ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how Norse identities were negotiated through furnished Scandinavian burials in Northern Scotland and how this was affected by migration. This is undertaken through an examination of the burials from this area, and by comparing them with supposed homeland practices in Western Norway. It is argued that the furnished Scandinavian graves of Northern Scotland are concerned with displaying distinctly Norse identities, and that they should not be interpreted as simply reflecting the Norse identities of the dead. Rather, the Norse settlers of Northern Scotland are seen as actively and self-consciously (re)negotiating these identities on both an individual and a group level. This is interpreted in light of a power discourse in which claiming Norse ancestry and ethnicity is seen as crucial.
