FUN FACT: Who originated the tradition of burial at sea?

The tradition of burial at sea in an ancient one, a practice that has been in existence as long as people have gone to sea. The Egyptians sent their dead out to sea, and over the centuries naval ships far from land on fighting missions have often used the world’s oceans as watery cemeteries.

The Vikings are probably the culture we most associate with sea burials. The sea held such importance to the Vikings not only because it was their source of food, but also because oceans were their highways of commerce, bringing all kinds of items to help enrich, shape, and change their lives and cultures. Ships were so strongly associated with the continuance of life that they were the natural choice for the vehicle in which to send off a Viking to his afterlife. The ship symbolized rebirth, a way for the Viking to defeat death and venture onward to whatever lay in the beyond.

To learn more about burials outside of the box, read Exit Strategy by Michelle Cromer.