Birka grave Bj 581

Common card · No. 307680

Birka grave Bj 581 held remains confirmed to be of a Norse female, who was buried with two horses, an arsenal of weapons, and other elite grave goods during the 10th century in Birka, Sweden. Although the remains had been thought to be of a male warrior since the grave's excavation in 1878, both a 2014 osteological analysis and a 2017 DNA study identified that the remains were of a female. The 2017 study interpreted the person in Bj 581 as a high-ranking female professional warrior. This conclusion attracted worldwide attention and has been disputed by scholars who argue that grave goods do not establish the individual's social role or occupation.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Evalo Hansen, Public domain