Viking Age burial of chieftain with 'enormous power' found in Denmark — and he may have served Harald Bluetooth

By Perri Thaler published June 19, 2025

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/vikings/viking-age-burial-of-chieftain-with-enormous-power-found-in-denmark-and-he-may-have-served-harald-bluetooth

Archaeologists excavate the Viking Age burial site in Denmark. 

(Image credit: Moesgaard Museum)

Archaeologists were surprised to find 30 Viking Age burials in Denmark, and even more surprised by the extravagant grave goods found within them.

Archaeologists in Denmark have discovered 30 Viking Age graves likely of an elite family that may have served under Harald Bluetooth, the famed king of Denmark and Norway who ruled during the 10th century. The remarkable graves contained coins, pearls and ceramics, according to a translated statement from Moesgaard Museum, which ran the excavation.

Burials from the Viking Age (A.D. 793 to 1066) are not uncovered very often, Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, an archaeologist at the museum and excavation leader at the burial site, told Live Science in an email. Most graves from this time are found with few or no grave goods, she added. These newly unearthed burials in Lisbjerg, near Aarhus, however, came with an unusual number of lavish items, suggesting that the people buried in them were prosperous and of high status.

"The burial site here at Lisbjerg is quite special," Reher-Langberg said.

Inside the "exceptional" graves

The archaeologists had previously found a chieftain's farm nearby, so they associated these graves with him. This nobleman would have been part of the aristocracy at the time, just below King Bluetooth in the social hierarchy. Bluetooth was extremely influential, joining the tribes of the region into one kingdom — which is why the technology that unites electronic devices is named after him.

"The chieftain in Lisbjerg had enormous power — economically, politically, religiously and socially," Reher-Langberg said.

The graves, which likely date to the late 900s, are of varied size and extravagance. This disparity could indicate a mix of social statuses among the buried, possibly the chieftain's family and their enslaved people, the archaeologists said in the statement.

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