Legitimation through Association? Scandinavian Accompanied Burials and Pre-historic Monuments in Orkney

Abstract

In Orkney, most Scandinavian accompanied burials are close to the sea, settlements, and, to a lesser extent, preViking Age monuments. The first two were largely prosaic choices, but the latter may indicate an aspect of the mindset of the incoming elite. Based on studies of the re-use of pre-Viking Age monuments in Viking Age Scandinavia, I propose that this association was deliberate and related to a desire to legitimize the occupation of the land and signal the control of the seaways. I also suggest that burial re-use was common before prominent settlement mounds began to perform these functions.