Birka grave Bj 581

Birka grave Bj 581 held a female Viking warrior who was buried with two horses, an arsenal of weapons, and other elite grave goods during the 10th century in Birka, Sweden. Although the remains had been thought to be of a male warrior since the grave's excavation in 1878, both a 2014 osteological analysis and a 2017 DNA study proved that the remains were of a female. The 2017 study concludes the person in Bj 581 was a high-ranking female professional warrior. The study attracted worldwide attention, as well as criticism from some academics who disputed the interpretation of grave goods.