Ship burial

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Ship burial of Igor the Old in 945, depicted by Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902).
Ship burial of Igor the Old in 945, depicted by Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902).

A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was used in the Vendel era and by the Anglo Saxons, the Merovingians, the Vikings and occasionally the Ancient Egyptians. This burial was seen as a way for the dead to sail to Valhalla; ship burial was a high honour.

[edit] Examples of ship burials

[edit] See also