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The Aldersro wetland-settlement complex

Deposition and mortuary practices in Pre-Roman Iron Age, Eastern Jutland, Denmark

Authors

  • Astrid Storgaard Roborg Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark
  • Mette Løvschal Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University & Moesgaard Museum, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3084-0524

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/dja.v10i0.125120

Keywords:

Eastern Jutland Denmark, Pre-Roman Iron Age, wetland depositions, domestic practices, human remains, fragmentation

Abstract

In southern Scandinavia, the Early Iron Age transition is characterised by radical ideological and organisational changes involving new material practices of sorting, delimiting, depositing and discarding artefacts, humans and nonhumans, in both wetlands and drylands. However, settlements and wetland areas are mostly excavated separately, and the deeper relationship between these practices and associated spheres remains somewhat inconclusive. Aldersro, Eastern Jutland, provides an exceptional opportunity to revisit this relationship. A juxtaposed settlement and wetland activity area spanning more than 1.4 hectares were excavated in 2002-2003. The excavations exposed the structural remains of houses, fences, storage buildings, pits and peat graves. Moreover, they disclosed extensive archaeological remains of more than 800 ceramic vessels, processed wood, stones, burnt organic material, human and animal bones subject to 14C, pollen, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, osteology, and ceramic analyses. The site has provided vital new insights into the diachronic dynamics of depositional and mortuary practices in the Early Iron Age. The highly fragmented remains of more than eight human individuals were mixed and deposited together with typical settlement debris, and would have been exposed right next to a settlement area.

References

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Published

2021-10-04

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How to Cite

Roborg, A. S., & Løvschal, M. (2021). The Aldersro wetland-settlement complex: Deposition and mortuary practices in Pre-Roman Iron Age, Eastern Jutland, Denmark. Danish Journal of Archaeology, 10, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.7146/dja.v10i0.125120

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