In Northern Europe’s Bronze Age (2000bce - 500bce) the ship was seen as - and still is by some - a symbol of transportation in the afterlife. This doesn’t mean it’s a representation of the end of life, but a part of the continuous cycle of our spirit. The sunwheel also has similar symbolical meaning, being the rotation of not only the earths seasons, but also the seasons within us being in this physical life and our infinite states of consciousness (life, death & rebirth).

Gotland - the island between Sweden and the Baltics, has many grave sites in the shapes of ships made from stone that are thousands of years old. These were created so the dead could travel safely into the afterlife, wherever that may be. This was similar to being buried with an actual ship, but that was only done for royalty. The idea that you need to get buried in a ship to go to Valhöll (Valhalla) is a load of garbage that's been spread by modern pop fiction. Ceremonies would also take place inside the stone graves to help connect with ancestral spirits.

The sunwheel is still a very popular symbol and is seen everywhere. Look at the Celtic cross for example which the Catholic Church has adopted. It’s a sunwheel on a stick (cross with the ring around the centre of it) that the Christians adopted (stole) as their own. So it’s always funny seeing pagan crosses on top of churches.