The Salme Ship Burials
In 2008, while digging trenches for power cables in the tiny island town of Salme, Estonia, workers exposed human bones and a variety of strange objects, which they piled up next to their trench. The local authorities initially assumed that the remains belonged to a hapless soldier from the Second World War. But the archaeologists who were immediately called in came across something completely different. During the excavations, the remains of two ships were uncovered.
Salme I with three of the seven skeletons
These ships had been towed about a hundred metres inland and then partially covered with stones and earth. In Salme I, which was built in clinker construction, was 11.5 m long and was probably rowed by six pairs of oars, the grave of seven tall young men, all of whom had died a violent death, was buried together with two swords, spear and arrowheads, knives, a small axe, comb parts made of deer antlers and 75 tokens made of whale and cattle bones. The remains of bones of pigs, sheep, goats and cattle were witnesses to the funeral feast that the survivors of the festival may have held. The heads of two decapitated falcons indicate that the Young Men's group is most likely part of the elite.
Salme II, the mass grave with 34 men in different layers. Both pictures show the skeletons in situ. The injuries on the bones are well visible. (Especially on the left, on the arms of the men in front) and the burial objects in between.
Salme II, which was about 50 metres away and was also built in clinker, was found two years later. It was about 17- 17,5m long and about 3m wide. It had a keel, which suggests that it was used for sailing. This much larger ship housed 34 skeletons, all with heavy battle marks, which were stacked in four layers on the ship as if they were firewood. The bodies had been buried with 40 swords and covered with their shields and cloths from the sail.
Swords and gilded bronze pommels
Other burial objects consisted of pendants of bear teeth, pearls, broken scissors, decorated combs, small padlocks, gamestones and tokens. A large number of arrowheads were found scattered around the site. Both ship graves appear to be the final resting place for Scandinavian warriors who were killed in an unfortunate raid on Saaremaa or perhaps ambushed by rivals on a remote beach.
Gamestones in situ, later cleaned with a squared dice and a piece of cloth
The archaeologists believe that the men died sometime between 700 and 750, at least according to the dating of the objects, which also do not have an Estonian context but all originate from the Scandinavian area. This was an epoch which archeologists and historians call the Vendel period, in this case these graves are dated to the end of the Vendel period and the beginning of the Viking period.
This would mean that trade relations and political disputes would have started much further and earlier in the Baltic Sea region than was previously the case. However, research is still ongoing, which may well lead to further conclusions.
