Emily Chan
Between 2019 and 2020, excavations were conducted in central Norway ahead of construction work for a road.
The excavations revealed a pre-Christian cemetery, which had been partially dug up back in 1966. Three mortuary houses were discovered next to the flattened burial mounds.
The houses date back between A.D. 500 and A.D. 950 to the Iron and Viking Ages. They were uncovered in the village of Vinjeøra and were likely part of funerary rituals that allowed the living to visit and interact with the deceased.
Mortuary houses are usually found within funerary contexts, such as cemeteries. They may contain tombs and graves or were used to store cremated remains. Some also served as places where the living could leave offerings or worship the dead.
In Scandinavia, mortuary houses seemed to have served similar purposes. However, the ones from Vinjeøra are different because they do not feature any permanent burials.
“I think that the most surprising thing was that we did not find any evidence of a permanent tomb or a buried person inside the houses,” said Dr. Raymond Sauvage, one of the study authors.
“Also, the fact that they had doors and entrances that may have led into the mortuary house and burial mound was something I had not thought of prior to the analysis.”
The presence of doors and entrances indicated that the mortuary houses were always open for visitation.
The trampled soil of the entryway confirmed that the living frequently visited. The entrances were low, so people would have to crouch down to enter.
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