scallop

Archaeologists excavating a ninth-century burial site in Bjugn, Norway have uncovered something unprecedented in Scandinavian archaeology: a Viking Age woman's grave featuring two scallop shells deliberately placed around her mouth. The discovery, kept secret for months during excavation, challenges everything experts thought they knew about pre-Christian burial customs in the region and opens tantalizing questions about ritual practices during this fascinating period. The remarkable find at Val in Bjugn, located in the coastal region of Trøndelag, began with a stroke of luck when metal detectorist Roy Søreng discovered a beautifully crafted bowl-shaped brooch earlier this year. What started as a routine report to authorities quickly escalated into one of Norway's most significant archaeological discoveries, with researchers from NTNU University Museum