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130 The Viking Age in Denmark

two tortoise bucklcs to reprcsent wornen of high standing, their day-to-day jewellcry not bcing inherited by the ncxt generation, likc the silvcr trinkcts. Morc emphasis is sometimes put on thc quality of the coffin, perhaps the body of a carriage, or the burial chamber itself, as in a number of unusually rich graves, from the Hedeby area. In addition, two Fyn persons, apparently women, are buried in fuli carriages with, arnong other things, horse-collars, beautifully de-corated with gilded bronze-fittings.²⁰ At least one waggon is from a large chamber 30 metres square. A possible third, but poorer, waggon grave comes from west Sjadland.²¹

The most prominent specimen of the body-of-a-carriagc grave is from the chamber of the Northmound at Jelling (Fig. 2), probably containing Queen Thyra.²² In the same chamber, apparently, also lay the widower, King Gorm, until their son, King Harald, had them both moved to the chamber beneath the first wooden church between the mounds at Jelling. The rest of these burials are, as indicated, also west Danish (Figs 32-3), apart from a single example from the Oldenburg town-fortress in Slavonian east Holstein, perhaps a Dane married to a local lord.²³ (Both King Harald and his son married Slavonian women, and we expect their relatives to have participated in political marriage alliances too.) The Oldenburg and thejelling graves underline the connection of this type of grave with the establishment of tenth-century west Denmark.

A closer look at the carriage-body graves reveals that they are situated in the same belt around Jelling as the fortresses, and the weapon graves, including the hcavy cavalry burials (Appendix IX, Fig. 34). In north Jylland, however, they tend to avoid the cluster of cavalry graves with weapons in the west-central part of the zonę, being morę frequent to the east. Indeed, they are often found in localities with małe graves containing an axe, for instance in the Fyrkat graveyard, and even at Lindholm H0je, basically a cremation cemetery.²⁴ A fine burial chamber w^Tith a body-of-carriage coffin beneath an early wooden church at H0rning, near the town of Randers,²⁵ may be a female parallel to the Bjerringh0j chamber with the conspicuous axe with an ornamented silver inlaying.²⁰ In south Jylland the carriage-body graves in chambers are found on the cemetery at Thumby-Bienebek, to the east of Hedeby, along with heavy cavalry graves containing weapons, also in chambers.²' Likewise at Ketting on the island of Ais,²⁸ the same two types of graves, but not in chambers, are combined. On the island of Lolland to the east a solitary specimen is found in a cemetery with an axe-grave.^2y A finał example worth mentioning is from the Jelling area itself, otherwise poor in burials.³⁰

The better equipped carriage-body graves sometimes have fine garments, interwoven with gold and silver threads, and even lined with silk, but not the traditional buckles of tortoise shape.³¹ Ap-parently the dress is different from the traditional one in being morę flowing, like the contemporary upper-class dress worn in western Europę, inspired by Byzantium. Though we do not know much about małe dress - only that it probably comprised trousers, a short coat and mantle (cf. PI. XVI) - the information on fcmale dress is important, demonstrating that the Jelling rulers also differed in appearance from both their predecessors and the contemporary leaders in eastern Denmark adapting to west European norms. In the tenth century very few tortoise buckles are found in west Danish graves, while they are common to the east.³² Incidentally, a flowing małe dress which also begins to appear on the Continent in the tenth century, may have been introduced, but the evidence is uncertain. The other grave goods accompanying the carriage-body graves comprise silver fibulae, bronze vessels, chests, etc.

The symbolism implied in the use of a waggon for a coffin is difficult to grasp. We might see these as a means of transport to the hereafter, but then we would expect them to have been spread evenly throughout the area, and to correspond with the cavalry graves of the men. Furthermore, the bodies in the carriage graves hołd both Christian and pagan symbols, like Thor’s hammer (cf. PI. XV).³³ Rather, the symbolism appears to be social, reflecting the interest of the State in easy transportation, facilitated by roads and bridges built and maintained by the royal vassals, who also themselves travel in style by waggon and horse. In terms of vassalage, it is significant that the body of carriage graves in north Jylland corresponds to the małe graves with just an axe.

As we have seen, the female graves of the tenth century connect various types of małe graves with each • other and constitute an important direct link with the Jelling centre. They originate from the time shortly before when the Christian burial rites eliminate much of the traditional potential for social studies, previously held by the graves.

D. Men and women_} rank and ajfiliation

We haye attempted to classify the major groups of graves, especially for the tenth century. We must no w try to summarise the picture and to relate it morę fully to other aspects of society (cf. Fig. 34).

In terms of the type of burial we take the chamber to be of a higher rank than the coffin, sińce it indicates a display at the interment, the dead lying in State in the chamber. But chambers also occur in village cemeteries, as at Stengade on the island of Langeland and at Esbjerg in west Jylland, and may disclose local leaders.³⁴ At Stengade the gravcyard seems to be divided into six clusters, perhaps representing farmsteads. One of the clusters is madę up of chamber tombs, while a single chamber tomb lies in one of the other clusters, containing a slave as a form of ‘burial goods’. Chambers of higher rank may contain