The Viking Who was Buried in a Boat

We can tell a lot about people who lived long ago from the objects they left behind. When objects are left behind as clues, we call it evidence.

Let’s find out about the Vikings.

The Vikings came to Scotland over 1,000 years ago. They built homes, cooked food, played games and worked, just like men and women today. We know this because they left behind clues. 

The Vikings believed that they would go to a new world when they died. This was called the afterlife. They were buried with objects that would be useful to them in the afterlife. 

There are lots of Viking graves in Scotland. They contain clues about the Vikings. 

Vikings were sometimes buried in their boats. To the Vikings, boats were like sports cars. Only a rich man could afford one! One of these boat burials was found on the island of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. 

The man is buried in his boat, surrounded by objects that would be useful to him in the afterlife. What do they tell us about the Vikings? 

There are scales which were used to weigh silver. The man was a trader, this means he sold things he picked up on his travels.

The Viking man is surrounded by a full ‘warrior’s kit’ of a sword, axe, spear, shield and arrows. He must have been a mighty warrior.

There is a horse in the boat! Not all Vikings had a horse. He must have been rich.

There is a silver pin. Pins were used to fasten clothes. Because this one is made of silver, the man must have been wealthy. 

Thinking about evidence is like doing sums. Clues add up to give you a better understanding of the past.

Now it's your turn. Imagine you find some rusty bits of old metal on the beach at Kiloran Bay. They may have once been joined together. It is like a jigsaw puzzle. 

You put the pieces together and it looks like it could once have been a sword. What do you do with your find? You could throw it away or keep it.

Throwing it away is a bad idea. This is a Viking sword. It is over 1,000 years old! 
It needs to be put in a safe place like a museum. Then others can find out about it and learn about people long ago.

Understanding people long ago is just like a jigsaw puzzle. We have to put the pieces back together and then imagine what things looked like. Evidence helps us imagine people long ago. Can you imagine who might have used the Viking sword?