A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. It was used by the Anglo Saxons, the Merovingians, the Vikings and occasionally the Ancient Egyptians.

Examples of ship burials

• Khufu ship, Giza pyramid complex (Fourth Dynasty)
• Gokstad, Norway
• Ladby, Denmark
• Oseberg, Norway
• Snape, East Anglia, England
• Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, England
• Tune, Norway
• Valsgärde, Sweden
• Vendel, Sweden
• Rurikovo gorodische near Novgorod
• Sarskoe gorodische near Rostov
• Temerino near Yaroslavl
• Black Grave near Chernigov
• Ibn Fadlan gives an eye-witness account of a 10th century ship burial.

See also

• Stone ship
• Solar barge
• Chariot burial

Death customs | Viking Age | Archaeology of death