On August 6th, 1903, a farmer named Oskar Rom unearthed a mound on his property at the Lille Oseberg farm in Slagen, Vestfold County, Norway. Inside this mound, he discovered what seemed to be parts of a ship. Consequently, he reached out to Professor Gabriel Gustafson in Oslo, who made a visit to the farm two days later. Following his initial examination, Gustafson concluded that the mound contained a burial site from the Viking era, specifically a ship burial. However, he decided to postpone the excavation until the following summer. Eventually, the excavation uncovered the remains of two women who had been laid to rest in a ship, and this burial could be dated back to no later than autumn of 834 AD. The women were accompanied by a ceremonial wagon, four elaborately decorated sleds, various household items, and a number of domestic animals. One striking aspect of this discovery was the inclusion of an extensive collection of textiles, which played a significant role in the Oseberg find.
Within the grave chamber, there was an extensive assortment of textiles and textile tools, marking the most substantial collection ever found in a single burial. This collection encompassed a variety of narrow tapestries, believed to have lined the chamber. Additionally, it included bed linens, woven woolen blankets, tablet bands, and numerous cloth remnants from clothing, sails, tents, rugs, and curtains. Some of the textiles even originated from silk fabrics and silk thread embroideries imported from Central Asia. These textiles exhibited diverse qualities, weaving techniques, and materials. Researcher Anne Stine Ingstad categorized them into 19 different groups based on their quality and purpose. Coarse wool fabrics, featuring geometric patterns, such as diamonds and crosses, were abundant throughout the burial, possibly remnants of draperies used in furnishing. The decorative tapestries were woven from wool with a weft made of plant material, likely flax, which has since deteriorated. These tapestries depicted various scenes, including people in processions, engaged in warfare, some in distinctive attire, as well as depictions of animals, wagons, and buildings. These scenes possibly represented ritual events, suggesting that the older of the two women held great importance. In total, fifteen different silk materials were found, often in the form of narrow ribbons, potentially used as adornments. Multi-colored silk embroideries featuring patterns like tendrils, spirals, animals, and geometric designs may have adorned the women's clothing. The collection of textile tools included five different weaving looms, one tablet weaving loom, one manual spindle and distaff, one weaving reed, five balls of wool, one device for winding wool, two yarn reels, two linen smoothers, one smoothing iron, three wooden needles, one pair of iron scissors, and various small implements for spinning and textile work.
While challenging to decipher, the depicted scene appears to depict a religious procession featuring three horse-drawn wagons accompanied by individuals on foot. Within this procession, the two figures riding in the wagon (located in the lower middle left of the combined image) may symbolize an idol and their priest or priestess. Notably, a ceremonial wagon, intricately carved with figures (pictured at the top of the page), was discovered alongside this tapestry. The front panel of this wagon is adorned with intertwined animals, including cats, which has led some to speculate that the older woman from the Oseberg burial might have held the role of a priestess of Freyja. The other two covered wagons, seemingly following the lead wagon, could conceivably contain religious artifacts of some nature.
Leading the procession is a horned figure (positioned at the top far left), accompanied by a man who is either in the company of or carrying a four-leafed symbol, possibly mounted on a staff. This same symbol is present between the wheels of the leading wagon. The horned man, due to his relatively larger size, might suggest that he holds a deity status, potentially Odin. The male figure following him, bearing the symbol, is trailed by eight women in the procession. A similar procession featuring one man with upraised arms and eight women can be observed on the stones of the Kivik King's Grave, where a wheeled chariot, drawn by two four-legged animals, likely representing horses, is also depicted, underscoring the antiquity of this ritual procession. A parallel procession of women wearing hooded robes can be found on the Garde Bote Picture Stone from Götland. The building situated in the direct center of the combined image (or on the left side of the right panel) is believed to symbolize a temple or hall used for ritual activities. Another segment of the tapestry (as seen below) portrays a tree in which human bodies are suspended, reminiscent of sacrificial trees described in later written accounts outside heathen temples at Uppsala and Lejre. These details strongly suggest that the procession depicted in this scene holds a religious significance.