Graveyard and sacrificial wells at Trelleborg

In the museum exhibition, you can get a closer look and more insight to the deceased Vikings from Trelleborg. In the exhibition it is possible to see a female and a male skeleton, as well as the contents of one of the sacrificial wells.

The burial ground at the fortress site
Trelleborg's burial ground contains of around 135 graves with 157 deceased individuals. Most of the skeletons are poorly preserved, and the graves are sparsely equipped or completely devoid of grave goods. However, in the older part of the burial ground, some of the deceased were provided with grave goods. These include iron knives, small whetstones, and occasionally axe blades, beads, and other jewelry have been found in the graves.

One of the male graves was particularly richly equipped, containing, among other items, parts of a small bowl made of bronze sheet and a large ceremonial axe with silver inlay. A wealthy female grave included a bronze buckle for a bowl, pearls, a wooden casket, scissors, and game pieces. The youngest graves are completely empty, as they were created after the conversion to Christianity when grave goods were no longer used.

Mass graves
Three mass graves have been discovered, containing a total of 20 skeletons. The deceased individuals appear to have been men between 20 and 35 years old. One of the graves contained the skeletons of 10 individuals, one of whom had one leg severed above the knee. Perhaps they were warriors who fell in battle? Although there is an overrepresentation of younger men in the graves, middle-aged men, women, and children were also buried in the burial ground.

Human sacrifices
Human remains were found in some of the wells on the fortress site. Two of these wells each contained two children. The well displayed in the exhibition contained the remains of a four-year-old and a seven-year-old, as well as many animal bones. The other well contained two four-year-old children, a whole cow, a dog, and the remains of four horses, five pigs, and two sheep.