Archaeologists have unearthed an extraordinary piece of history, right beneath the ground of a quaint village of Vinjeøra in central Norway. They have found three ancient mortuary houses dating back to the Iron and Viking Ages, with something never seen before: not a single person was found actually buried inside!
These discoveries, described in their recent work published in Medieval Archaeology, reveal a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious funerary rituals of the past. Led by Dr. Raymond Sauvage and Dr. Richard Macphail, the story began in 2019 and 2020, when plans to build a new road required a thorough excavation of the area.
The construction style of the mortuary house is similar to that used for stave churches. Credit: Raymond Sauvage, NTNU University Museum
Three Mortuary Houses, Zero Burials?
This wasn’t the first time the site had piqued archaeologists’ interest; a small test dig back in 1996 had already hinted at the presence of a pre-Christian cemetery. But what the team discovered this time was truly remarkable—three mortuary houses, hidden beneath the flattened burial mounds.
Mortuary houses are small, house-like structures, often found within ancient cemeteries. They might contain graves, tombs, or perhaps even the cremated remains of the deceased. These houses weren’t just for the dead; they were places where the living could visit, leave offerings, and perhaps even worship their ancestors.
Mortuary houses have been found scattered across Scandinavia, serving as sacred…
