Nye fund af »La Tène«-sværd i Sydvestjylland

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Abstract

During the last few years, several new
swords of the La Tène-type have been
found in Southwestern Jutland. They are,
like most of the earlier finds, found in
urn graves or firepit graves from the first
century BC. This article presents three
new finds from two locations, Erisvænget
and Tjæreborg Nord, and puts them into
their military and social contexts.
The new finds expand our numbers
of La Tène-swords in the region. Furthermore,
the new finds are part of large
excavations, and thus it is possible to relate
the finds to the cultural landscape
around them.
The production, distribution, and use
of the swords will be discussed. Analyses
of one of the swords, from Tjæreborg
Nord, and the metal analysis hint at a
possible local production of La Tèneswords,
though using foreign resources.
Further, the article discusses why
La Tène-type swords spread to the Germanic
area at the very end of the period
when the La Tène-swords were used. It
seems that the swords do not signify a
certain social class, but rather a new military
development which is incorporated
into a social network of relationships between
people.