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The pagan Norse graves of

Orkney: traditions transferred
from homelands to colony?
The University of Glasgow
Settlement and Society in Scandinavian Scotland

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The Orkney Islands, a stunning North Atlantic archipelago, are situated just off the northern
coast of mainland Scotland. Separated from the mainland by the Pentland Firth, which at its
narrowest point is only ten kilometres; an easily traversable distance in the Viking Age.
However, this paper wishes to draw comparisons between Orkney and its eastern neighbour,
Norway. The paper will examine the burial traditions of the pagan Norse graves of Orkney,
and by doing so the hope is to demonstrate that the Norse colony of Orkney may indeed
represent a microcosm of its Norse homeland to the east.

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It may be suggested that there is a contentious issue surrounding modern Orcadian ethnicity
and identity, the latter of which may either be self-imposed through free will or placed upon
them by the outside world. The ethnicity factor is more determinable through the means of
tracing blood lines and DNA analysis. But identity is more fascinating; it is multi-vocal and
can exist in both a positive and negative way. Within twenty first century Orkney there are
people who may see themselves as having Pictish, Scottish, Viking, but more importantly of a
Norwegian identity. The introduction section of Plsson and Edwards translation of the
Orkneyinga Saga may be cited to aid the understanding of this confusion or uniqueness of
identity. The authors have suggested that Orcadians have an awareness of a special identity
(1978, 9), a specialness which inspires contemporary interest. Wainwright also suggests this
notion of the islands retaining a Scandinavian identity today, and he also notes that
Orcadians and Shetlanders look back nostalgically to the Viking period as the golden age in
their history (1962, 117-118). Now, this issue of identity is very important whilst looking at
the pagan way of life during the Viking Age of Orkney. Through examining the burial
traditions of the pagan Norse people of Orkney aspects such as personal identities are
portrayed. Is this perhaps through their acts of carrying out homeland traditions on their new
colony on Orkney?

Figure 1. The proximity of Orkney to mainland Scotland and Norway.

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In order to demonstrate a possible continuation of homeland traditions on the Norse colony of

Orkney the pagan Norse graves will be examined, both in terms of their grave goods and the
ritual and rites which surround the death and burial of pagan people. Orkney has many pagan
Norse graves; it also has many graves which are still probably indiscernible due to poor
recording (Eldjrn 1984, 2). But, for the purpose of this paper there will only be the
examination of particular grave sites. The pagan Norse graves chosen for exploration will
hopefully highlight this possible transfer of traditions from homeland to colony.

But first, what is meant by a colony? The Oxford English Dictionary defines a colony as
being a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and
occupied by settlers from that country and as a group of people of one nationality or race
living in a foreign place. Therefore, in this context, the colony in question is that of Orkney
being annexed by the Norwegians. Thus, the creation of the Earldom of Orkney; a gift from
the Norwegian King Harald Fine-Hair to Earl Rognvald of More (Morris 1985, 212), who
then passed on the Earldom to Sigurd the Powerful Orkneys first Earl (Plsson and
Edwards 1978, 12). Although there appears to be no exact date for these events Crawford
suggests that this political reality occurred around the ninth centurys remaining few
decades (1987, 52).

Subsequently, in the late ninth century Orkney was under the control of Norway through
Norse Earls. Whether or not the process of assimilation was a peaceful time, or perhaps a
period rife with spilt blood is unclear. It is more likely that the initial earlier Scandinavian

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Viking raids, eighth century, on the British Isles and Norway (Ritchie 1996, 15) were very
violent (Graham-Campbell & Batey 1998, 23-24). But perhaps by the ninth century this
activity had morphed from raiding into settling. Chronologically it appears that there were
probably already Viking people raiding, assimilating and co-habiting on Orkney in the eighth
century, but by the ninth century the Norwegian King Harald Fine-Hair decided to put an end
to this Viking treachery; an act detailed in the Orkneyinga Saga. One summer Harald FineHair sailed west over the North Sea to teach a lesson to certain Vikings whose plundering he
could no longer tolerate (Plsson and Edwards 1978, 26). Hence, it is from Harald FineHairs exploits that the Earldom of Orkney was created.

The situation in Orkney during the Viking Age has been outlined, a situation which is
corroborated by saga evidence. And so, it would make perfect sense for Orkney to contain
many graves of these pagan Norse settlers; in fact Orkney actually boasts the largest
concentration of pagan Norse graves from any region of Scandinavian Scotland (GrahamCampbell & Batey 1998, 54). These Norse people were deemed to be pagans, purely on the
basis of the fact that they were living in a non-Christian way and practicing their own forms
of rites and rituals (Price 2002, 54). Price does remind us to be careful in our interpretation.
However, for the purpose of this paper it is upheld that the burials described are of a pagan
Norse style, non-Christian, and containing grave goods a distinctively pagan tradition; a
tradition that was almost certainly transferred far beyond Scandinavia during the expansion of
the Viking world (Davidson 1967, 111).

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Figure 2. The many islands of Orkney.

With death comes the need to dispose of the body, but the manner in which this happens is
varied. From inhumation to cremation, and even boat burials were a common way of passing
on the dead. Orkney is a treasure trove with respect to graves, and archaeologists are able to
grasp this palpable evidence. But it is what they can interpret from these graves that may lead
to great interest, as well as a greater understanding of the burial traditions of a pagan society.
Everyone dies, and Page elegantly details the inevitability of death and the subsequent
struggles which may come along with the coming to terms of such morbid inevitability; For
mankind death is a necessary end, we are told, which will come when it will come. Yet many
people have been reluctant to see death as an end, preferring to think it a transition to another
life; and they have evolved myths to expound this (1994, 60-61). Such myths suggest the
non-Christian pagan belief system, and the belief that death is a transition into another life is
a highly arousing thought (see Hultgrd 1994, 290-291). Therefore, if this transition into
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another life was indeed a belief of pagan Norse people, then it is feasible to suggest that
bodies were furnished with goods for their afterlife (Crawford 1987, 157). Excavated sites on
Orkney which have tangible burial evidence include Scar, Gurness, Pierowall, and Westness,
to name a few. There is a fascinating diversity within these sites; such as female burial,
cemeteries and boat burials. But, they remain distinct due to the graves containing goods. The
time frame to be investigated lies within mainly the eighth to tenth centuries AD, with the
ending coming around due to the transition of pagan to Christianity, something which is
evident in the drop in the amount of pagan burials throughout the tenth century (Crawford
1987, 163).

Figure 3. Some of Scar's grave goods.

Firstly, the burial evidence will be detailed and then followed up by a deeper discussion of
what this evidence can tell onlookers, as every artefact has a story to tell. One of Orkneys
more northern islands, Sanday, revealed to the world the secret it had been hiding for around
a thousand years; a Viking boat burial at Scar. It was noted that even although the amount of
grave goods discovered here was extraordinary, there was still the fact that around half were
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now probably gone due to animal interference and water erosion. However, the largest
artefact from this burial was indeed the boat which contained 3 bodies; a man, a woman and
a child (Owen & Dalland 1994, 163-165). A summary of the grave goods comes from Owen
and Dallands (1999, vi - viii) publication Scar: A Viking Boat Burial on Sanday, Orkney and
is as follows: The woman a brooch, carved whalebone plaque, comb, sickle, weaving
batten, shears, needle tidy, box fittings and spindle whorls. The man sword and scabbard,
arrowheads, comb, lead bullion weights, gaming pieces, tinned bronze object, iron handle and
textile evidence (this is not necessarily a grave good, but important nonetheless it gives a
contextual use for the sewing implements). On mainland Orkney there was the discovery of a
pagan female burial at the Broch of Gurness. The body was interred in a stone setting into an
Iron Age site. The grave goods included two brooches and an iron necklet with amulets such
as Thors hammer (Graham Campbell & Batey 1998, 128). The grave also contained an iron
knife and iron sickle. It was possible that it was part of a larger burial complex situated
around the broch mound (Ritchie 1996, 59); the reuse of a non-contemporary site.

Other pagan Norse burial sites include Pierowall on Westray and Westness on Rousay, both of
which contain multiple burials. At Westray, Arne Thorsteinsson embarked on a
reinvestigation of all the Pierowall grave evidence, and listed at least seventeen burials
(Graham-Campbell & Batey 1998, 131). Thorsteinssons catalogue of the graves lists a vast
quantity of grave goods including daggers, combs, shield-bosses, swords, tortoise brooches,
ring-headed pins, sickles, spindle whorls, worked bone pieces attached to iron, beads, axes,
animals (horse and dog), bridle bits, spear heads, a whetstone, an iron key, fragments of iron,
silvered bronze drinking horn terminal mount, iron buckles, half of a bone button and a
variety of other artefacts not associated with any of the graves documented (1968, 164-172).
On Rousay there is the cemetery at Westness, a site containing both Pictish and Viking graves
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dating from the seventh to ninth centuries AD, and also containing two boat graves (Kaland
1995, 312-314). Grave goods here included brooches, ringed pins, beads, a weaving batten,
bronze straps, a bronze bowl, combs, swords, shields, arrows, axes, a sickle, a spear, an adze,
fishing weights and other tools (Kaland 1995, 314-316). From this small snapshot of
evidence it is easy to see that there was a vast array of goods being placed with the bodies of
deceased Norse pagan, but there is also a pattern which occurs with respect to the choice of
grave goods. There does appear to be a differing typeset or package of goods to be placed
with males and females, although both toe the line of pagan tradition. Jesch also refers to the
similarities of the female burial at Westness to a Norwegian female grave at Bjrke (1991,
10), so here lies a striking burial comparison; or perhaps an emulation.

Figure 4. Westness boat burial.

As previously mentioned, Orkney contains a vast amount of pagan Norse graves, but the four
different sites which have been detailed were chosen for a specific reason. The sites are all
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fairly well documented, and are therefore credible examples for demonstrating a pagan belief
system. The sites represent different burial types from inhumation, stone setting and boat
burial. Cremation burials have not been explored, as they follow the same belief system of
depositing grave goods and therefore will not alter the patterns being described. However, it
has been suggested that cremation may have been abandoned by the Norse colonies ( Eldjrn
1984, 8). A brief glimpse into Ibn Fadlans account of a Viking ship burial on the Volga
appeases this matter. He details the events of a mans cremation in a Viking ship, which
includes the offerings of a slave girl, animals and goods (Jones 2001, 425-430).
Archaeologists are now in the position of being able to analyse and interpret these large
quantities of grave goods. Do the grave goods furnish scholars minds with notions of
paganism? An unequivocal yes must be the answer. These grave goods allow for
archaeologists to grasp the evidence of the practiced belief system of paganism (Jesch 1991,
10). But, as the actors who were depositing these grave goods were living on a colony, then
these practices can perhaps be used to identify the practicing of homeland traditions.

Figure 5. Funeral of a Rus Viking noble.

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The value of grave goods to archaeologists can be summed up through Crawfords excellent,
yet obvious observation; after all it is often all that remains of a burial. The graves of pagan
Norsemen primarily mark the incomers out as distinctive in their culture and beliefs and they
provide a remarkable body of evidence about the lifestyles of the peoples of Scandinavia
prior to their conversion in the late tenth century (1987, 117). So, can the grave goods of
pagan Norse graves be categorised? Kaland (1995, 315) suggests that men and women had
different grave goods. The four sites examined have the recurring theme of groups of grave
goods; which appear to be weaponry, jewellery and tools. It is apparent that the men were
buried with weapons and the women with jewellery and more often than the men, the tools.
This observation is simple yet meaningful, as it does link with the notion of the deceased
needing goods for their afterlife. If the four sites are looked at individually in greater detail
then certain observations can be made. The female buried at the Broch of Gurness had both
jewellery and tools. The knife and sickle represent her as being a working woman, but more
interesting is her Thors hammer amulet. It has been suggested that the placement of this
symbolic jewellery with the deceased is so that they are afforded protection by the deity to
whom the symbol represents, in and beyond death more specifically (Hultgrd 1994, 292).
Hultgrd also notes that this type of artefact is mainly found in Swedish graves during this
period, and also more closely linked with female burials (1994, 292). Subsequently, it is now
possible to surmise that this is a practice of a homeland tradition by a colonial Norse
grouping of pagans. The boat burial at Scar also opens up an interesting issue; the old lady
and her whalebone plaque. It was probably used for linen smoothing; therefore this item,
along with her other tools suggest that she was of working class, but her advanced age (Owen
& Dalland 1994, 164) and the fact that the plaque was a symbol of status seems to contradict
that belief (Owen & Dalland 1999, 79). If she was of working class then why did she live so
long, or own such an exotic item from Norway (Owen & Dalland 1994, 167). It could be

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suggested that her grave goods were placed with her in order to facilitate a safe journey into
her afterlife, perhaps to her homeland. This woman was clearly special and this is represented
in her treatment upon death.

The final two sites can be discussed together as they both represent cemeteries, Pierowall and
Westness. At Pierowall there are multiple burials, containing much of the grave goods as
would be expected from male and female burials. But, more importantly, there is the evidence
of animals being buried with the deceased; a common practice (Foote & Wilson 1970, 412).
This may not necessarily represent grave goods, but it is still a deliberate act. Were these
animals placed with people to aid their passage to the afterlife? It was shown that this was a
practice by the Vikings in Ibn Fadlans account. Again, there is a connection of traditions
demonstrated on Orkney and the Volga. The cemetery at Westness contains a variety of
burials, added to a Pictish cemetery (Ritchie 1996, 38). The most exciting burials here are the
boat burials, what they contain and what they may represent. The boats were both in style
Norwegian (Kaland 1995, 315), and the grave goods suggested that the occupants were
possibly of a warrior class. A theory based entirely on the effort involved in the creation of
these burials, but also what do these boat graves represent? Are they perhaps similar, but less
notable, to that of the amazing Gokstad and Oseberg ship burials? The Oseberg is the most
richly furnished burial from the Viking world (Graham-Campbell et al 1994, 42). Maybe
these boat burials in Scandinavian Scotland represent the replication of homeland traditions.
Although it has been suggested that these customs, although apparently transferred from
homeland to colony, did in fact undergo some change. Du Bois suggests that boat burial
customs did undergo change during the Viking Age (1999, 70-71). This notion is further
echoed, and it may also explain the predominance of inhumation over cremation in
Scandinavian Scotland (Ritchie 1996, 39), as the pagan rites are still practiced whether
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through cremation or inhumation; something which was demonstrated through the

comparisons drawn earlier with the ship burial on the Volga.

Figure 6. The Oseberg ship burial.

The pagan Norse graves of Orkney offer an insight into the identity of the actors involved in
their creation and manipulation. One thing that remains static however is the presence of
grave goods and the rites that they represent, although certain ritual aspects such as the
cremation of the body may appear to have faded out. A heavier emphasis is placed upon the
material remains of the pagan Norse graves, and not the ritual in which they were deposited;
whether it was inhumation or cremation. It is clear that in Scotland, and the evidence outlined
in this paper corroborates it, that inhumation was the main form of burial. This may have
taken the form of a simple burial, ship setting or boat burial; but one aspect they all had in
common was the presence of a similar typology of grave goods.

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Therefore, Orkney may indeed represent a microcosm of Norway, but such aspects like the
apparent favouring of inhumation over cremation must be noted. This is perhaps just an
evolution of traditions, or it may have been due to the lack of wood on the Northern Isles. It
is interesting to note that in the eighth century Charlemagne outlawed cremation (WeissKrejci 2001, 771), and therefore it was not uncommon for cremation to drop in and out of
religious practice. However, as a colony becomes more assimilated, even when it was under
homeland rule, it may still be possible for the people to lose or perhaps adapt their religious
beliefs. It was perhaps a struggle for the pagan Norse on Orkney to maintain their
Scandinavian identity, not for lack of trying though deduced from the manifestation of their
beliefs through the burial evidence. But, fortunately for archaeologists today, it does seem
that they were successful and that is why the people of modern day Orkney may well have
this aforementioned identity crisis.

Burial sites at Scar, Gurness, Pierowall and Westness have been explored in order to
illuminate the pagan Norse burial practices on Orkney from the eighth to tenth centuries AD.
Through the examination of the rites, rituals and grave goods of these pagan Norse graves it
has been demonstrated that these practiced traditions were a continuance of the traditions
practiced in the Norse homelands. The Scandinavian world encapsulated much of the British
Isles at this time, such as Isle of Man and the Hebrides, but with Orkney having the best
Scandinavian pagan grave evidence (Graham-Campbell & Batey 1998, 54) it was the only
choice for this study; the study of attempting to identify a colony of Norse settlers which may
represent a microcosm of their Scandinavian homelands.

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References
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Davidson, H.R.E. 1967. Pagan Scandinavia. Thames and Hudson.
Du Bois, T. 1999. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Eldjrn, K. 1984. Graves and Grave Goods: Survey and Evaluation, in (eds.) Fenton, A. & Plsson,

H. The Northern and Western Isles in the Viking World: Survival, Continuity and Change.
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Plsson, H. & Edwards, P. 1978. Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney.
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Images
Figure 1. The proximity of Orkney to mainland Scotland and Norway. [Online] Available at:
http://www.redriverancestry.ca/SPENCE-MAGNUS-1765.php [Last accessed: 28th November
2012].
Figure 2. The many islands of Orkney. [Online] Available at:
http://www.britainexpress.com/scotland/Orkney/Orkney-map.htm [Last accessed 29th
November 2012].
Figure 3. Some of Scars grave goods. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/aos1nu/glossaries/gazeteer/dark_scar.htm [Last accessed: 29th
November 2012].
Figure 4. Westness boat burial, spot the goods. [Online] Available at:
http://pinterest.com/pin/30540103693130823/ [Last accessed: 29th November 2012].
Figure 5. Funeral of a Rus Viking noble. [Online] Available at:
http://bonesdontlie.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/ship-burial-a-viking-funerary-tradition/ [Last
accessed: 29th November].
Figure 6. The Oseberg ship burial. [Online] Available at: http://www.worldarchaeology.com/features/norway-oseberg-ladies/ [Last accessed: 29th November 2012].

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