The picture shows a chamber grave from the tenth century, excavated by Hjalmar Stolpe at the end of the nineteenth century. The warrior was buried in a seated position, with two horses lying at his feet.
Cemeteries spread out like a ring around the living town.
With all the burial mounds, they still give Bj rk a somewhat haunting atmosphere. Together they make up the biggest Viking Age cemetery in Scandinavia, with about 3000 graves. Most of the people who died in Birka were cremated on a pyre, fully equipped with their tools or weapons and provided with food and drink. Mounds of earth and stone were raised over the remains. The Christians were buried in simple wooden coffins or in a pit.