The Birka Warrior of Grave BJ 581 – How Archaeology Erases Female Narratives

In 1878, archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe excavated a grave at the Viking Age site Birka that he described as “perhaps the most remarkable of all the graves in this field” (1879, 2); it was later on documented as Bj 581. Located on the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren, Birka was considered one of the most powerful trading centres of the region from 750-950 AD (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017, 853) and the site is considered the most important archaeological site of the Viking age – Bj 581 stands out for being “exceptionally well-furnished and complete”, the grave goods including “a sword, an axe, a spear, armour-piercingarrows, a battle knife, two shields, […] one mare and one stallion”, as well as a full set of gaming pieces (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017, 854).

When Stolpe excavated Bj 581, he found a fully clothed skeleton surrounded by the complete equipment of a high-ranking warrior, as stressed by the gaming pieces that indicate knowledge of tactics and strategy (Price et al., 2019, 184). Confronted with the material and contextual evidence, he concluded that the individual must have been male.

It was only a century later that Stolpe’s conclusion was questioned by further analysis.

Debate around the sex of the Birka warrior

An osteological analysis done in the 1970s first raised questions about Bj 581’s warrior’s sex (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017, 857); in 2014, bioarchaeologist Anna Kjellström performed an osteological analysis of the skeleton’s pelvic bones and mandible, further supporting the theory that the warrior of grave Bj 581 was in fact a female (Kjellström, 2016). This challenged the contemporary perception of sex, gender, and identity in Viking societies, prompting further investigation into the biological sex of the individual.

It was only in 2017 that a team of geneticists from Stockholm University at the Archaeological Research Laboratory (ARL), led by Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, published a study analysing extracted ancient DNA – possessing two X-chromosomes and no Y-chromosome, it conclusively proved that the human remains found in Bj 581 were that of a female individual (Hendenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017, 857). Despite the genomic evidence, it was still argued that the material evidence did not necessarily reflect the individual’s identity, i.e., them having been buried with the equipment of an important warrior did not have to mean they were one (Gardela, 2013).

Some archaeologists and scholars argue that bones from other graves may have been confused since the original excavation, or that there could be a different reason for why a female body was found in a warrior’s tomb; perhaps there was once a second individual buried in the same tomb, and the female skeleton is actually a part of the grave goods (Hedenstierna-Jonson, 2017, 858). But, to the ARL team, the “spatial relation [of the objects] to the female individual and the total lack of any typically female attributed grave artefacts disputes this possibility” (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al, 2017, 858). Regardless, debate still exists surrounding the Birka warrior’s sex and/or warrior identity, a debate certainly fuelled by contemporary biases regarding sex and gender in the historical record.

Between myth and reality

The idea of a female Viking warrior is not a new notion for scholars and Viking age enthusiasts alike; however, it is often contained within mythology, literature, and iconography (Price et al., 2019, 181). The idea of them indeed remains an idea, and not possibly a product of reality, i.e., the historical record. Valkyries and shield-maidens are well-liked concepts in pop-culture, often depicted as fierce beautiful women in tight armour, yet the revelation about the warrior of grave Bj 581 sparked much controversy (Price et al, 2019, 182).

Archaeological evidence for Viking warriors who were female is sparse, but is that due to a lack thereof? Or has misidentification of sex due to contemporary gender-biases misconstrued our record? Birka grave Bj 581 provides evidence for at least one female Viking warrior, and it would be surprising if she was the exception (Price et al, 2019, 193). Even more surprising, though, is the readiness to accept the idea of female warriors in myth and media, yet not in reality.

There is something to be said about how the depiction of female Viking warriors cater to the male gaze, whilst the “historical” and “real” warriors are readily associated with the male sex – so much so we need to preface the term with “female” to indicate the individual we’re referring to is not male.

Does the Birka warrior’s sex matter?

Although Stolpe did not have access to modern technology to assess the individual of Bj 581’s sex, it is important to note that he didn’t perform any osteological analysis either, a method that would have been at his disposition at the time (Schiebinger, 1986, 42). Rather, he concluded that the skeleton must have belonged to a male based on the material culture that indicated that the grave belonged to an important warrior. The gendered association of warriorhood with the male sex gave way to a premature conclusion that should not have been done, but it going unquestioned for so long despite the lack of proper investigation illustrates how androcentrism can lead to the erasure of non-male narratives.

Yes, the discovery challenged conceptions about sex and warriorhood during the Viking age, but it also raises the question of how our own assumptions affect research, as well as interpretation of the archaeological record – we cannot assume that our contemporary understanding of gender would have applied to ancient societies we wish to study.

Illustration of the female warrior of grave Bj 581 based on the grave goods of Birka and contemporaneous graves in North Kaukasus. Drawing by Tancredi Valeri, used with permission.

It is not about forcing female narratives into the archaeological record – in fact, Kjellström’s findings were coincidental, part of her original study on the Mälar population; likewise, Hedenstierna-Jonson’s team wasn’t specifically studying Bj 581, but working on a larger genomic study (Price et al., 2019, 194). But the reluctance of many to accept that Bj 581’s warrior is a female, going as far as to prefer convoluted theories of mixed up bones or lost bodies, is revelatory. Why do we find it so difficult to amend the warrior identity with our contemporary notion of the female sex? Why does the female sex override their warriorhood?

The fact alone that this discovery raised so many questions and doubts proves that the Birka warrior’s sex matters. It matters, not because we need female Viking warriors to “be a thing”, but because seemingly they did exist within a society that valued social position over sex – why should we let that narrative be erased?

Guest Blog by Saya Naumann

Reference

Gardeła, L., 2013. “Warrior-women” in Viking Age Scandinavia? A preliminary archaeological study. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia, 8, pp. 273–340.

Hedenstierna-Jonson, C., Kjellström, A., Zachrisson, T., Krzewińska, M., Sobrado, V., Price, N., Günther, T., Jakobsson, M., Götherström, A., & Storå, J. (2017). A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics. American journal of physical anthropology, 164(4), 853–860. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23308

Jones, E. D., & Bösl, E. (2021). Ancient human DNA: A history of hype (then and now). Journal of Social Archaeology, 21(2), 236–255. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469605321990115

Kjellström, A. (2016). People in transition: Life in the Mälaren Valley from an Osteological Perspective. In V. Turner (Ed.), Shetland and the Viking World. Papers from the Proceedings of the 17th Viking Congress 2013 (pp. 197–202). Lerwick: Shetland Amenity Trust.

Price, N., Hedenstierna-Jonson, C., Zachrisson, T., Kjellström, A., Storå, J., Krzewińska, M., Günther, T., Sobrado, V., Jakobsson, M. and Götherström, A. (2019) “Viking warrior women? Reassessing Birka chamber grave Bj.581,” Antiquity. Cambridge University Press, 93(367), pp. 181–198. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2018.258.

Schiebinger, Londa. “Skeletons in the Closet: The First Illustrations of the Female Skeleton in Eighteenth-Century Anatomy.” Representations, no. 14 (1986): 42-82.

Stolpe, H. 1879. Berättelse om de under år 1878 utförda undersökningarna på Björkö i Mälaren. Manuscript in the Antiquarian Topographical Archives, Stockholm.