{"id":901,"date":"2025-02-03T15:46:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T14:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osebergvikingarv.no\/eng\/?p=901"},"modified":"2025-02-03T15:46:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T14:46:36","slug":"who-were-the-oseberg-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osebergvikingarv.no\/eng\/2025\/02\/03\/who-were-the-oseberg-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Who were the Oseberg Women?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the Oseberg burial mound was excavated in 1904, archaeologists expected to find the grave of a powerful man, like the Gokstad ship burial 24 years earlier. Instead, they found something entirely different\u2026
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Einar Chr. Erlingsen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
The skeletons of the Oseberg women. Photo: Lill Ann Chepstow-Lusty, Kulturhistorisk Museum, UiO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Gokstad mound revealed an impressive ship, containing the skeletal remains of a prominent chieftain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, it was no surprise that Professor Gabriel Gustafson expected to find something similar in the Oseberg mound. Instead, he unearthed typical \u201cwomen\u2019s items\u201d like weaving tools, vast quantities of textiles, household objects, and more. His astonishment grew when the remains of two skeletons appeared. Unlike the Gokstad chieftain, who was tall and robust, the individuals in the Oseberg mound were small and slender. Gustafson recorded his revelation in the excavation log: \u201cBut these must be women!?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they were. This made Oseberg the most significant Viking Age find of all time and a unique glimpse into a woman\u2019s world, which had been virtually unknown until then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next questions naturally followed: Who on earth were these women? What merited such extraordinary grave goods? Besides the ship, wagon, tents, beds, and much more, there were also 15 sacrificed horses\u2014alone representing immense wealth\u2014as well as approximately 30 kilograms of eiderdown found in the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it the \u201cMother of the Nation\u201d?<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\u2022\tA
\u2022\tA \u201cportrait\u201d of the Oseberg woman? With a prominent beard and modern hairstyle. (Photo: Tordis \u00d8dbehr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a brief historical detour. In 1904, Norwegian-Swedish union dissolution was imminent. What better way to foster national pride than to uncover a royal Viking burial?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians proposed a fantastic theory: the mound contained Queen \u00c5sa, grandmother of Norway\u2019s unifier, Harald Fairhair!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we know very little about Queen \u00c5sa, as she only appears in 13th-century written sources. We don\u2019t know her birth or death dates. The theory linking her to the Oseberg grave is based mainly on the similarity between the names \u00c5sa and Ose-berg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr\u00f8ya\u2019s Helper?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other aspects of the find suggest intriguing clues about the women\u2019s identities. Several items point to ritual use, such as the intricately carved animal head posts. The wooden stem ornament may even depict the grave\u2019s main figure: a woman with a beard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fragments of the Oseberg tapestry show a scene of men and women in procession\u2014women holding sheaves of grain, men carrying spears, and a wagon bearing two women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is significant since a wagon was also found in the burial, among the most elaborately decorated objects. Its carvings are difficult to interpret, but its rear panel undoubtedly depicts cats\u2014a possible reference to Freyja, the Norse goddess of fertility, love, magic, and death, who traveled in a cat-drawn wagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skeletons were reexamined in 2007 at the University of Oslo, led by Professor Per Holck, using methods unavailable during the original study. The findings yielded fascinating new insights.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\u2022\tThe
\u2022\tThe sarcophagus containing the remains of the two Oseberg women was reopened for new studies. (Photo: Einar Chr. Erlingsen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What Did the Skeletons Reveal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the women\u2019s ages. The younger woman was around 50 at her death, while the elder was about 80\u2014a remarkable age in a time when life expectancy was roughly 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elder woman likely appeared ancient to her contemporaries\u2014a figure who had \u201calways\u201d been there, as old as anyone could remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half Woman, Half Man<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had suffered a severe back injury in youth, causing her to walk hunched. A hormonal condition led her to produce high levels of male hormones, resulting in a beard and a deep voice. In essence, she was a figure both male and female, with ties to Freyja, goddess of love and death. She likely seemed both formidable and frightening\u2014a possible volva, a seeress and sorceress known from the sagas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DNA analyses suggest a potential link between the younger woman and the Black Sea\/Iran region, though contamination complicates conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may never definitively know who the Oseberg mound concealed. Yet, the mysteries surrounding the find are what make it so captivating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Mystery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a bucket found in the grave, runes spell out: \u201cSigrid owns me.\u201d But who was Sigrid? Did she give the bucket to the volva? Another inscription on a wooden stick reads: \u201cMan knows little.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\u201cMan
\u201cMan knows little\u201d \u2013 rune inscription from Oseberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We can surely agree on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\"en_GB\"\/<\/a>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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