The 11th-century Scandinavian world, often romanticized as a realm of heroic Vikings and grand seafaring adventures, was also a dark and violent place. A new study reveals a chilling practice among the Norse people: parts of deceased individuals, particularly children and fragmented skulls, were deliberately buried beneath homes, offering a glimpse into a society where death was woven into daily life.
A Macabre Tradition Unearthed
Archaeologist Marianne Hem Eriksen from the University of Oslo, whose research is published in World Archaeology, has uncovered evidence that Norse communities placed body parts, especially skull fragments, in and around their homes. Her study examines 40 archaeological skull fragments from Scandinavia, spanning the Iron Age (circa 250 BC) to the end of the Viking Age (around 1050 AD). These findings paint a grim picture of a culture steeped in violence, where the remains of the dead were not always treated with reverence.
One striking example is a skull of a 25-40-year-old man, discovered in a well outside a 9th-century pit house in Aarhus, Denmark. The skull bore evidence of brutal violence—its face had been slashed off, suggesting a life ended in conflict or punishment. Such discoveries highlight that, while Viking elites were often cremated in ceremonial wooden longboats, commoners’ bodies were frequently discarded without fanfare, sometimes dismembered and repurposed in unsettling ways.
Why Keep the Dead So Close?
Hem Eriksen suggests that the placement of body parts in homes was not random but held deep cultural significance. Several theories explain this practice:
Preserving the Essence of the Dead: The Norse may have believed that keeping parts of the deceased, particularly skulls, maintained a connection to their spirit or essence.
Destroying an Enemy’s Identity: In a society ruled by sword and flame, burying an enemy’s remains could have been a way to erase their personality or power.
Protection Against Evil: Bones, especially skulls, might have been seen as talismans to ward off malevolent spirits or safeguard homes and possessions.
A notable artifact supporting the protective theory is the Ribe skull, found in Ribe, Denmark, from the Iron Age. Inscribed with runes and the names of Norse gods Odin and Tyr, the skull had a hole drilled into it, likely used as an amulet to alleviate pain or disease. This aligns with Norse mythology, where the giant Mimir’s beheaded skull was carried by Odin, who consulted it for arcane knowledge, as described in the 2007 book Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway.
The Role of Children’s Remains
Among the most haunting findings is the recurring presence of young children’s remains—particularly newborns and infants up to one year old—buried in wall foundations, courtyard pits, and near hearths. Hem Eriksen notes that in the Viking world, children were viewed as “magical objects,” and their bones were intentionally interred in homes across generations.
Historian of religion Gunnhild Rothe, quoted in Archaeology News Network, suggests that these children’s remains were not socially dead, even if biologically so. Their bones may have served as a bond between the living, their homes, and the land itself. This practice reflects a worldview where death was not an end but a continuation of connection to the community and its spaces.
A Violent World, A Different Mindset
The Norse lived in a society where violence was pervasive, and human dignity was understood differently. Rothe emphasizes that modern values cannot be applied to this ancient context, where the dead were integral to everyday life. The idea of keeping body parts in homes may seem grotesque today, but it was likely a normalized act for the Norse, rooted in spiritual, social, or protective beliefs.
To put this in perspective, modern practices also show diverse ways of honoring the dead. In China, for instance, some mothers preserve their baby’s umbilical cord in red packets or small boxes as a keepsake, according to Baby Wise. Unlike the scientifically supported practice of storing umbilical cord blood for medical purposes (as noted in a 2017 Harvard paper), these cords are often kept for sentimental reasons, not unlike the Norse tradition of retaining bones for cultural purposes.
A Window into the Viking Soul
The discovery of deformed skulls and infant remains beneath Viking homes challenges the glorified image of the Norse world. It reveals a society where the boundaries between life and death were fluid, and the dead played an active role in the lives of the living. Marianne Hem Eriksen’s research invites us to reconsider the Vikings not just as warriors and explorers but as a people whose beliefs about death shaped their homes and hearths in ways both profound and unsettling.