Reports of women buried with weapons always generate considerable interest in archaeology. One notable example of this is the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki grave from southern Finland, which has been interpreted as a woman buried with two swords, based upon the feminine clothing of the individual, and the presence of jewellery, which is not generally found in male burials of the period (the grave has been dated to between 1050 and 1300 AD). This site has been held up as an example of a powerful woman in a late Iron Age/early medieval society since its discovery in the 1960s, and was on permanent display as evidence of a female leader at the National Museum of Finland from 1995 to 2016, with one of the swords from the site being on display in the ‘Meet the Vikings’ exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark as a woman's weapon.
In a paper published in the European Journal of Archaeology on 15 July 2021, Ulla Moilanen of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Turku, Tuija Kirkinen of the Department of Cultures at the University of Helsinki, Nelli-Johanna Saari and Adam Rohrlach of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Päivi Onkamo of the Department of Biology at the University of Turku, and Elima Salmela of the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme at the University of Helsinki, present a review of our understanding of the Suontaka grave, re-examining the original field documentation of the site and presenting new microscopic analysis of material from the grave and a DNA analysis of the genetic identity of the individual from the grave.
Location of the Häme (Tavastia) region in Finland, with Suontaka marked with a red dot. Moilanen et al. (2021).
For much of the history of archaeology, bodies have been identified as male or female, depending on analysis of skeletons and/or the presence of grave goods interpreted as masculine or feminine, with genetic analysis recently added to the available repertoire of techniques. However, simply dividing Human populations into men and women is sometimes an oversimplification, with a range of genetic, chromosomal, and hormonal conditions known to blur the biological lines between the sexes, and people sometimes self-identifying in ways that differ from their biology. Recent developments in neurology have demonstrated that our brains do not neatly divide into 'male' and 'female' groups, but show a variation in personality, cognition, and behaviour that is individualistic rather than coupled to biological sex.
Since the 1970s, anthropologists have come to an understanding that biological sex and socially determined gender are different things, with gender roles essentially learned, with people tending to conforn to the norms expected of their body-type, while biological sex is an expression of chromosomal, hormonal, anatomical, and physical features.
Modern western perceptions of a binary division of the sexes tend to dominate in archaeology, but other cultures have had different perspectives. Early medieval cultures had their own views on masculinity and femininity, but it is unclear how fixed these roles were in their perception, and to what extent they could be modified by circumstances. Traditionally, medieval societies have been perceived as having very distinct male and female roles, but more recent studies have suggested that they may have been more flexible in their views.
The practice of identifying the gender of individuals by the grave goods buried with them adds further confusion to this issue, since we cannot be confident about how rigid these rules were. The presence of swords in medieval graves in northern Europe is generally taken as a strong indicator of masculinity, and as having the status as a member of a warrior class, but this secondary role, one as a class identifier rather than a gender one could potentially confuse the issue. Individuals identified as female by their body type, and who are buried with jewellery (usually taken as a sign of femininity), have occasionally been found with axes, spear- and arrow-heads, but swords are much rarer, and generally taken as cause for comment. Notably, bodies which are identified as female, and which are buried with swords, are generally lacking in 'feminine' grave goods such as jewellery, possibly suggesting that women were allowed to take on masculine gender under some circumstances in Scandinavian culture, but that once they had done so, were expected to conform to their new gender identity. Working from this assumption, the presence of weapons in 'female' graves becomes problematic, and has led to archaeologists sometimes looking for more explanation than might be merited, such as assuming that graves containing both weapons and jewellery must have originally been double burials, despite there being no evidence for a second body. Such investigations potentially tell us more about the cultural assumptions of the archaeologists excavating the burial than those of the people who dug the grave in the first place.
Discovered in 1968, the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki gained fame for the mixture of 'masculine' and 'feminine' grave goods found within a single burial. The most notable item was a bronze-hilted sword with Urnes style ornamentation (slim, stylised animals woven into patterns, typically indicative of late eleventh or early twelfth century manufacture), with the grave also containing a second, hiltless sword blade, two oval brooches, a small penannular (ring shaped, with part of the circumference missing) brooch, a twin-spiral chain-bearer, and a sickle. Traditionally, swords are considered to be masculine items in burials, while jewellery is feminine. Sickles can be found in graves associated with either gender in Finland, but are more common in female burials. All of the objects point towards a burial in the late eleventh or early twelfth century AD, which would coincide with the Crusade Period in Finland (during which Sweden invaded southwestern Finland, officially to convert the pagan Finns to Christianity, although it is likely that the Finns were already Christian by this point). A subsequent radiocarbon date obtained from a fragment of femur obtained from the grave indicated the burial took place between 1040 and 1174 AD.
The objects found in the Suontaka grave. (A) bronze-hilted sword (NM 17777:1); (B) hiltless sword (NM 17777:2) with silver inlays (inset); (C) two oval brooches with textile fragments (NM 17777:4–5); (D) twin-spiral chain-bearer (NM 17777:6); (E) sheathed knife (NM 17777:3); (F) penannular brooch (NM 17777:7); (G) sickle (NM 17777:8). Moilanen et al. (2021).
The original excavation of the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki site was carried out in October 1968, after the bronze-hilted sword was discovered during work on a water pipeline. The discovery of the sword led to archaeologist Oiva Keskitalo investigating to the site. Keskitalo subsequently discovered an area of darker soil cross-cutting the pipeline trench, further investigation of which revealed the grave. The pipeline intersected the upper right corner of the grave, which was where the sword was located. The distance between the sword and the skeletal remains and other artefacts within the grave was not recorded, but some of the dark soil needed to be removed to expose these, whereas the sword appears to have been on top of the dark layer, making it likely that the sword was not part of the original burrial assemblage. No other graves have been found in the area, so the grave was either a solitary burrial, or is the sole survivor of a burial ground which has otherwise been lost.
The context of the find makes the interpretation of the sword difficult; the site had been disturbed by pipeline workers before archaeologists were called in, and the site was excavated in late autumn, with temperatures dropping as low as -10°C. However, it would have been warmer at the bottom of the pit, so the field observations should be seen as reasonably reliable. The position and shape of the skeleton were documented, with the tibias, femora, pelvis, elbow joints, ribs, and skull all in place when they were uncovered, although they were in an advanced state of decomposition and almost entirely composed of soft material which could not be recovered, with the exception of two femora fragments.
(A) Plan of the Suontaka burial. ‘Täckdike’ marks the water pipe trench which led to the discovery of the grave. (B) Artist’s reconstruction of the burial, showing the position of the objects on the body. Drawing by Veronika Paschenko. Moilanen et al. (2021).
The rarity of swords in graves which also contain 'feminine' grave goods led to some controversy in how the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki burial should be interpreted. The most obvious possibility, based upon 1960s archaeologists' understanding of early medieval graves, was that this was a double burial, and that there must originally have been two bodies in the grave. Confronted with a grave containing a skeleton associated with two brooches and a sword, Keskitalo searched for evidence of a second body, but could find none. The grave was found to have an even floor, upon which the body had been placed, with no evidence of a coffin, and was apparently two small for a second corpse. It is possible that a second body could have been placed on top of the first body, something which is known to accelerate the decay rate of the upper body (or bodies), but the grave lacks any sign that would be associated with that, such as varying soil colouration caused by an upper decomposition layer, and the only artefact that does not appear to have been placed in context with the skeleton is the bronze-hilted sword.
The sword without a hilt was located on the left side of the pelvis, with the sheathed knife on top of it. The two oval brooches, and associated fibres, were located beneath the shoulders, which implies the body was dressed in the typical female clothing of the day. The chain bearer lacked associated chains and was located in the centre of the chest, which may imply it was worn as a pendant rather than as an actual chain-bearer, something typically associated with female burials. The penannular brooch was located at about waist level, the sickle placed upon the chest. Items placed on top of bodies tend to move downwards, although this is likely to be less notable in an instance like the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki grave, where no coffin was used, enabling sediment to replace tissue as it decayed. This supports the idea that all the objects other than the bronze-hilted sword were placed directly on the body, rather than on another corpse that subsequently decomposed completely.
No samples of soil were deliberately collected at the time of the excavation, but small amount of soil was excavated along with the recovered femur fragments, which Moilanen et al. analysed for fragments of hair or textiles. They were able to recover a total of 23 Mammal hair-fragments, mostly between 0.2 and 2 mm in length, and three fragments of Bird feathers, between 0.2 and 0.5 μm. Seven of the hairs were unidentifiable. Fourteen of the hairs came from Sheep (i.e. wool), of which nine were naturally coloured (six white and three brown) and five had apparently been died (three bluish green and two blue). In addition there was one hair identified as either coming from a Fox or a Mustelid, and one identified as either Rabbit or Hare, the latter of which was purple in colour, again probably due to dying. None of the feather fragments could be identified.
Examples of identified animal hairs from the soil sample. (A) Leporidae; (B) Vulpes vulpes or Mustelidae (K20); (C) Ovis aries (K13); D: Aves (K19). Moilanen et al. (2021).
The limited amount of bone material recovered from the grave prevented any osteological analysis, but it did prove possible to extract DNA from the sample. This sample was again limited in nature, preventing a full genetic analysis, but did allow for sex identification, as this is one of the tests which requires the least amount of data.
Surprisingly, the most likely outcome of this test was neither an XX ('normal female') or XY ('normal male') karyotype, but rather an XXY karyotype, i.e. a male (the presence of an Y chromosome usually determines maleness), but with a second X chromosome, a condition called Klinefelter syndrome. In modern populations about 1 in 576 male Humans have Klinefelter syndrome, the majority of whom will never show any symptoms of the condition, but in some cases symptoms are present, including infertility, small genitalia, breast development, and occasionally a small vaginal opening beneath the penis. There are also some psychological symptoms that are sometimes associated with the condition when physical symptoms are not present, but since these are closely linked to cultural background, and observed in men who have been told they have it, it is difficult to assess how they could be related to twelfth century Finland.
The Suontaka Vesitorninmäki grave appears to have contained a single individual, dressed in a way that would have been considered feminine at the time. The grave contains a hiltless sword associated with the body, the other, bronze-hilted, sword appears to post-date the original burial. It is possible it was deliberately placed at the grave site by a later generation; such hiding of swords in burial mounds and other special locations for magical purposes is known to have been practiced. However, the hiltless sword was clearly buried with the body, and presumably therefore relates to the person in the grave. The sword bears no sign of battle-damage, and the hilt may have been deliberately removed (although it might have been made of material which has degraded post-burial), which might be a way of indicating the owner of the sword was less than completely masculine. The presence of an apparently intentionally unusable sword is curious, as the burial occurred in a time of violent cultural disturbance, with a number of hillforts being erected in the area at the time, and other swords locally recovered from the period often showing battle damage.
The hairs recovered from the grave imply the presence of both naturally coloured and dyed fabrics, and possibly garments made from fur or Animal skin; such materials were often used to make cloths linings, mittens, pouches, and knife sheaths in early medieval Finland. The presence of a Rabbit or Hare hair might imply a garment made from a textile made from Rabbit fur, or blended Rabbit fur and wool, both of which would have been high value items at the time. The feather fragments might relate to a pillow or other bedding item. All of this points towards an individual with some social standing in the society in which they lived.
The possibility that the individual in the grave was a male with Klinefelter syndrome is not unprecedented in archaeology; other individuals with the condition have been reported from Viking Age Iceland, early Neolithic Germany, and possibly the Orkney Islands in the Viking Age, although none of these graves appeared to be otherwise atypical for the cultures that produced them. Based upon this, the discovery of an individual with Klinefelter syndrome in a grave bearing a mixture of goods with different gender-associations is a novel one.
However, it should be remembered that Klinefelter syndrome does not necessarily have any visible symptoms, and that people's personal gender identity sometimes varies considerably from their anatomical appearance, and that it is dangerous to make assumptions about the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki individual's gender identity purely based upon their karyotype.
The possibility that the individual did show some noticeable symptoms of Klinefelter syndrome cannot be completely overlooked, however. The age of the individual is unknown, but it is likely they had lived past puberty, when any such symptoms would have become more obvious. Gender roles tend to be shaped by both an individual's perception of themselves, and the way in which their wider society views them. In Early Modern Finland masculinity is known to have been closely related to the ability to sire children, and a man who could not do so was likely to be seen as less that fully masculine, although it is unclear how far back in time these cultural assumptions can safely be projected.
Clothing is also an important manifestation of personal identity. This appears to have been well understood in medieval Europe, where there are numerous tales of female warriors adopting male dress and identities. In early modern Finland cross-dressing was strongly associated with anatomical ambiguity, and anyone wearing gender-inappropriate clothing was likely to be refferred to as a hermaphrodite (although, again it is hard to judge how far back in time this assumption can be extrapolated). Seen in this light, an individual buried with a mixture of male and female accoutrements could quite possibly have been anatomically non-binary. However, our current understanding of the culture of early medieval culture would predict such an individual would be viewed in a fairly negative light, whereas the context of the Suontaka Vesitorninmäki burial implies an individual held in high regard by those that buried them.
Early medieval Scandinavia is generally viewed as having had an ultra-masculine culture, with strongly defined gender roles, in which it would be seen as shameful for a man to adopt women's clothing. However, there is some evidence that individuals with more ambivalent gender identities could have been involved in ritual practices, and would therefore have been tolerated, and even valued. A twelfth century grave from Vivallen in western Sweden was found to contain a male body buried in female clothing, but with masculine grave goods. This grave has been interpreted as that of a shaman, possibly deriving from the Sámi culture of northern Scandinavia.
A binary view of gender assumes that there is a single way of being a man and a single way of being a woman. The Vivallen and Suontaka Vesitorninmäki burials suggest that medieval Scandinavian societies may not always have seen the world in this way. The Suontaka Vesitorninmäki burial in particular appears to present evidence of a non-binary individual being able to hold a valued role in such a society, despite being willing to be conspicuously different from the norm. It is of course possible that such an individual was respected because of their birth rank rather than because of their difference; an unusual person from a powerful and well-connected family would probably be tolerated more easily that one from a less prominent family, since people would seek to avoid conflict with that person's relatives, no matter what they might privately think. The presence of a sword in the grave may be indicative of this, since swords were a valuable artefact at the time, and not necessarily available to every male member of the population. The individual does appear to have been a local; the brooches are of a local type and nothing in the grave appears to indicate a foreign origin, whereas other Scandinavian graves (such as Vivallen) in which males were buried with female items have been interpreted as being of strangers, buried with inappropriate items as a sign of disrespect.
In early medieval times, Suontaka does not appear to have been a remote location; the area is surrounded by other archaeological sites, including a hillfort, sacrificial stones, cemeteries, and settlement sites surrounded by ancient fields. The village was probably one of the more important in the region, possibly the site of local assemblies. The presence of a burial with grave goods including feather bedding, fur cloths and a silver-inlaid sword would appear to support this view, as well as the likelihood that the individual buried came from a wealthy and well-connected family, and might therefore have been tolerated a degree of cultural freedon not accorded to all members of society. However, it is also possible that the people of early medieval Finland were more flexible in their views of gender roles than has generally been assumed. The Suontaka Vesitorninmäki individual appears to have been buried with items associated with both genders, and those items appear to have been indicative of a degree of wealth. This makes it less likely that that person had been forced into a gender ambivalent role as a mark of humiliation, and more likely that they were able to express their identity freely, in contrast to the normal expectations of their society (or our expectations of it) and still hold a relatively high position in that society. The addition of a second, high-status sword at some time after the initial burial would seem to imply that the individual retained their high status after death, and was seen as important by subsequent generations.
The Suontaka Vesitorninmäki individual was previously interpreted as a woman buried with two swords. The grave was clearly well stocked with high value items, but it is likely that only one of the swords was part of the original grave assemblage, with the second being added later. The individual in the grave now seems less likely to have been female, and more likely to have been a male individual with Klinefelter syndrome. The individual appears to have been a male, but one who would not fit the expected norms of a masculine society in which warfare was celebrated. Nevertheless, the individual appears to have been a respected member of that society, implying that that society was more open-minded about individuals who did not fit typical gender roles that has previously been assumed, although to what extent this was dependent on that person's pre-existing social rank is unclear.
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