Asche und Knochen. Vogelüberreste in wikingerzeitlichen Gräbern auf den Nordfriesischen Inseln und in Dänemark

Abstract

Burial practices in Viking Age Scandinavia
were very complex. Women, men
and children were buried in different types
of graves and were equipped with numerous
objects (e. g. jewellery, pots, textiles,
tools and weapons). Moreover, the graves
could also contain animals such as dogs,
deer, fish, horses and different birds.
Bones of these ‘winged’ animals were
and are discovered in different graves in
Denmark and in the Schleswig region.
Such remains have been found in both
cremation graves and in inhumation
graves with various internal and external
constructions. In the Schleswig region on
the North Frisian Islands (Amrum, Föhr,
Sylt), these bones are known only from
several cremation graves placed under
mounds whereas in Denmark, bird remains
were found in cremation and inhumation
graves.
This article will discuss graves from
Denmark and the Schleswig region in
which bird bones were discovered. It
will also present an overview of problems
related to the determination and
description of bird bones from funerary
contexts. In addition, it will compare the
graves from these areas with those from
Norway and Sweden. This article describes
the meaning of birds in funerary
‘dramas’ depicted in the medieval written
sources (e. g. Ibn Fadlān Risāla, legendary
sagas) and compares them with archaeological
evidence.