A rare Viking Age burial in western Denmark has preserved traces of wool and linen clothing worn by a young girl about 1,300 years ago, giving archaeologists an unusual chance to reconstruct how her garments were layered and possibly even colored.
Archaeologists uncovered the grave in 2024 at Skonager, near Varde in West Jutland. The wider cemetery contained infants, children, young people and adults, along with objects including iron knives, amber beads and glass beads.
Researchers described the finds as the first Viking Age human burials discovered in Varde Municipality since 1988. The discovery adds to recent finds from Denmark, including a Viking burial site near Aarhus linked to a possible noble family.
Brooches preserve traces of Viking clothing
One child’s burial stood out. The girl had been buried with two shell-shaped brooches, ornaments closely associated with female dress in Viking Age Scandinavia.
A separate Viking woman’s burial discovered in Norway also preserved oval brooches associated with traditional female attire. At Skonager, small pieces of wool and linen survived against the metal, including textile remains both above and beneath the brooches. Her teeth were also preserved.
Metal corrosion can help preserve nearby organic material. Salts released as metal corrodes can penetrate fabric and protect parts of its microscopic structure. At Skonager, that process preserved fibres that would normally have disappeared long ago.
The position of the fragments is especially important. Researchers can examine how different textiles rested against each other and the brooches.
Ancient clothing rarely survives intact, although finds such as the Tarkhan Dress from ancient Egypt show how preserved textiles can reveal details of early clothing construction. The Skonager fragments could show which garments formed inner and outer layers.
Repaired brooch may hold clues to its past
One brooch also shows signs of an ancient repair, suggesting it had been used before the burial. Brooches are also known from earlier periods in Denmark, including a rare gold example dating to the Germanic Iron Age. Researchers plan to radiocarbon date the Skonager textiles and compare the results with the chronology of the jewellery.
A significant difference could suggest the brooch was an older object, possibly an heirloom. That remains unproven, and it may simply have been repaired during its owner’s lifetime.
Because the textiles are fragile, specialists at Konserveringscenter Vejle are removing surrounding sediment grain by grain. Textile specialist Lise Ræder Knudsen is examining the fabric, while ADBOU, the Unit of Anthropology at the University of Southern Denmark, is studying the teeth.
Dye analysis could reveal original colors
Researchers are also investigating whether traces of ancient dyes survive. The work is connected with the Textile Colours of the Viking Age project involving Ulla Mannering and Charlotte Rimstad.
Previous studies of Danish Viking textiles have identified deliberately dyed fabrics, including blues and reds, challenging the image of Viking clothing as largely brown and grey. No original color has yet been identified at Skonager.
The research, supported by the Agnes Geijer Foundation for Nordic Textile Research, may never produce a complete Viking garment. But the surviving fibres, brooches and their positions could reveal something more specific: how one girl in West Jutland was dressed when she was buried about 1,300 years ago.
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