Photos: A man, a horse and a dog found in Viking boat burial

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A Viking skeleton

Recent excavations of a viking boat burial revealed the remains of a man.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

A Viking skeleton

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Archeologists don't know much about the Viking man unearthed in the burial site, but he was likely an elite member of society. Skeletal analysis will likely reveal how old he was when he died, how tall he was and whether he had any illnesses or injuries.

Burial site

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Archaeologists survey the site of the Viking burials.

The intact boat

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Archaeologists found two burial boats, one of them (shown here before excavation) was intact but the other was quite damaged. The archeologists think it was damaged when a medieval well was constructed on top of it.

Excavations of the boat

Recent excavations of a viking boat burial revealed the remains of a man.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Osteologist Ola Magnell and archaeologist Anton Seiler work to dig out the boat burial.

Excavations of the boat

Recent excavations of a viking boat burial revealed the remains of a man.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

The Viking boat burials were found buried beneath a medieval cellar and a well. They were found during an investigation of a plot of land outside of Uppsala, Sweden prior to construction of a new building.

Shield and ornate comb

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

The Viking man was buried alongside grave goods including a shield (partly shown here) and an intricate comb.

Horse remains

Recent excavations of a viking boat burial revealed the remains of a man.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Osteologist Ola Magnell excavates the bones of a horse. It was common practice to include animals in boat burials. Archeologists think this practice might be to help the dead when they reach the "other side," or it could just be a status symbol.

Horse skeleton

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

The bones of the horse were discovered in the bow of the intact boat.

Lab analysis

Recent excavations of viking boat burials reveal the remains of a man, a horse and a dog.

(Image credit: The Archaeologists/National Historical Museums)

Scientists analyze material found in the burial site back in the lab.

Yasemin Saplakoglu
Yasemin Saplakoglu
Staff Writer

Yasemin is a staff writer at Live Science, covering health, neuroscience and biology. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Science and the San Jose Mercury News. She has a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.