Ingvar


Ingvar or Yngvar was the son of Östen and reclaimed the Swedish throne for the House of Yngling after the Swedes had rebelled against Sölve.
He is reported to have fallen in battle in Estonia and been buried there. Although the account of Ingvar is semi-legendary, the discovery of two boat grave sites in Salme, modern Estonia has confirmed that a similar historic event took place in the 8th century.

''Ynglinga saga''

relates in his Ynglinga saga that King Ingvar, Östen's son, was a great warrior who often spent time patrolling the shores of his kingdom fighting Danes and Estonian vikings. King Ingvar finally came to a peace agreement with the Danes and could take care of the Estonian vikings.
He consequently started pillaging in Estonia in retribution, and one summer he arrived at a place called Stein. The Estonians assembled a great army in the interior and attacked King Ingvar in a great battle. The Estonian forces were too powerful and Ingvar fell and the Swedish forces retreated. Ingvar was buried in a mound at a place called Stone or Hill fort on the shores of Saaremaa.

''Ynglingatal''

Snorri then quotes a stanza from Þjóðólfr of Hvinir's Ynglingatal:

Archaeology

In 2008–2010, the ship burial of two ships were discovered in Salme, Estonia, the Salme ships. Remains from at least 42 individuals were discovered in the two ships. Most of them belonged to 30–40 years old males who had been killed in battle. Isotope analysis of some of the teeth, combined with the design of the buried artifacts, suggest that the men came from central Sweden. The smaller ship contained the skeletal remains of 7 individuals. There were at least 36 individuals buried in four layers in the large ship. In samples from the 7th century Salme defined Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a1a1b, N1a1a1a1a1a1a, I1-M253 and mtDNA haplogroup T2b5a, V, J2a1a1a2, H10e, K1c1h, W6a, U3b1b. The DNA analysis showed that four of the men were brothers and they were related to a fifth man, perhaps an uncle.
The ships were clinker-built and archaeologists have estimated their time of construction to be AD 650–700 in Scandinavia. There are signs indicating they had been repaired and patched for decades before making their final voyage. One of the ships is long and wide. It did not have mast or sails, and they would have been rowed for short distances along the Baltic coast, or between islands, or straight across the Baltic, as rowing longer distances has proved perfectly feasible time and again in modern times. This is also indicated by the Old Norse word for distance across water "vikusjö, vikja" the distance to row before changing rowers, a distance of about.
The second ship was long and wide. This larger ship had a keel for sailing which would arguable make it the oldest viking sailing ship found so far, possibly redefining the beginning of the viking age.
According to a confirmed interpretation offered by Jüri Peets, the lead archaeologist at the site, the ships and the dead are of Scandinavian origin, from Mälar region in Sweden, where similarly decorated sword hilts have been found; osteological analysis also indicates Mälar region and several men have been found to relatives.
According to one scenario, a war party of Scandinavians attempted to carry out a raid against the Oeselians, but were attacked by Oeselian ships. The sides of the two ships contain numerous embedded arrowheads, some of which are of the three-pointed type used to carry burning materials to set enemy ships aflame. After losing too many oarsmen to the Estonian archers, the raiders pulled their ships aground and tried to defend themselves behind them. It appears that after the battle, the Oeselians allowed either the survivors or some other group of Scandinavians to ritually bury their dead. The burial is unusual because the ships were not covered with earth mounds. The site was eventually forgotten by the local inhabitants after it had become overblown by sand and covered with vegetation. The raid-hypothesis has led to a questioning of when the Viking Age began exactly. The Salme event took place 50–100 years earlier than the infamous Lindisfarne Viking raid in England in the summer of AD 793.
The original interpretation was called into question after the second, larger, ship was uncovered in 2010. It is likely that the human remains in it belonged to individuals of noble birth, as evidenced by the large number of expensive bronze sword-hilts and the complete lack of weaponry associated with commoners. The presence of dogs and hawks used for falconry indicates that the original purpose of the trip to Estonia may have been leisure or diplomacy. Peets suggests that the men may have come on a voyage from Sweden to forge an alliance or establish kinship ties when unknown parties set upon them.

Primary sources

Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925.
Category:7th-century deaths
Category:7th-century monarchs in Europe
Category:People of medieval Estonia
Category:European people whose existence is disputed
Category:Semi-legendary kings of Sweden
Category:Year of birth unknown