Road construction along Sweden’s E18 in Västmanland uncovered nine Viking-age sites, ranging from a mountaintop cremation complex to a burial mound with swords. Nearly 30 11th‑century graves contained horses cremated with their owners and ornate horse gear; burials included men and women across social ranks and sometimes held dogs, birds of prey and weapons. Excavations also revealed everyday activities such as bread baking and ironworking, and a prehistoric farm near petroglyphs. The finds are compiled in a book funded by the Swedish Transport Administration.
Roadwork Uncovers Nine Viking-Age Sites — Chieftain Pyre, Horse Burials and Everyday Farm Life Revealed
Road construction along Sweden’s E18 in Västmanland uncovered nine Viking-age sites, ranging from a mountaintop cremation complex to a burial mound with swords. Nearly 30 11th‑century graves contained horses cremated with their owners and ornate horse gear; burials included men and women across social ranks and sometimes held dogs, birds of prey and weapons. Excavations also revealed everyday activities such as bread baking and ironworking, and a prehistoric farm near petroglyphs. The finds are compiled in a book funded by the Swedish Transport Administration.
11:32 PM, 11/12/2025Culture
Construction Uncovers a Viking-Age Landscape
A routine road project along the E18 motorway in Västmanland, central Sweden, unexpectedly exposed nine separate Viking-age sites. Archaeologists from The Archaeologists — Sweden’s leading consultancy for archaeology and cultural environments and part of the National Historical Museums — excavated a range of finds that together paint a vivid picture of social life, burial practice and everyday economy in the early medieval period.
Spectacular Funerary Monuments
One of the most striking discoveries was a cremation complex at Rallsta, near Hallstahammar. Excavators found that a small hill had been reshaped and two large pyres constructed on its summit. Project manager Frederik Larsson described the site as "intended to be visible from afar," a public spectacle that transformed the mountaintop into a communal focal point for funerary rites.
To the west, in Munktorp Parish, teams uncovered another prominent burial mound with two swords driven into the grave. Larsson suggests the weapons mark members of a specialised armed group or a local dynasty — a deliberate display of identity and status.
Horse and Human Burials
Along the route, burial grounds dating from about the eighth century to roughly 1200 were identified. In nearly 30 graves dated to the 11th century, archaeologists found evidence that horses were cremated alongside their owners. Many of these interments contained elaborate horse tack — hanging fittings and bells — indicating that both horses and riders were outfitted to be seen and heard during processions or ritual events.
Graves included both men and women and appear to represent a social spectrum from ordinary farmers to local elites. Some burials also contained weapons, dogs and birds of prey associated with hunting, underscoring the varied dimensions of status and daily life.
Everyday Life and Ritual Landscapes
Beyond mortuary contexts, excavators recovered clear evidence of farming life: bread-baking installations, traces of ironworking, and the remains of a prehistoric farm situated next to a petroglyph carving. These discoveries link routine domestic and economic activities with long-standing ritual landscapes in the region.
"Through a new road, knowledge of Västmanland’s oldest history has both broadened and deepened," — Frederik Larsson, project manager.
The finds from the E18 excavations have been assembled and published in a book funded by the Swedish Transport Administration, offering researchers and the public a comprehensive view of this newly revealed Viking-age landscape.
Why It Matters
Individually each site is important, but together they provide a rare cross-section of neighboring villages across several centuries. The assemblage enriches our understanding of funerary performance, social hierarchy, animal-human relationships in burial practice, and the interplay between everyday work and ritual expression in Viking-age Sweden.