Coincidentally I am reading Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings, and there is a chapter on Viking burial practices and similarly archaeologists are left to do a lot of guesswork and hypothesizing despite these being only 1000-1200 years old since there’s quite a bit of variation and all of the written records comes via contemporary visitors from much different cultures or hundreds of years later via the Christian tinted lenses of transcribers who may have been conquered or invaded by Vikings of various sorts. There’s a lot of space for fictionalization that could fit the evidence like this novel - à la Vinland Saga manga.
"10th-century Arab traveler from Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate,[a] famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir to the king of the Volga Bulgars, known as his risāla ("account" or "journal").[b]
His account is most notable for providing a detailed description of the Volga Vikings, including eyewitness accounts of life as part of a trade caravan and witnessing a ship burial. "
“ When Russian archaeologists discovered the site in 1993, they were astonished to discover that pieces made of wood, textile, and even cannabis and coriander had survived the millennia. It was the woman herself, however, who proved the most stunning and remarkable discovery: Her mummified skin was covered in magnificent tattoos, fantastical beasts circling her arms and hands. The discoverers soon dubbed her the Siberian Ice Maiden.”
Coincidentally I am reading Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings, and there is a chapter on Viking burial practices and similarly archaeologists are left to do a lot of guesswork and hypothesizing despite these being only 1000-1200 years old since there’s quite a bit of variation and all of the written records comes via contemporary visitors from much different cultures or hundreds of years later via the Christian tinted lenses of transcribers who may have been conquered or invaded by Vikings of various sorts. There’s a lot of space for fictionalization that could fit the evidence like this novel - à la Vinland Saga manga.
>written records comes via contemporary visitors from much different cultures
that isn't necessarily bad, anyway in the context of your post reminded of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan
"10th-century Arab traveler from Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate,[a] famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir to the king of the Volga Bulgars, known as his risāla ("account" or "journal").[b]
His account is most notable for providing a detailed description of the Volga Vikings, including eyewitness accounts of life as part of a trade caravan and witnessing a ship burial. "
Yes, there are a couple of Arabic and other visitors quoted in this book as well, I think this is the primary one. It’s fascinating part of history.
“ When Russian archaeologists discovered the site in 1993, they were astonished to discover that pieces made of wood, textile, and even cannabis and coriander had survived the millennia. It was the woman herself, however, who proved the most stunning and remarkable discovery: Her mummified skin was covered in magnificent tattoos, fantastical beasts circling her arms and hands. The discoverers soon dubbed her the Siberian Ice Maiden.”