The
skeletons of two women were found in the grave with the ship. One, probably aged around 80, suffered badly from
arthritis. The older woman also had
Morgagni's syndrome, which would have given her a masculine appearance and beard. The second was initially believed to be aged 25–30, but analysis of tooth-root translucency suggests she was older (aged 50–55). It is not clear which one was the more important in life or whether one was sacrificed to accompany the other in death. The younger woman had a broken
collarbone, initially thought to be evidence that she was a
human sacrifice, but closer examination showed that the bone had been healing for several weeks. The opulence of the burial rite and the grave-goods suggests that this was a burial of very high status. One woman wore a very fine red wool dress with a
lozenge twill pattern (a luxury commodity) and a fine white
linen veil in a
gauze weave, while the other wore a plainer blue wool dress with a wool veil, possibly showing some stratification in their social status. Neither woman wore anything entirely made of silk, although small silk strips were
appliqued onto a tunic worn under the red dress.
Dendrochronological analysis of timbers in the grave chamber dates the burial to the autumn of 834. Although the high-ranking woman's identity is unknown, it has been suggested that she is
Queen Åsa of the
Yngling clan, mother of
Halfdan the Black and grandmother of
Harald Fairhair. Recent tests of the women's remains suggest that they lived in
Agder in Norway, as had Queen Åsa. This theory has been challenged, however, and some think that she may have been a
shaman. There were also the skeletal remains of 14
horses, an ox, and three dogs found on the ship. According to
Per Holck of the
University of Oslo, the younger woman's
mitochondrial haplogroup was discovered to be
U7. Her direct maternal ancestors came to Norway from the
Pontic littoral, probably Iran. Three subsequent studies failed to confirm these results, however, and it is likely that the bone samples contain little (if any) original DNA or have been contaminated through handling. Examinations of fragments of the skeletons have provided more insight into their lives. The younger woman's teeth showed signs that she used a metal toothpick, a rare 9th century luxury. Both women had a diet composed mainly of meat, another luxury when most Vikings ate fish. However, there was not enough DNA to tell if they were related. == Grave goods ==