Lindholm Høje – Norresundby, Denmark - Atlas Obscura
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Lindholm Høje

Norresundby, Denmark

This Danish rock field is actually a sprawling ancient cemetery holding the bodies of 700 Vikings. 

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Lindholm Høje Rieke Hain on Wikipedia (Creative Commons)
Lindholm Høje Rieke Hain on Wikipedia (Creative Commons)
Graves and stone ships at Lindholm Høje. troelslundlaursen (Atlas Obscura User)
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At first glance, Denmark’s Lindholm Høje seems to simply be a green field covered in an array of small boulders, but the deliberate formations that emerge to those who look closely, reveal a Viking graveyard just beneath the surface. 

Dating between 400 and 1000, the burial ground was established by Nordic Vikings. The graveyard rests on the top of a hill overlooking what is now the city of Aalborg, but in the time of its creation was likely just a wide-open, scenic vista. Some of the 700 graves on the site are marked with simple stones, while others are demarcated by a pattern of boulders.

Men would be buried beneath rocks formed into an ovular shape with pointy ends like the outline of a longboat, while women were buried under softer, rounder shapes. Large funeral pyres would be built above ground and burned to honor the deceased. The closer you get to the top of the hill, the older the graves get, as they were buried in a cascade radiating away from the top. 

vikings graveyards cemeteries
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