First, listen to the story and then click on the AR symbol in the image above.

The silver buckle was found in a female grave near Kata's grave from the same period. Since similar ring buckles have been found in several graves, they are likely an important part of the contemporary fashion among women in Varnhem towards the end of the Viking Age.

The story in text:

Even before the monastery in Varnhem came into existence and the first abbey was built, there was here in Varnhem a farm with its roots back in the Viking Age – Kata Farm – with its own church and graves that indicate that there was Christianity here perhaps as early as the ninth century. Excavations show that the place has been inhabited ever since the beginning of the Christian era, the year AD 1!

At the top of the hill, traces of the estate's own stone church were found, built as early as the 11th century. Feel free to walk up there and look inside. The walls of the stone church are easy to see, as is the deep hollow which was the church crypt. Crypts were unusual in Sweden at this time, but fairly frequent in England. And it seems that links with England were fairly well developed.

Excavations also showed the existence of an even older wooden church, from the 10th century, measuring only 6 x 4 metres. Inside the superstructure there is an exciting exhibition where you can learn more about the Christian Vikings.

Also discovered in the area – a large silver trove comprising 476 Anglo-Saxon coins, the most recent of which was struck in the 1030s. Rune stones in the area also testify that men from Västergötland were among the forces of the Danish king Canute the Great in England after the conquest of 1015. So Varnhem vikings seem to have travelled to England and plundered – perhaps with Cnut the Great of Denmark – and then brought home both silver and Christian customs.

The excavations have changed our picture of Swedish history, showing that the place became Christianised a century before the rest of Sweden, as early as the 10th century. In the thousands of graves that exist around the old stone church, the dead have been buried without cremation and with their heads to the West and feet to the East, according to Christian tradition. The oldest graves discovered have been dated to the first half of the 10th century.

Kata Farm takes its name from the woman whose skeleton is one of the greatest finds during the excavations. Kata lived in the large farmhouse towards the end of the Viking Age. Her grave was marked with a Christian headstone with a runic inscription. A man has also been found in another grave in the area, who is thought to have been Kata’s husband – Kättil.