Dansk

Abstract

In the winter of 2017/2018, a team of
amateur
archaeologists discovered a
previously unknown site which contained
several weapon deposits roughly
dating to the period AD 150 – 550.
Based on the data they had collected it
was possible to narrow down four concentrations,
of which three consisted
mainly
of various types of weapons.
Museum Sønderskov has since excavated
these three sites with financial support
from the Danish Department of
Castles and Culture
The results are exciting. Not only
has it been possible to excavate and rescue
the weapon deposits from ploughing
activities,
it has also been possible
to establish
that a multi-phased
well-founded longhouse was used for
multiple depositions which actually
consisted of more than just weapons.
Equally interesting were three larger
dark culture layers where especially
one revealed the remains of an intense
destruction of copper alloy artifacts
such as belt fittings, brooches, parts of
drinking horns etc.
This paper is a preliminary presentation
of the results of the surveys
which have been conducted at this
newly found site. Furthermore, it is a
presentation of the theory that these
deposits are part of the pre-Christian
rituals carried out in a region that today
is named after the god Frey. A series of
depositions where the gold hoard »The
Fæsted Hoard« from the 10th century is
the so far youngest.