Archaeologists in Denmark have unearthed more than 50 鈥渆xceptionally well preserved鈥 skeletons in a large Viking-era burial ground in the east of the country.
A team from Museum Odense have spent the last six months excavating the 脜sum site, which covers about 21,500 square feet and is thought to date back to the 9th and 10th centuries.
The skeletons were buried alongside artifacts from far beyond Denmark鈥檚 borders, suggesting Vikings traveled extensively for trade, according to the team from the museum.
Michael Borre Lund酶, archaeologist and curator at the museum, told CNN that it is incredibly rare to find Viking remains in such a good state of preservation.
鈥淥ften when we excavate bodies from the Viking age we are lucky if there are just a few teeth,鈥 he said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
The conditions at the site are what helped keep the skeletons in such good shape, he said.
鈥淎t this particular site, there鈥檚 a lot of chalk in the ground which helps preserve the bones and there鈥檚 a lot of natural water in the ground as well,鈥 he said. 鈥淔or long periods of time the bodies of the Vikings were covered in water, which slows down the decomposition of the bones.鈥
Archaeologists had been called in to excavate the area as part of work to renovate the electrical grid.
A conservator at Museum Odense displays a brooch found in a Viking-age burial site during an interview with journalists in Odense, Denmark, Sept. 25. (Tom Little / Reuters via CNN Newsource)
鈥淲e had no clue that there was going to be a burial ground with Viking skeletons there,鈥 Lund酶 said.
鈥淚t is truly unusual to find so many well-preserved skeletons at once, like those discovered in 脜sum,鈥 he added separately in a press release.
鈥淭his discovery offers extraordinary opportunities to perform a wide range of scientific analyses, which can reveal more about the general health, diet, and origins of those buried,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he analyses might even reveal whether the buried Vikings were related, which would be particularly significant, as this has never been examined in similar graves.鈥
Items found buried alongside the skeletons also suggest a lot about the deceased - including their status in society and how far they might have traveled to trade.
Perhaps the most significant of the skeletons was that of a woman found buried in a wagon, the upper part of a Viking cart that was used as a coffin.
Lund酶 said in the press release: 鈥淭he woman was buried in the wagon she likely traveled in. We must imagine that she was buried with her finest clothes and belongings. She was given a beautiful glass bead necklace, an iron key, a knife with a silver-threaded handle, and, most notably, a small shard of glass that may have served as an amulet.
鈥淎t the foot of the wagon, there was a finely decorated wooden chest, the contents of which we still do not know.鈥
The grave of another person nearby contained a fine bronze three-lobed brooch, a single red glass bead on a cord around the deceased鈥檚 neck, an iron knife and a small piece of rock crystal.
It was this stone that was of particular interest, according to Lund酶.
鈥淩ock crystal does not occur naturally in Denmark and was likely imported from Norway. Several items from the many graves in 脜sum indicate that the buried Vikings were connected to international trade networks that developed during the Viking Age, he said in the release.鈥
Archaeologists excavate skeletons in a pit at the Viking-age burial site in the village of Asum, Denmark, Sept. 25. (Tom Little / Reuters via CNN Newsource)
According to the release, the discovery of the burial site confirms that 脜sum was a key geographical point for the earliest urban developments, which eventually led to the formation of Odense - Denmark鈥檚 third largest city
Archaeologists are still excavating some of the area at the site, but most of the skeletons and artifacts are now at the museum awaiting further examination.
Lund酶 told CNN: 鈥淣ow the skeletons are drying out a little bit before we can wash them and ship them off to Copenhagen for further examination.鈥
Among other things, scientists in the Danish capital will be aiming to extract DNA from the remains in order to learn more about those buried there.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be very exciting,鈥 Lund酶 told CNN. 鈥淚 think that will give us a much better idea of people鈥檚 ages, sex, what diseases they might have had and whether they were related.鈥
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