The first thing that came to mind for me when I read this challenge brief was a Viking funeral for a Norse warrior. After spending some time researching the cultural beliefs of the Vikings I have found out that the boat out to sea that modern culture has popularized was in fact not very common during the Viking age. However, the Vikings burial practices were still in many ways still very grand and interesting in their own rights. So with this scene I will be attempting to portray a funeral scene that is more consistent with the historical record and evidence that we have today. The early Vikings were in large part fiercely pagan and thus relied upon cremation as the proper way to send off the dead believing that the smoke of the fire would help carry the deceased to the afterlife. This was commonly done upon a funeral pyre, a stack of wood and sometimes stone made for the purpose of burning the body. After being cremated the remains were commonly buried in an urn. Accompanying the urn would be "Grave Gifts", tributes and gifts buried along with the dead that represented the things the person would need in the afterlife. These gifts scaled along with the persons status and very commonly reflected who they were in their time on earth. While there was typically no grand longship set ablaze like we may picture today boats were still very important in Norse mythology and for many represented safe passage into the afterlife. Thus, it was common for funeral pyres and grave mounds to be built to resemble ships using large stones to outline the vessels shape.
For my scene I will be attempting to construct a diorama that captures the story of a Viking warrior being laid to rest in a way that reflects and shines light on these unique and interesting practices. Below is the initial reference board gathered to help me start concepting and blocking out the scene