The new discovery, made by archaeological company Uppdrag Arkeologi, is located in the town of Sigtuna, just north of the Swedish capital Stockholm. All 7 graves contain remains in good condition, including 4 adults and 4 children.

“In one grave, there were two very small babies of the same age. It could have been the tragic result of a miscarriage of twins,” Johan Runer, project manager of Uppdrag arkeologi told Live Science .

The remains belong to “Christianized” Vikings who lived more than 1,000 years ago. The excavation team said they found a very clear Christian character in the layout of the tombs.

“Most people were buried lying on their backs in an east-west direction, whereas people who followed traditional Viking beliefs in this part of Sweden tended to be cremated at that time,” Runer explained. prefer.

Runer’s team also found charcoal residue at the burial site, suggesting that the fire ritual was involved in at least four graves. This ritual was quite common among Viking-era Christians but quite rare in former Sigtuna.

The tombs contained a number of interesting artifacts such as leather belts with metal accessories, an animal bone comb and silver coins found in the mouths of the remains. Runer adds that placing coins in the mouth of the dead was also common in Christian burials in central Sweden during Viking times.

The cause of death of this newly unearthed group of people is still a mystery. The research team plans to send the remains to a rheumatologist for further examination and hopes to be able to provide answers in a scientific paper in the near future.