people from both sites believed in the idea of the
afterlife. Also, the boats were thought as a vessel for "sailing" to the heavens and the stars. This belief is a widespread idea all around the world, as we know from different burial sites all throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Another burial site in
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. ...
was observed by the Spanish during the 16th century One account of the burial states:
"In some places, they kill slaves and bury them with their masters in order to serve them in the afterlife, this practice is carried out to the extent that many load a ship with more than sixty slaves, fill it up with food and drink, place the dead on board, and the entire vessel including live slaves buried in the earth."
Perhaps the most famous boat-shaped burial found in the Philippines is the
Manunggul Jar
The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in the Manunggul cave of the Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point in Palawan, Philippines. It dates from 890–710 B.C. and the two prominent figures at the top handle of i ...
. The jars were excavated from a
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
burial site in
Manunggul cave of
Tabon Caves at
Lipuun Point at
Palawan. The jars were found to be from 890–710 B.C. The main feature of the Manunggul jar is the two human figures seated on a boat at the top handle of its cover. The figures represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife, with another figure serving as his oarsman.
The burial jar with a cover featuring a ship-of-the-dead
��is perhaps unrivaled in Southeast Asia; the work of an artist and master potter. This vessel provides a clear example of a cultural link between the archaeological past and the ethnographic present. The boatman
��is steering rather than paddling the "ship". The mast of the boat was not recovered. Both figures appear to be wearing bands tied over the crowns of their heads and under their jaws; a pattern still found in burial practices among the indigenous peoples in the Southern Philippines. The manner in which the hands of the front figure are folded across the chest is also a widespread practice in the islands when arranging the corpse.
The carved prow and the eye motif of the spirit boat is still found on the traditional watercraft of the Sulu Archipelago, Borneo, and Malaysia. Similarities in the execution of the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth of the figures may be seen today in the wood carving of Taiwan, the Philippines, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam
The
Dong Son culture in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
is known by archaeologists due to a great concentration of boat-shaped coffins. 171 boat-shaped coffins were recovered from 44 sites in Vietnam, and most of these were found from Dong Son sites. Some of these burials included carefully arranged grave goods inside the coffin along with the corpse of the dead. Also, the coffins were found strategically close to water, either rivers or small streams of sea.
Europe
A unique eyewitness account of a
10th-century ship burial among the
Volga Vikings is given by Arab traveller
Ibn Fadlan
Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Rāšid ibn Ḥammād, ( ar, أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد; ) commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Muslim traveler, famous for his account of his ...
. The largest Viking ship grave, long, was discovered in Norway by archeologists in 2018, and it is estimated to have been covered over 1000 years ago to be used as a boat grave for an eminent Viking king or queen.
Northern Europe
Scandinavia
*
Ladby – from
Kerteminde on the island of
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as o ...
, Denmark
*
Gokstad
The Gokstad Mound (Norwegian: Gokstadhaugen) is a large burial mound at Gokstad Farm in Sandefjord (formerly Sandar municipality) in Vestfold County, Norway. It is also known as the King's Mound (''Kongshaugen'') and is where the 9th century Go ...
– from
Kongshaugen,
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered ...
, Norway
*
Oseberg – from Oseberg farm near
Tønsberg in
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered ...
, Norway
*
Tune – from Haugen farm on
Rolvsøy
Rolvsøy is a village, an island, and a former municipality in Viken county, Norway.
It was created by a split from Tune on 1 January 1911. At that time Rolvsøy had a population of 2,381. On 1 January 1994 Rolvsøy was incorporated into the m ...
in
Tune,
Østfold
Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other s ...
, Norway
*
Gjellestad – from the farm of the same name in
Halden
Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish ...
municipality, Norway; excavations ongoing as of June 2020.
British Isles
*
Snape - Anglo-Saxon burial from Snape Common in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
*
Sutton Hoo - Anglo-Saxon burial site near
Woodbridge, Suffolk
*
Balladoole and
Knock y Doonee
Knock y Doonee (also spelled as Knock-e-Dhooney) is a significant historical and archaeological site in the parish of Andreas on the northern coast of the Isle of Man. The site has been in ritual use for centuries. Archaeological excavations ha ...
– Viking burials in the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = " O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europ ...
*
Port an Eilean Mhòir – The only Viking ship burial yet discovered in mainland Britain, the mound was found in 2006 and excavated in 2011.
* The
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 grav ...
– a Viking burial found on
Sanday, one of the
Orkney Islands.
Baltic countries
*
Salme ships
The Salme ships are two clinker-built ships of Scandinavian origin discovered in 2008 and 2010 near the village of Salme on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia. Both ships were used for ship burials here around AD 700–750 in the Nordic Iron Age ...
– from the island of
Saaremaa,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
Eastern Europe
* – on an island on the
Volkhov River
The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and form ...
near
Veliky Novgorod, Russia
*
Sarskoye Gorodishche – from a medieval fortified settlement in
Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia
*
Timerevo – from site near the village of Bolshoe Timeryovo,
Yaroslavl, Russia
*
Black Grave – from the largest burial mound in
Chernihiv, Ukraine
Western Europe
* Solleveld - south of The Hague. Late sixth century. The only boat grave in The Netherlands, former Frisia
* Fallward - north of Bremerhaven, Germany. Fifth century
*
Groix, an island in the south of Brittany, France. Tenth century
[Boyer, R., ''Héros et Dieux du Nord'', Flammarion (1997), 192 p. (), "Bateaux-tombes", p. 26]
See also
*
Norse funeral
Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age North Germanic Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas and Old Norse poetry.
Throughout Scandinavia, the ...
*
Ímar Ua Donnubáin, legendary Irish navigator of partial Norse descent
*
Stone ship
*
Hanging coffins
*
Tombs of boat-shaped coffins
*
Chariot burial
Chariot burials are tombs in which the deceased was buried together with their chariot, usually including their horses and other possessions. An instance of a person being buried with their horse (without the chariot) is called horse burial.
Fin ...
(Iron Age tradition)
*
Solar barge (Bronze Age tradition)
*
Khufu ship (Ancient Egypt)
References
{{Authority control
Anglo-Saxon burial practices
Asian culture
Death in Asia