Archaeology news: Scandinavian warriors buried in ‘death houses’ stun archaeologists

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The 11th-century remains were discovered at a peculiar burial site dubbed by the archaeologists a death house. A chemical and genetic analysis of the remains found the four men were from Scandinavia, most likely from Denmark.

According to Dr Sławomir Wadyl of the Gdańsk Archeological Museum, the warriors were buried alongside a plethora of trinkets and armaments.

The archaeologist told the Polish Press Agency (PAP): “In the central part of the cemetery, there were four very well-equipped chamber graves.

“Men, probably warriors, were buried in them as evidenced by weapons and equestrian equipment laid together with them.”

The four warriors were unearthed in the village of Ciepłe in Eastern Pomerania or Pomorze Wschodnie, northern Poland.

Archaeology news: Researchers in Poland uncovered the remains of four Scandinavian warriors (Image: J. Szmit/Z. Ratajczyk)

Archaeology news: The warriors were buried in ‘death house’ burial chambers (Image: K. Patalon)

The archaeologists also uncovered old coins, metal trinkets, combs, pots and even the remains of animals.

The burial site itself is interesting because it is more typical of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

You could say they were ‘death houses’

Dr Sławomir Wadyl, Gdańsk Archeological Museum

The warriors were laid to rest in wooden chambers measuring about 11.5ft by 6.5ft (3.5m by 2m).

The chambers were built much like a log cabin, with intersecting planks or logs of wood stacked on top of one another.

Dr Wadyl said: “It was one of the more popular house building methods at the time, so you could say they were a ‘death house’.”

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Archaeology news: Trinkets and weapons were found alongside the warriors (Image: PAP)

Archaeology news: The Scandinavian warriors were most likely from Denmark (Image: Z. Ratajczyk)

“They probably belonged to a group of elite riders but their role was probably was not limited to the function of warriors.”

The archaeologist also thinks the men collected taxes from the local populace due to a set of weights found next to two of the dead.

But these are not the first mysterious burial sites uncovered by archaeologists in Poland.

Researchers in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region have found pyramid-like structures predating the famous Egyptian pyramids.