DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

56

Buried treasure

Vikings were buried with all kinds of treasures.

These are known as grave goods. They are usually

the finest or favorite belongings that the dead

man or woman owned or wore. Other grave goods

were specially made, just for the burial. Grave goods

give many glimpses of the Viking way of life: of

how people cooked or sewed; of their furniture,

dress, and jewelry; and of the

tools and weapons they

used every day.

Whole mount is shaped

like an animal’s head

and neck

Two animal heads in profile,

staring snout to snout

Face of an animal,

perhaps a lion

Head of a person or animal

Paw

Tangle

of legs

Eye Long neck

Slender,

S-shaped

animal

Front leg

Back

leg

Cast-bronze handle

Bird

BEAUTIFUL BRIDLE BITS

These five glittering mounts are part of a

horse’s bridle. They date from the late 8th century.

They were found with 17 others in a rich man’s

grave at Broa in Gotland, Sweden. Made of bronze

coated with gold, they are decorated with masses

of intricate animals and birds, some twisting in

slender ribbons, others plump and gripping

everything in sight (p. 37).

Spiral patterns

engraved on

bronze sheets

Fang

Clenched jaws

Surface seet hes wit h

four-legged gripping beasts

The so-called Carolingian

animal-head post

DRINKS BUCKET

Made in northern

England or Scotland,

this bucket was

buried in a woman’s

grave in Birka,

Sweden, around 900.

It is made of birch

wood covered in

sheets of bronze.

The bucket was

probably used for

serving drinks.

Mysterious heads

Among the treasures in the

Oseberg burial ship were five

strange wooden posts. Here are

three of them. Each post is

carved in a different style, but

they are all topped by fantastic

creatures with snarling mouths.

The carvers were incredibly

skilled. The animals’ heads and

necks squirm with a mass of

tiny figures. No one knows what

the posts were for. Worshipers

might have carried them at a

religious procession, perhaps

at the Oseberg funeral. The

fierce animals, like lions, may

have been meant to scare

away evil spirits.