During excavations for a high-speed rail line near Gerstaberg, Sweden, archaeologists discovered a 5,000-year-old dog skeleton inside a leather bag, weighted with stones and placed at the bottom of a former lake. A 25 cm bone dagger made from elk or red deer lay beside the animal, suggesting a ritual deposit by Stone Age fishers. Researchers plan radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis to confirm the age and learn about the dog’s diet and its owners' lifestyles.
5,000-Year-Old Dog and Bone Dagger Found in Swedish Bog Suggest Stone Age Ritual
The bone dagger (bottom center) in relation to the dog skeleton (center). | Credit: Arkeologerna, SHM
Archaeologists excavating for a high-speed rail line near the hamlet of Gerstaberg, about 35 kilometers southwest of Stockholm, have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved dog skeleton accompanied by a bone dagger. Experts from the Swedish archaeology group Arkeologerna say the deposit likely dates to roughly 5,000 years ago and may represent a deliberate ceremonial act by Stone Age fishers.
The site, now a swampy bog, was once a clear lake. Excavators recovered wooden pilings and fragments of an ancient pier on the former lakebed, along with a woven fishing basket and a structure made of intertwined willow branches. Against that backdrop, the dog burial stood out as an unusual and significant find.
The animal was a large, powerful male, estimated to be 3–6 years old and about 52 centimeters (20 inches) at the shoulder. According to Arkeologerna, the dog had been placed inside a leather bag and weighted with stones so it sank to a depth of approximately 1.5 meters (5 feet).
"Finding an intact dog from this period is very unusual, but the fact that it was also buried together with a bone dagger is almost unique," said Linus Hagberg, a project manager at Arkeologerna, in a translated statement.
Immediately adjacent to the skeleton, the team found a well-preserved dagger about 25 centimeters (10 inches) long, carved from elk or red deer bone. Arkeologerna notes that daggers of this type are "symbolically charged," with other similar examples also recovered from wetlands and bogs in Stone Age Sweden.
The proximity of the dog and dagger, and their deliberate placement, suggest the two were deposited at the same time as part of a ritual or symbolic act by the fishing community that used the lake around 5,000 years ago.
Further analysis is planned. The remains will undergo radiocarbon dating and DNA testing to confirm their age and to reveal details about the dog's life, diet and possible relationship with people from the period. "For example, we can see when the dog lived, its age, and what it has eaten," Hagberg said. "The dog's life history can in turn tell us more about how the people who owned the dog lived and ate."
This discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that wetland deposits in Stone Age Scandinavia often had ritual or symbolic significance, and it offers a rare opportunity to learn more about human-animal relationships in prehistoric northern Europe.
