Nearly, a highway set to be constructed in Norway was about to cross one of the largest and most mysterious ancient graves – a ghost ship measuring over 9 meters long that carried people to the afterlife.
According to Daily Mail, scientists discovered the mysterious ghost ship while using ground-penetrating radar to survey the area where the highway is planned to cross. The ghost ship, measuring 9 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width, is large enough to accommodate six men inside, possibly belonging to a Viking noble.
The location of the ship grave and surrounding burial mounds marked in black – (Photo: NIKU/PEN NEWS).
Vikings had a tradition of burying high-status individuals in a ship instead of a coffin, but this ship grave is significantly larger than other ship graves that have been excavated.
The area where the ghost ship resides is intended to be part of the E39 highway that will traverse the region near Øyesletta, Norway. Given that this is a site that may contain archaeological remains, a research team from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) has been tasked with surveying the area before construction begins.
According to archaeologist Jani Causevic, the head of the survey team, the radar did not provide additional information about the buried individual, but it is certain that they must have been an important person – a fact clearly demonstrated by the size of the ship. It is likely that the individual was interred with many valuable grave goods and possibly more than one skeleton in the ship.
Another ship grave that has been excavated – (Photo: PEN NEWS)
The ship grave is dated to be approximately 1,500 to 2,000 years old. Surrounding the grave are several smaller burial mounds, indicating that this is an ancient cemetery of a Viking community.
According to NIKU, authorities have not yet determined the fate of the ship grave. If the highway is constructed as planned, the grave will be excavated soon. However, there is also a possibility that the route will be altered to avoid the burial site, allowing the mysterious noble’s resting place to remain undisturbed for at least some time.