Scar Plaque, Scar Viking boat burial, Sanday, Orkney

The Scar boat burial is a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

boat burial near the village of

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a na ...

, on Sanday, in

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, Scotland. The burial, which dates to between 875 and 950 AD, contained the remains of a man, an elderly woman, and a child, along with numerous

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

. Although the site had to be excavated quickly because of the threat of

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

owing to bad weather conditions, it yielded many important finds.

Discovery and excavation

The site at The Crook Beach, 1 km northeast of

, was found in 1985 by John Dearness, a farmer on Sanday. He found bones sticking out of the ground and a small

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

object, and thought that he might have discovered the resting place of a dead sailor. Dearness died before the significance of the site was realized. In 1991,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Julie Gibson visited the island, having heard of the discovery of the bones six years earlier. She was shown the small lead object, and took it to

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

for identification. As it turned out to be a lead weight for measuring

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...

, Gibson and Dr Raymond Lamb investigated the site further. Appreciating the significance of the site, the archaeologists realised they had to act swiftly, as it was exposed and rapidly eroding.

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

put together a team led by Magnar Dalland to excavate the site, which took place over November and December 1991.

Description of the site

The wood of the long and wide boat had rotted away, leaving more than 300 iron rivets. It was placed in a boat-shaped stone-lined enclosure which was packed with further stones. There were also stones forming a walled enclosure inside the boat itself, within which were found the remains of three bodies.

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

within the boat lining was found not to match sand from Orkney,

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

, nor the Scottish mainland, indicating that the boat was not made in Scotland, and that both it and its occupants may have come from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

or elsewhere. The walled enclosure contained the remains of a man, a woman, and a child, along with numerous

. The man was aged about 30 when he died, the woman about 70, and the child—of unknown sex—about 10 or 11. There is evidence that the man had rowed a boat when he was younger, and that the woman had habitually sat cross-legged, and had possibly spun

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

. Grave goods found next to the man include a sword, a quiver with arrows, a bone comb, and gaming pieces. Found next to the woman was a whalebone plaque (pictured) that has become known as the Scar Dragon Plaque, and a gilded brooch. Goods found next to the woman included a comb, shears, a

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock, ei ...

, and two

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

whorls. No evidence was found of how any of the three occupants died. In 2010 the Scar Dragon Plaque was briefly loaned to the

Jorvik Viking Centre The Jorvik Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England, containing lifelike mannequins and life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city. Visitors are taken through the dioramas in small carriages equipped with spea ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

References

{{Scandinavian Scotland, state=autocollapse 1985 archaeological discoveries 1991 in Scotland Scandinavian Scotland Viking ship burials Viking Age sites in Scotland Burials in Scotland 9th century in Scotland 10th century in Scotland Archaeological sites in Orkney Sanday, Orkney

Discovery and excavation

Description of the site

See also

References