Contact between the dead and the living was maintained through rituals and cult practices at grave sites.

Roman Iron Age

You are now standing by three of the nine grave mounds registered here at Børstadlunden.

These grave mounds have not been investigated by archaeologists, but based on their shape and size we can assume that they are from what we call the Roman Iron Age (0 – 400 AD.).

Important persons

Not everyone in the Iron Age was buried in a mound. If you were a child, poor or an unfree thrall, then you could – at best – be given a simple burial in the form of a flat grave. If, however, you were an important person, then major resources were used for your funeral.

The deceased was buried in a mound and took with them equipment that may have been important on the journey to the underworld, but which also might be important when the clan later asked the deceased for help.

From the Viking Age, the last part of the Iron Age, we know that this contact was important. Powerful deceased ancestors, such as a chief or seeress, had a large impact on the world of the living.

The seeress

The seeress was a fortune teller that had a very special place in Iron Age society.

It was believed that the seeress could leave the grave and travel into the world of the living, and that her actions there could affect the fortunes of wars or other important matters for the clan.

In the spectacular Oseberg burial, the eldest of the two women was a seeress. A wand used by the seeress when performing her magic was found in the grave.