Archaeologists in Denmark have uncovered a Viking Age grave containing clothing fragments that survived roughly 1,300 years. The burial was found near Varde, a historic market town in southwestern Jutland, at the Skonager archaeological site.
Excavations at Skonager in 2024 revealed a cemetery where people of all ages had been buried alongside grave goods such as iron knives and glass beads. Within one of those graves, researchers found fabric scraps alongside two oval brooches, a style of jewelry strongly associated with Viking Age women's dress.
According to Archaeology West Jutland, traces of textile clung to both the front and back of the brooches. As the metal in the brooches corroded, it released salts that inadvertently preserved the surrounding fabric. Archaeologists say the positioning of the textiles on the brooches may help them determine whether the fragments came from different layers of clothing and how those garments were arranged.
Archaeologists also noted that one of the brooches shows signs of repair, raising the possibility that it was a family heirloom considerably older than the textiles found with it.
Textile expert Lise Ræder Knudsen has been brought in to study the weaving techniques used to produce the Skonager material and to look into any possible pattern. Researchers plan to use radiocarbon dating to pin down the textiles' age. Separately, Ulla Mannering and Charlotte Rimstad of the National Museum of Denmark, who lead the museum's Textile Colors of the Viking Age project, will examine the samples for any remaining traces of pigment.
The National Museum of Denmark has noted that surviving Viking Age clothing is extremely rare, with most physical evidence limited to small pieces of material preserved by chance, making finds like the one at Skonager significant to researchers studying how Vikings dressed and lived.