Update on Salme Boat Burial Excavation, with Tafl Game and Dice

Salme Yields Evidence of Oldest Sailing Ship in Baltic Sea
Sigrid Maasen
Published: 10.08.2011 10:04

The ancient ship burial site in Salme on the island of Saaremaa still has some surprises in store.

Image from Rescue excavations of a Vendel era boat-grave in Salme, Saaremaa (linked below)

The archeological excavations in Salme, soon to be completed, have yielded evidence that the ship that had been buried with 35 warriors and nobles had a keel, which in turn leads to the conclusion that it used sails. This represents the earliest known use of sails on a vessel in the Baltic Sea region, reported ETV.

"One piece of new information that we have been anticipating since winter was still to be found - namely, confirmation of whether it was a sailing ship or not. Now we have evidence that it used sails," said archeologist Jüri Peets of Tallinn University.

Peets called this discovery the cherry on top of the cake that was the nearly two-year-long archeological dig. "It is thought that sails were first introduced in the North Sea and Baltic Sea region at about 700 A.D., which is the conventional date. Our ship dates from the year 750. The ship from the year 700 was from the North Sea region, near Norway. However, here in the Baltic Sea region, this is without a doubt the oldest sailing ship that has been found," said Peets.

In addition to the discovery of the keel, the irregular rows of strong rivets found on the bottom of the vessel also prove that the ship used sails.

Maritime archaeologist Vello Mäss confirmed that the Salme ship was without a doubt a warship that used sails. Although sails had been long in use in the Mediterranean Sea region, it was the Norwegians who first started using them in the North Sea region. Mäss also suggested that perhaps two separate war parties on two different ships had met in Salme centuries ago. Such hypotheses concerning the Salme ship burial site are sure to keep the scientists busy for years to come.

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For further information about this ship burial (at least 35 individuals were buried with the ship) see Rescue excavations of a Vendel era boat-grave in Salme, Saaremaa
by Marge Konsa | Papers by Marge [Konsa]
Published in "Archeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2008"

I do not recall seeing such a game piece with a human figure carved on it before - very interesting, and a convenient way to depict the "king" piece; it rather reminded me of how Chinese game pieces are marked.  Here is the description of the find from the article; I could not get the article to download in PDF (so I could cut and paste text) so I just snipped out pertinent portions - those are the blocks outlined in red:

Next is described a limestone slab that was found in conjunction with one of the gaming pieces and a die, which led me to believe it could possibly be a gameboard - such as the type that would have been used for a 'tafl' game.  However, it wasn't described with any marks inscribed upon it - I suppose then that is why the archaeologists did not describe it as a gameboard.

I would like to see all of the recovered gaming pieces arranged on a board one day, to get an idea of what they would have looked like in actual use.

I still wonder about that limestone slab. Forty centimeters is about 15.74 inches. That would make a fair size game board. What about the use of the word "diameter" in describing the slab? Isn't diameter only used in describing a circle? So, was the limestone slab actually circular??? That would seem to take it out of the realm of a possible game board for a tafl-type game - at least, based upon the few extant examples of surviving game boards with which I'm familiar that are all square or rectangular shaped, but then, who really knows? There is so much we don't know!  Circular game boards are not unknown in antiquity.  In the far past are surviving carved stone boards from ancient Egypt for the game of Mehen; and in Byzantine times a form of chess was played on a circular board. 

If anyone out there comes across this post and has further information or suggestions, please feel free to comment!

Ancient Iceland Ship Burial Reconstructed at National Museum

Very interesting - note the presence of the faithful dog and horse.

From Iceland Review Online
02.12.2010 | 17:30

Heathen Buried in Iceland, 1,100 Years Post-Mortem
A burial took place in Reykjanesbaer municipality in southwest Iceland yesterday. The news wouldn’t have had any special significance if not for the fact that the person buried, an ancient heathen, passed away 1,100 years ago and the ceremony took place inside the Viking World museum.

The heathen in question is on loan from the National Museum of Iceland. The skeleton was unearthed from a pagan grave at the farm site Hafurbjarnarstadir in 1868 along with the bones of a dog and a horse, a sword and various other objects, Morgunbladid reports.

The burial ceremony is part of an exhibition at Viking World, which will continue for the next two years.

According to museum director Elisabeth Ward, research has shown that most Icelandic settlers were pagan and that paganism was practiced among the first generations of Icelanders.

“We are reconstructing the pagan grave from Hafurbjarnarstadir,” Ward explained. “The skeletons are placed in a wooden boat, which is a replica of a Viking boat, and sand from Hafurbjarnarstadir has been put inside. Some people believe the man was buried inside a boat but it is not quite clear.”

Ward said chieftains were often buried inside their boats and the size of the boat depended on the material wealth of the deceased. Such burial practices are also known among other pagan cultures. “Maybe it has to do with the person having a means of transport to another world.”

Among objects on display at Viking World is the ship Íslendingur, which is a replica of the Gokstad ship, a Viking ship excavated in Norway. It was found inside a grave containing bones from a human, dog and horse.

The timing of yesterday’s ceremony, December 1, was considered particularly suitable because that is when Ásatrúarfélagid, the pagan society in Iceland, holds a ceremony in honor of the four land wights of Iceland.

The archeological discovery at Hafurbjarnarstadir is among the first in the country. A local farmer found bones in the sand in 1868. He called for a priest who contacted the National Museum, which had just been founded.
They were advised to begin the excavation before the area was damaged and they found bones of a man, dog and horse and one of the most decorated swords from the Viking Era which has ever been found in Iceland. The point of a spear, an ax, a sharpener and various other objects were also uncovered in the excavation.

When the farmer and priest had removed all the objects they found iron nails and noticed that the grave had the shape of a ship. Few of these nails reached the National Museum and therefore doubt has been cast upon the grave having been a boat grave.

However, a few other such graves have been found in Iceland.