Two scallop shells, placed over a dead woman’s mouth. No one has seen that in a pre-Christian Norwegian grave before. On November 12, 2025, the NTNU University Museum announced the find from a ninth-century grave in Trøndelag County. Much of what was buried with her is typical of the Viking Age. The shells are not.
“The most striking feature is two scallop shells placed by the mouth of the deceased, a practice previously unknown from pre-Christian graves in Norway,” said Project Leader Raymond Sauvage, who is the Head Engineer in the Department of Archaeology and Cultural History at the Museum. Also unusual was that the grave contained bird bones, and the skeleton was so well preserved.
The Usual Suspects
The clothing items and brooches in the Viking-era grave suggest that the deceased was a woman. Two oval brooches would have fastened an outer dress. There was also a small ring brooch that would have closed the neck of her slip-like inner dress. These items suggest that the woman was free, married, and possibly someone who ran the farm, according to Sauvage.
Scallop Shells
The curved side of the scallop shells sat outward, while the straight edge of the shells faced upward and partially covered her jaw. Archaeologists have not yet found any markings or holes to suggest that the shells were part of some sort of artifact.
“These parts of Norway are excellent grounds for collecting scallops,” Sauvage told Live Science. “However, you need to dive to catch them; thus, it is uncertain if they were caught via free-diving or if they are dead shells gathered at the beach.” No one knows the meaning of the shells or the bird bones found in the Viking-era grave.
Archaeologists uncovered another Viking-era grave earlier in the year near the woman with the scallop shells. However, the older grave is from the eighth century, and several generations removed from this grave. Archaeologists are conducting DNA tests, in part, to determine a relationship between the two people in their respective graves.
