Pendant of Ashes: The only known statue depicting a pregnant Viking woman.

This round silver pendant was discovered in Sweden in 1920 in the burial site of an elite 10th century woman and is the only known depiction of a pregnant Viking.

This artifact, known as the ash pendant, is in the collection of the Swedish Museum of History. It is approximately 1.5 inches (4 centimeters) in diameter and made of gilded silver. The ring partially encloses a statue of a woman standing with her legs spread and her hands clasped under her pregnant belly. The top of the pendant is worn, but the line above the woman’s head suggests a crown or headdress. The woman wears a cloak buttoned at the neck and pearl-like beaded accessories.

This pendant was discovered in 1920 by Swedish archaeologist TJ Arne, who excavated several burial mounds at the Aska site. Dozens of artifacts were discovered inside the tomb, including eight other pendants, four silver rings, a bone game board, and Islamic silver coins. The presence of rivets and nails led excavators to suspect that the woman was buried in a wooden coffin that had decayed over time, and the bones suggested she was a young or middle-aged adult. It is unclear whether she was pregnant or giving birth at the time of her death.

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There is some disagreement about what the unique ash pendant means about the deceased Viking woman.

According to the Swedish Museum of History, the pendant may depict Freyja, the Norse goddess associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Freya wore a special necklace called a Brisingamen. That description matches well with the button clasp and bead rows on the ash pendant. Therefore, the pendant may have been a female amulet in the tomb.

But archaeologist Martin Lundqvist said Aska also contained large flat-topped mounds that may have been the foundations of a “royal family,” meaning the people buried there were “petty royalty.” They seem to pass down silver pendants, including ash pendants, from generation to generation as family heirlooms.

Archaeologist Neil Price argued that the women may have played an important role as practitioners of magic and ritual, given the range of artifacts found in the women’s graves, including a wolf-headed iron staff and a series of heirloom pendants.

And, according to research by archaeologist Heid Gustafsson, the lack of similar ritual items in later graves in the Aska area could mean that the Viking woman buried in this mound was the last pagan practitioner of her kind before the introduction of Christianity to the area, and that her Freyja pendant was also buried with her.

For more amazing archaeological discoveries, check out our Astonishing Artifacts archive.