Possible Norse Burial Boat Found in Britain

The discovery of a handful of ancient iron nails, a belt buckle and some silver coins in northeast England has sent a thrill through the world of Viking scholarship, hinting that a Norse boat burial site may lie beneath the Yorkshire soil.

The presence of the nails, specifically designed for use in boat making, along with fragments of two swords and the coins, raised hope that excavation will uncover remains of the Norse ceremony in which the dead were buried in a boat with their possessions to take with them to the afterlife.