A young woman from Vedbaek, Denmark, buried with her newborn child who had been placed on the wing of a swan, 4000 BC
A young woman from Vedbaek, Denmark, buried with her newborn child who had been placed on the wing of a swan, 4000 BC. Vedbaek 'The swan's wing burial' Tomb 8 is the most famous of the burials, containing a young woman, who may have died in childbirth, and a premature baby. The symbolism of the baby on the swan wing has been much debated with suggestions including purity and a waterfowl's ability to transcend water, land, and air. Indeed, both bodies were cared for in death (the disordered state of the mother's ribs suggests that she may have been resting on an organic "pillow"), suggesting the belief that the spirit remained with the body.