The work on their house will take a bit of delay ... In Norway, in Bodø, in the far north of the country, a couple has started repairing the insulation of their house dating from the beginning of the 20th century. During the first days of the site, after removing the floor and sand, they discover an object of a funny shape in the ground. "We thought of a baby carriage wheel ," says Mariann Kristiansen in The Local newspaper .
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In reality not, it is not a piece of Majorette but a pearl in dark blue glass centuries-old. Rummaging again, they dig up a small iron ax. The couple suspended the work and contacted local authorities in the county of Northland. Who in turn join the University Museum in Tromsø. In Norway, any object dating back to the 16th century and before must be automatically preserved.
Monday May 25, archaeologist Martinus Hauglid is dispatched to the scene. Since then, he has struggled to hide his joy: “He is probably a cairn. That is to say a mound of stones under which a body was buried. The pearl and the ax belong to it. The whole probably dates from the Viking era, between 950 and 1050 AD Just before the country fell into the Christian era, under the influence of Anglo-Saxon missionaries.
A longship soon exhumed
The insulation of the house will wait. A team is now carrying out excavation work to learn more about the tomb. The size of the stone tumulus can give indications on the social position of the deceased. Just like the objects that will be found: weapons for a warrior, tools for a craftsman, jewelry or utensils for a woman. The ax and the pearl are being analyzed at the Bodø University Museum.
Never before has such a discovery been made under a dwelling, but the soil of Norway regularly reveals wonders. In 2018, the presence of an exceptional longship under the ground was detected using a penetrating radar. Scientific authorities have just decided on its fate: the boat, after 1000 years spent underground, will be exhumed to avoid further deterioration. An extremely rare operation.