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– We believe these must be graves, says Guro Fossum, excavation manager at the Cultural History Museum (KHM).
Archaeologists were not prepared for what they found during the excavation at Fredrikstad Borge. No graves were visible on the terrain.
Only after working 5 to 10 centimeters below the peat layer did they discover circular or oval formations with diameters between 1 and 2 meters.
Archaeologist Jakob Kile-Vesik at one of the tombs. In pre-Roman times, the dead were usually cremated and the charred bone remains buried under a layer of flat stones, often in the shape of a spiral or wheel.
Photo: Cultural History Museum/NTB
Recent analysis shows that many of the people buried were infants when they died, while others were between the ages of three and six.
– Dating shows the cemetery had been in use for a long time, so they couldn’t have all died in the same natural disaster or the same disease outbreak or epidemic, Fossum said.
Unique Finds
They concluded that the cemetery had been in use for hundreds of years. The children were buried between the Bronze and Iron Ages, mostly between 800 and 400 years before our era, or 2,800 years ago.
Further investigation revealed charred bones, pottery fragments and possible clothing buckles. All graves were well preserved.
Archaeologist Magnus Tangen collected informative material. Everything had to be analyzed to provide knowledge about how people lived. After the survey was completed, the excavation site was dismantled.
Photo: Cultural History Museum/NTB
The cemetery, which is unique in Europe, was discovered last year during an excavation in Borge, in the municipality of Fredrikstad.
Fossum describes a fascinating process where archaeologists actually examined an area near a Stone Age settlement, but then discovered a circular stone structure.
– They have been lying here in secret until we found them. We excavated them one by one, leaving behind 41 circular stone sculptures, archaeologists said. Several cemeteries have been discovered, but there is something particularly fascinating about this one.
More questions than answers
– When the analysis came in, it made sense: there were graves of little children there. It was all carefully planned, Fossum said.
After the sensational discovery, archaeologists still have more questions than answers: Why did they bury the children in another location? Why here? And how did they keep the tradition going for hundreds of years?
The children’s graves date back to the transition period between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, with most buried between 800 and 400 years before the birth of Christ.
Photo: Cultural History Museum/NTB
– We don’t know what they thought about things, why the dead were burned and buried. But Fossum said people probably believed that the body had to be destroyed and transformed by fire so that the soul could be free.
– Perhaps traditions and rituals are just that, a way to remember and honor those who have died. She adds that we do the same thing now: remembering those who have lived before us, with rituals and commemorations.
The only grave in the field dates from after 0. Since then, funeral customs have gradually changed, with strict hierarchy and large graves only for people of status.
Published
June 24, 2024, 8:31 AM
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