Recent investigations of an apparently ‘empty,’ partly disturbed Viking chamber grave in Denmark (Fregerslev II, dated around the mid-10th century CE) provided an opportunity to develop a novel multi-scale and multi-method analysis of burial and post-burial processes. To overcome the limitations of poor preservation of artefacts and bones, and the lack of a clear macrostratigraphic sequence, we integrated multi-proxy analyses of organic and inorganic materials to study the spatial architecture, burial, and post-depositional processes, including soil chemistry (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry - ICPMS, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer - pXRF), soil micromorphology, archaeobotany (wood, seeds, fruits, phytoliths), palynology (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs), and faecal lipid biomarkers. The results enabled the detailed characterisation, spatial analysis, and sequencing of burial deposits, and the identification of post-depositional factors responsible for the poor preservation of the burial. Soil, phytolith and pollen data indicated that the base of the grave was covered with a matting of plant material, and there was no wooden floor. Faecal biomarkers detected substantial amounts of faecal matter, most probably originating from horse faeces, suggesting that a horse died in situ, and trace amounts of pig faeces, which are more likely to have been trampled into the grave. Enriched phosphorus concentrations could be linked to the bodies in the northern and southern sector of the grave. Furthermore, enrichment in lead was found where metal objects were recovered. The findings from Fregerslev II show that integrating high-resolution approaches to the analysis of poorly preserved burial contexts can fundamentally transform archaeological interpretations.

最近对丹麦一个明显“空”的、部分受到干扰的维京墓室坟墓（Fregerslev II，大约在公元 10 世纪中叶）的调查为开发一种新颖的多尺度和多方法埋葬和埋葬后分析提供了机会过程。为了克服文物和骨骼保存不力以及缺乏清晰的宏观地层序列的局限性，我们整合了有机和无机材料的多代理分析来研究空间结构、埋葬和沉积后过程，包括土壤化学。电感耦合等离子体质谱仪 - ICPMS、便携式 X 射线荧光光谱仪 - pXRF）、土壤微形态学、古植物学（木材、种子、果实、植硅体）、孢粉学（花粉、非花粉孢粉）和粪便脂质生物标志物。结果使我们能够对埋葬沉积物进行详细的表征、空间分析和排序，并确定导致埋葬保存不佳的沉积后因素。土壤、植硅体和花粉数据表明，坟墓底部覆盖着一层植物材料，没有木地板。粪便生物标志物检测到大量粪便物质，很可能来自马的粪便，这表明马死了原地，以及微量的猪粪，更有可能被踩到坟墓里。富磷浓度可能与坟墓北部和南部的尸体有关。此外，在回收金属物体的地方发现了铅的富集。Fregerslev II 的研究结果表明，将高分辨率方法用于分析保存不佳的墓葬环境可以从根本上改变考古解释。