Viking grave found during remodeling

[Judi Lynn]

May 26, 2020

A young couple fixing up an old house at Selvåg in Bodø, Northern Norway, spotted a glass bead and then an ancient axe after they’d torn up the ground floor and removed masses of sand to improve insulation. They called local authorities, who confirm the house must have been built over a Viking grave.

The house itself was built in 1914, reported state broadcaster NRK on Tuesday. A pile of stone they’d already removed under the flooring was probably part of the so-called steinrøys placed over the grave that also included prized belongings of the deceased.

Homeowner Mariann Kristensen called local city officials, and experts from the Tromsø Museum arrived the next day. On Monday they began an excavation under and around the house built by Kristensen’s great-grandfather. The museum’s archaeologist Martinus Hauglid praised the couple for calling in the authorities, adding that they’ll likely receive a state finder’s fee along with gratitude for putting up with some disruption in their remodeling project.

https://www.newsinenglish.no/2020/05/26/viking-grave-found-during-remodeling/

(Short article, no more at link.)


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Many thumbnail images of the area in google images,
for people interested in knowing what the countryside
looked like where some of the Vikings once lived:

https://tinyurl.com/ya4hdqyp

Selvåg in Bodø, Northern Norway