Experts from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) uncovered the remains of the boat last week. While no wood remained intact, poorly-preserved nails indicated that a boat had been buried there, according to NIKU archaeologist Ian Reed, in a statement.
The boat, which was oriented roughly north-south, was more than 13 feet long. Two long bones, also oriented north-south, were found in the boat. The bones will now undergo DNA analysis to confirm if they are human.
Other artifacts found in the grave include a small piece of sheet bronze, which was up against one of the bones, and personal items such as a spoon and part of a key for a chest. The items likely date the grave from the 7th century to the 10th century, according to Reed.
Boat burials were a common tradition in the Iron Age into the Viking Period, but this is the first from the period to be discovered in the center of Trondheim.
A spokesman for NIKU told Fox News that the Trondheim dig is scheduled to finish Wednesday so archaeologists have been working to secure the remains. “Now the builders working on the refurbished market square will take over,” he said.
Last month, a reindeer hunter found an incredibly well-preserved Viking sword on a remote mountain in Southern Norway. In 2016, archaeologists in Trondheim uncovered the church where Viking King Olaf Haraldsson was first enshrined as a saint.
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