The Birka Girl
The Birka Girl was discovered on the island of Birka in Lake Mälaren near the eastern coast of Sweden during the 1872–1895 excavations of the graves. She died in the mid-10th century at approximately the age of six. She was buried in a rectangular wooden coffin in a red dress with a small knife, a bone needle-case, a round brooch of gilded copper alloy, and a necklace of blue, yellow, and gold- and silver-foil glass beads.1
For almost 100 years it was assumed the Birka girl was a Swedish child because the burial was similar to those of others in the surrounding area. Her face, as shown in reconstructions, has become a major attraction to the Swedish History Museum. However, scientists have recently compared the sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon levels in the girl’s skeleton and teeth to those of people and animals from the Birka region at that time. The profiles of the two did not match. The so-called Birka girl was raised on a diet high in meat that would have been common inland, not in an island community like Birka where fish was the most common source of protein.
Her clothing and jewelry—both found in the grave—also did not match typical styles of the Mälardalen people during that time as well. There were also some differences in the grave goods present compared to those of Swedish-born children. The female-gendered items, as well as the lack of toys, suggest a different culture than that of the Mälardalen in which the items were more indicative of her wealth and eventual position in life over the position she held at the time of her death. Most children were not buried with gendered items until after the age of 10. The girl wore a single-brooch dress accompanied by a knife, which was more common in Christianized areas of Europe rather than the two-brooch style of pagan Norsemen. The presence of the bone needle-case was also unusual, marking her as the daughter of someone possibly in the textile industry.2
Based on this evidence, scientists have concluded that the Birka girl was not actually from Birka. Rather, she was most likely raised in southern Denmark or northern Germany, and had died when visiting Birka with her family during a business trip. Though the girl herself was not of the region, she still gives us information on the relationship between Norsemen and southern traders during the Viking age. There is some connection in culture due to the similarities of burials and grave goods. The fact that she was buried in Birka in a high-status grave site also implies her family’s wealth and influence in the area, as well as the cosmopolitan nature of Birka.3
For almost 100 years it was assumed the Birka girl was a Swedish child because the burial was similar to those of others in the surrounding area. Her face, as shown in reconstructions, has become a major attraction to the Swedish History Museum. However, scientists have recently compared the sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon levels in the girl’s skeleton and teeth to those of people and animals from the Birka region at that time. The profiles of the two did not match. The so-called Birka girl was raised on a diet high in meat that would have been common inland, not in an island community like Birka where fish was the most common source of protein.
Her clothing and jewelry—both found in the grave—also did not match typical styles of the Mälardalen people during that time as well. There were also some differences in the grave goods present compared to those of Swedish-born children. The female-gendered items, as well as the lack of toys, suggest a different culture than that of the Mälardalen in which the items were more indicative of her wealth and eventual position in life over the position she held at the time of her death. Most children were not buried with gendered items until after the age of 10. The girl wore a single-brooch dress accompanied by a knife, which was more common in Christianized areas of Europe rather than the two-brooch style of pagan Norsemen. The presence of the bone needle-case was also unusual, marking her as the daughter of someone possibly in the textile industry.2
Based on this evidence, scientists have concluded that the Birka girl was not actually from Birka. Rather, she was most likely raised in southern Denmark or northern Germany, and had died when visiting Birka with her family during a business trip. Though the girl herself was not of the region, she still gives us information on the relationship between Norsemen and southern traders during the Viking age. There is some connection in culture due to the similarities of burials and grave goods. The fact that she was buried in Birka in a high-status grave site also implies her family’s wealth and influence in the area, as well as the cosmopolitan nature of Birka.3
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