Viking Burial Discovered in Scotland

[Newfoundlander]

[snip] the graves of humans and/or other sites that were once sacred to a people should be treated with respect, particularly when they are subjected to invasive examination. [snip]

I couldn't agree more.

Having been involved in a few excavations both officially as a geologist working with physical anthropologists, and as an volunteer participant in digs with archeologist friends of mine, I can say that sites involving human burial or ritual are treated with great respect indeed. The excavation is untaken with the utmost care, and the finds meticulously handled and cared for.

The remote sensing techniques I highlighted above are a few of the techniques used, and they are always the first step. And no doubt they have already been done at this site and it's progressing to excavation. That's hot they got the evidence for an metal axe, shield, and approx. 200 metal pins. Someone walked over the site with a high-resolution magnetic anomaly device. The problem again, is resolution, or lack thereof. Invasive techniques are necessary if you really want to understand. These techniques are not the "pickaxe" techniques done in ancient Egypt in the 1850's, thankfully.

Everyone I've ever met involved in this kind of work is fully aware and sensitive to the human emotional issues that will be generated in the public, and indeed, in the scientific community as well.

As a person, and as a scientist, I have a great deal of respect and trust in my colleagues that undertake this kind of work. I personally feel it's very justified and very important for society as a whole.

Again, this is just one man's opinion

[Newfoundlander]

As difficult as it is to put into words, but I have a foot in both camps. My upbringing fundamentally tells me its not right to disturb the dead, and the scientist in me sees this as a tremendous opportunity to see into the past and help illuminate an ancient culture that had such a far reaching impact on the world. Vikings were after all, the very first caucasians to set foot in North America when Leaf Ericsson landed in Lance aux Meadows in Newfoundland, and that's just one of many examples in the world.

Speaking as a geologist, there are some non-invasive techniques that can be used to help here. Shallow reading magnetic and gravitational surveys, very low-charge seismic techniques that may help depending on depth, and certainly ground penetrating radar. The latter is likely where the drawing originated from, if its a factual representation of whats at this site, and not from another site or just an artist rendering for yahoo. However, there are severe limitations on the resolution of these techniques, and they would not be able to determine anything small or non-metallic. So, that leaves us with excavation.

The question really is, is it worth it to know? That's a question that steps into the ethical realm as well, as you are disturbing a grave site or tomb.

I always find it most helpful to ask the converse; what would be the drawbacks or limitations of human understanding if we didn't disturb these sites? The crypts below Norte Dame, below St. Pauls, below the Vatican and in particular St. Peters, the Myan Pyramids, the pantheon, countless texts, codexes, and scrolls both biblical and gnostic, the Great Pyramids at Giza, the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbal, and the list can continue, would all be closed from our understanding... Tragedy.

These are priceless insights into how we as a species came to be where we are, and are very important for our understanding ourselves, and ultimately, to help guide us to where were going. In my humble opinion.

[Mikewood]

For me this comes down to a question of time. These bones and this ship
Have been resting for 1000 yearns. We have only gotten good at archeology in the last 30. Before that we were really sophisticated grave robbers. What will archeological techniques be like 100 years from now and can we afford to wate? The price for the hope of learning something new may be that a future generation may not get to learn something at all. We are very meticulous but in the quest for old nails can we afford to deprive the future of say hammerng and assembly techniques or something better we can't begin to fathom?