Kuml https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab da-DK Kuml 0454-6245 <p>Fra og med årgang 2022 er artikler udgivet i <em>Kuml </em>med en licens fra Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).<br />Alle tidligere årgange af tidsskriftet er ikke udgivet med en licens fra Creative Commons.</p> Kærgård og Skovby https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153194 <p><strong>Kærgård and Skovby</strong><br><em>The regional flint traditions of the Maglemose culture</em></p> <p>This article is about two sites in central Jutland, Kærgård and Skovby, which have shown great potential for elucidating technological traditions during the Late Maglemose period. Kærgård dates to the final centuries of the 8th millennium BC and Skovby to the end of the Maglemose culture, around 6400 BC. These dates are based primarily on microlith typology, supplemented by 14C dates from Kærgård. But the question arises as to whether it is even possible to use lithic technology as a tool for dating Maglemose sites in Jutland (fig. 1).<br>M. Sørensen’s classification of Maglemose technology groups is employed in the interpretation of both sites. <br>Kærgård and Skovby are just two examples from a large assemblage of Maglemose sites found in the Herning area. Multiple sites were revealed in the area around the lake Bølling Sø in conjunction with nature restoration work, and several others were found during investigations preceding construction of the motorway between Herning and Holstebro. Numerous additional sites have also been found in the Silkeborg area in recent years.<br>From a research and interpretation perspective, Maglemose sites in central Jutland present many difficulties, and new examples offering opportunities to refine chronologies are therefore most welcome. The Jutland sites have suffered greater degradation by agricultural activities than those on Zealand, and organic materials are rarely preserved in the sandy soils. <br>Kærgård<br>The Kærgård site comprises a 100 m2 area containing archaeological finds located on a small elevation on the southern bank of the stream Løven Å. A total of 1418 pieces of flint were found here, including 100 examples from the plough soil. The rest of the material is interpreted as being in situ. The flint remains are generally quite small and very fragmented, partially due to exposure to heat.<br>Including fragments, 25 microliths were found which date the site typologically to the end of Phase 2 or the beginning of Phase 3. Combined with an additional 32 microburins, they constitute evidence of intensive microlith production. Fifteen typical and 5 atypical cores were also recovered. The latter were small, one-sided examples with a sloping platform. Several of these had been struck from the side, which is an unusual method. Blades produced by direct, medium-hard percussion numbered 177. Additional flint tools present comprised burins, scrapers and drills. The flint appeared to be distributed in four concentrations, the largest of which had been disturbed by a modern road. The most significant concentration is interpreted as being the result of intensive microlith production around a campfire.<br>Pollen analysis of a turf layer close to the find-rich matrix allowed relative a dating of the finds to around 7000 BC. This concurs well with the typological dating of the flint. The analysis revealed the presence of a dense forest of birch, alder, oak and lime trees in the immediate vicinity, together with a lesser amount of heather indicating some open areas with drier, sandier soil.<br>The site extended over most of the elevation, which also had the highest podzol concentration. The flint was associated with the bleached sand layer. The process of podzol formation could have been promoted by activities at the site. An actual cultural layer is no longer evident, having become diffused with the passage of time.<br>Kærgård was dated with nine 14C dates, of which six fall within the Boreal Maglemose culture – four of these are in the period 7450-7000 BC (figs. 2-11, tabs. 1-2).<br>Skovby<br>The Skovby site comprised three small areas with flint. One of these yielded microliths, which can be placed typologically within the later part of the Maglemose culture. The others contained flint from both the Maglemose culture and the Neolithic period. The soil colouration indicates that these three areas covered a total area of about 100 m². In addition to the microliths, microburins, microblades and burins were also found, and the assem­blage is interpreted as representing a single episode at a hunting station.<br>Geological and other environmental analyses were not undertaken due to the lack of preserved organic materials.<br>A total of 689 pieces of flint were found in the three concentrations; a few of these flints dated to the Neolithic. Technological analysis of the eight microliths, plus the blades and cores, indicated that they had been produced by pressure flaking, but the blades and the cores do not reflect that. Typologically, the assemblage of Maglemose flint dates the site to Phase 4/5 of the culture. The finds included six microburins, four cores and 70 blades. Technologically, these are almost identical to the finds from Kærgård (figs. 12-15, tabs. 2-3).<br>Chronology and phase assignation via typology and technology<br>Most of the material analysed from Danish Maglemose culture derives from Zealand. Many sites have been investigated over the years, some of which contained preserved organic materials. They have provided the basis for subdivision of the Maglemose culture. Using typology alone to date sites is problematic and inflexible, especially in the case of disturbed and multicomponent assemblages. Sørensen’s four technological groups, which are linked to Phases 0-5 of the Maglemose culture, show a transition from Phase 2 to 3 around 7000 BC. In the material from eastern Denmark, there is a technological shift at this point to symmetrical blades, conical, channelled cores and scalene triangular microliths, produced by pressure flaking. The origin of this technology is believed to be the Post-Swiderian culture of western Russia and the Baltics. Single component sites from technology group 3 occur at several locations in eastern Denmark, but only a few have been 14C dated. Group 3 becomes less visible the further west in Denmark one looks, and Sørensen suggests a physical border for this group at about the Lillebælt, the strait between Funen and Jutland. The assemblages recovered from Kærgård and Skovby support this conclusion (tab. 4).<br>What does the technology from central Jutland reveal?<br>Both Kærgård and Skovby are unusual sites for central Jutland because they both date to the later part of the Maglemose culture, whereas most of the material from this region is from Phases 0-2. Analysis shows that it is only the microliths that distinguish the two sites chronologically; in most other respects the inventories are very similar. Included in these similarities are the shaping of cores through direct-hard or medium-hard percussion and the choice of raw material, while the blade inventories and micro-­burins from both sites also resemble each other greatly. Pressure flaking is not at all in evidence. The sites consequently show both earlier and later technological developments, suggesting a mostly conservative approach to lithic utilisation. The Kærgård microlith assemblage is very similar to contemporaneous material from eastern Denmark. This prompts a discussion of the extent to which the technological element of blade production is restricted geographically. In turn, this indicates a transition from a relatively homogenous culture to one divided into regional groups that have fewer and more sporadic contacts over greater distances. One explanation for this situation could be that the knowledge and skills necessary to replicate specific blade production technologies did not spread as readily as that needed to shape projectile points. The similarities between the microliths recovered from the two sites and those from eastern Denmark could be the result of short-term contact and exchange. The inhabitants of central Jutland may have become more isolated around 7000 BC, perhaps due to changes in climate and landscape. <br>New research on bone points from the Maglemose culture found in bogs divides these into two groups, separated by a hiatus of 600 years, from 8300 to 7700 BC. The hypothesis is that this absence reflects the disappearance of humans, perhaps due to a drastic change in the climate. Kærgård and Skovby are both dated to the same period as the later of these two groups, and perhaps reflect just such change in the form of greater isolation from eastern Denmark. <br>The Kærgård and Skovby sites can serve as templates for interpreting and dating other sites of the Late Maglemose culture in central Jutland. Their assemblages provide a basis for an understanding of technological developments as well as offering dating potential (within certain constraints). It is especially important to recognise and define material from what are often multicomponent sites. Based on the currently available evidence, Maglemose culture technology in central Jutland appears very uniform throughout the 3000 years of its existence, which helps to explain why it has been so difficult to define phases especially in the case of disturbed and mixed assemblages.<br>Additional 14C dates from sealed contexts could aid an understanding of technological developments and dissemination during this period, while new morphological observations could help to refine the chronologies. Investigations of single component, undisturbed sites would greatly assist these endeavours and future road construction schemes and other similar projects, which often cross the river and stream valleys that constitute fruitful locations for Maglemose research, will hopefully provide the opportunity to excavate these types of sites in the future.</p> Ditte Skov Khan Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Ertebøllekunstens teknik og kronologi https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153196 <p><strong>Ertebølle art – techniques and chronology</strong><br><em>New finds from the Ertebølle culture in Jutland</em></p> <p>This article presents a new tool type within the material equipment of the Ertebølle culture in Jutland (figs. 1-2). The artefact is made of red deer antler and has a polished surface. The outline is oblong with parallel edges; one end is blunt, while the other ends in a break. The cross-section is semicircular, and on the top side is a small tap (figs. 1-2). The new artefact is, moreover, decorated with various patterns, in the rare pointillé<br>(punch) technique and with both fine and deeply incised lines. The new type is extremely uncommon and has not previously been found in Jutland, but a few examples have been recorded on Ertebølle settlements in northern Funen and eastern Zealand (figs. 3-5). The scarcity of the finds means that a secure identification of the tool’s function is not possible, but it is found in both the Early and Late Ertebølle culture.<br>Besides Numerous new ornamented Ertebølle artefacts have turned up since the two overviews of the art of the Ertebølle culture were published in Kuml in 1981 and 1998 (see note 60) (figs. 1-25). Most comprise antler axes, but there is also a single shaft (fig. 12) and a fragment of a bone knife ornamented with drilled pits and a rare depiction of a human figure (fig. 20). Most of the new finds derive from central-eastern Jutland, especially the area around Horsens Fjord, and on Djursland which, both in a Danish and a northern European context, constitute areas yielding many ornamented Late Mesolithic antler artefacts.<br>The new finds also include two antler axes (figs. 6 and 11) and a slender shaft (fig. 7). The surface of the antler axe, which is worn smooth, is covered by several different incised patterns, for example, zigzag bands of thin lines, bunches of short, parallel lines, a rhombus and a row of the familiar ‘wheatsheaf’ motifs. All these motifs are incised into the surface of the antler axe using fine, thin lines (fig. 6).<br>Surface-covering ornamentation is a characteristic feature of tools from the Early Ertebølle culture and, with the aid of ‘surface stratigraphy’, it has been possible to distinguish and date various decorative techniques and episodes in relation to each other (fig. 27). The stab technique is the earliest, while that employing fine, thin lines is slightly later. The latest patterns are those which are incised in a technique employing broader, deeper lines. It is possible that a small group of antler axes with a characteristic smooth-scraped surface (figs. 22-25) represents the latest decorative technique employed during the Ertebølle culture. After this technique, no further examples of the decoration of Ertebølle antler artefacts are found. <br>The ornamented antler axes can be divided into two groups: A small group of heavily worn examples that have been used over a longer period and which bear several successive incised patterns employing different techniques, compositions and motifs, and a larger group of axes that do not have a worn surface and only bear a few motifs of an individual character. The first group can be interpreted as ‘ritual/magical’ pieces that have been used over a long period, while the second group represents the more individual, identity-marked artefacts with a looser, less stringent decorative structure. The ritual use of the axes in the first group has extended over such a long time span that both the decorative techniques and the motifs have changed several times. This decorative sequence can be roughly dated to the earliest/Early Ertebølle culture, c. 5400-4700 BC.<br>The shaft (fig. 7) is unusual, given that it is made from a very slender (young) antler of atypical size and form and displays very regular ornamentation in the form of a panel containing a long row of wheatsheaves. A similar slender shaft bearing wheatsheaf ornamentation has been recorded from the submerged Ertebølle locality of Ellerbek in Kieler Förde, and these two shafts constitute a small group of the ornamented shafts from the Ertebølle culture. They are related in form to the throwing sticks of late ice age times.<br>The commonest motif employed in the Ertebølle culture of western Denmark is the wheatsheaf, which is found on c. 25 antler axes. It is characteristic that this motif almost always appears as well-­delimited ‘sets’ on the axes (13 examples), while it has a more scattered occurrence across the surface of other artefacts. A count of the number of wheatsheaves in the motif groups on the individual tools shows that in most cases (16 examples) there is a clear dominance of sets containing groups of three, four or five motifs, whereas one or two wheatsheaves are rare occurrences. Conversely, there are only three cases where more than ten motifs have been incised on the same artefact. In one instance (the antler from Bogø Nor) as many as about 25 motifs occur on the same piece. The fact that the motifs only rarely show a slight overlap indicates the ornamentation was not planned as a single composition from the beginning but results from a series of ritual activities over a longer period. This is also evident from instances where it has been possible to separate the ornamentation out into a series of successive decorative processes.<br>The surface of the ‘ritual’ tools has apparently functioned as a wall or a board into which patterns have repeatedly been incised. This suggests that these artefacts had either a special ideological or ritual significance over an extended period. This conclusion is underlined by their smoothly worn surface and partially worn-away motifs. As a parallel to this approach, attention can be drawn to cave walls decorated with Late Palaeolithic art, where the same surfaces have been used repeatedly for painting or incising motifs. The fact that so few Ertebølle antler artefacts (relative to the total number of these tools known from the culture) are ornamented suggests that these pieces had a different function or worth than the non-ornamented examples. This interpretation is, however, contradicted to some degree by the evident damage to the axe edge, fractures at the shaft hole and evidence of heavy rejuvenation of these tools. Collectively, this shows that these tools have both been used in everyday life and in the same way as the unornamented examples. There are several instances of ornamented axes being heavily worn and having a damaged edge: For example, the axes found in the Ertebølle graves at Fannerup and Nederst on Djursland. This demonstrates they have both been used as actual tools and have had a symbolic value and significance that has remained intact despite their worn-out appearance. This leads to the conclusion that it has more probably been their function as a ritual object in a burial context that was crucial, while their use as a tool – an axe – has been of lesser significance.<br>If we now turn our attention to the chronological aspects of these ornamented antler tools, it is interesting that virtually all of them can be dated to the earliest/Early Ertebølle culture, i.e 5.400 – 4600 B.C (cal.). The decoration of the antler tools (axes and shafts) of the Ertebølle culture in western Denmark largely ceases around 4700 BC, with a shift from ornamented to unornamented tools at the beginning of the Late Ertebølle culture. In the Middle and Late Ertebølle culture, decoration is only found on pottery and the painted/carved paddle blades, which apparently become the new objects for ornamentation. Ornamentation in the Late Ertebølle culture may, however, also have encompassed the human body and clothing, in addition to woven artefacts and those of skin/hide – all materials that are not readily preserved.<br>This shift in, or cessation of, decoration of the culture’s antler artefacts constitutes a marked change relative to the way in which this material was treated for many centuries prior to this. It must, therefore, signify a change or a shift in the culture’s ideology at this time (c. 4700 BC). It also coincides with a decline in the culture’s burial practices – a virtual cessation, whereby the number of graves falls dramatically.<br>This temporal coincidence may be just random chance, but it is interesting that it also coincides with the appearance of a series of new artefact Types in the material world of the Ertebølle culture: types that point towards the south and southeast: pottery, T-shaped antler axes, bone rings etc. This could mean that these events reflect a much deeper shift in the social and ideological structure of the Ertebølle culture than has previously been assumed, where research focus has largely been restricted to the typological/technological changes (see note 61).<br>It seems that not only are there significant changes the Ertebølle culture’s material equipment around 4700 BC, but a much deeper, ideological social change occurs, which sees expression in significantly fewer graves and cessation of the decoration of antler axes and shafts.</p> Søren H. Andersen Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Gravhøj med flintdolke og børnegrave https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153197 <p><strong>A barrow containing flint daggers and child graves</strong><br><em>The transition from the Single Grave culture to the Late Neolithic in Vesthimmerland</em></p> <p>Almost 40 years ago, a farmer and his son were removing stones from a newly ploughed field (fig. 1, VMÅ 2251), unaware that the stones constituted graves in a low burial mound. On completing the job and reviewing their work, they were surprised to find two very large flint daggers on the surface of the levelled soil. They took the daggers home with them and only rarely showed them to guests and family members. But rumours of their existence spread and eventually reached both the National Museum of Denmark and the local Vesthimmerlands Museum. Since then, repeated attempts have been made to have the flint daggers handed over to the museums for evaluation: Were they treasure trove (danefæ) or not? A few years ago, the author had the opportunity to see and measure the daggers and have them photographed (figs. 2-3). The final decision regarding their treasure trove status is still awaited. The flint daggers are early types, dating from the beginning of the Danish Late Neolithic. <br>There are some other contemporaneous localities in the near vicinity: Two flint-knapping workshops (fig. 1, VMÅ 2439 and note 4) with numerous fragments of daggers and sickles, postholes associated with two houses (fig. 1, VMÅ 867) and a further burial mound (fig. 1, FHM 1615 Kirkebjerget), exclusively containing child graves, but sealed by what appears to be an adult grave. <br>When removing the topsoil over the burial mound where the two flint daggers were found (fig. 1, VMÅ 2251), it was discovered that this mound covered several child graves, as well as at least one grave of an adult woman (fig. 4, A2, fig. 6a+b). The graves were arranged in a circle around a central grave containing the well-preserved remains of a child only 6-9 months of age (fig. 4, A13). This grave had maximum dimensions of 1.32 m x 0.85 m and a depth of 0.6 m. Another well-preserved grave was excavated to the west of the central grave. It contained the remains of 1½-year-old child buried in a wooden coffin, 1.1 m in length and 0.25 m in width (fig. 4, A10, figs. 8-9). A grave to the southwest could be that of an adult because a small beaker was found there (fig. 7). Most of the other stone-set graves contained neither skeletal material nor grave goods. These can probably be termed Oder cists, which are usually thought to have been constructed for children and are rather common in northern Jutland (fig. 4, A3, A4, A5, A6 and possibly A7). <br>The child in the central grave was appro­ximately 6 months old, judging from the development of the teeth and a general evaluation of the skeleton (figs. 10-12). A limb bone was 14C dated to 3772 60± BP (note 6). This date seems a little too late, since a beaker was found in grave A3 and the central grave should be the earliest, and the latest grave(s) should have the flint dagger(s). Strontium analysis was undertaken on the teeth of the presumed woman in grave A2. The Sr86/87 ratio was 0.71003, showing that the individual was most likely local, according to the local baseline.<br>The most important finds from this locality are therefore the two very large flint daggers and the skeletal material, especially that of children, recovered during the 2001 excavation. The infant in the central grave is clearly important due to its significant position and the preservation of its remains. Child graves were also found in a central position in the barrows at Kirkebjerget and Strandet Hovedgård, but only the teeth were preserved at these two sites. In both cases, the child graves were also positioned tangentially to the central grave and were sealed by graves that were most certainly of adults (containing flint daggers or flint axes). The small cists appear to belong to children and this grave type is also found as secondary graves in barrows, with an adult in the central grave, or even in settle­ments. <br>It seems that for a short while the inhab­itants of this region, Himmerland, Salling and Mors, invested great efforts in burying their children when they died, also those of an age not usually considered to be ‘a real human being’, i.e. under 4 years of age. It should be noted, however, that the beakers in these graves are small and that flint daggers and flint axes are associated with the adult graves in the barrows. The children were probably not counted as real people anyway. Nevertheless, it is striking that the primary graves in these three barrows were constructed for very young children. This must mean that these children were predestined for a certain position in the social hierarchy, perhaps regardless of their gender. One may wonder why these barrows were sealed with tools or weapons characteristic of adult men; in the case of Malle Østergaard with some of Denmark’s finest flint daggers. This may reflect the demise of an individual family, but here at the transition from the Single Grave Culture to the Late Neolithic, it may also mirror a development in the family-, kinship- and social structure indicating an even more pronounced hierarchy. It is worth noting that only a short distance separates the barrows containing multiple child graves, such as those at Kirkebjerget and Malle Østergaard. These two barrows exemplify the relative proportions of child and adult deaths in two neighbouring families. Was this level of child mortality common and was this relative distribution normal? Either way, the Malle Østegaard site constitutes an excellent supplement to our current knowledge about child graves at the end of the Single Grave Culture and the transition to the Late Neolithic.</p> Bjarne Henning Nielsen Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Tilbage til kilderne https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153198 <p><strong>Returning to the sources</strong><br><em>A Bronze Age depositional tradition rediscovered</em></p> <p>Interest in the use of metal detectors has grown markedly in recent years, and one consequence of this is reflected in the increasing number of records of Bronze Age depositions. At both Moesgaard ­Museum and Østfyns Museer, metal-­detector finds have prompted the undertaking of archaeological excavations, which have demonstrated that the objects were depo­sited at springs. <br>Conventionally, nuances in the specific relationship between Bronze Age depo­sitions and landscape at the deposition locality have often been concealed by the generic terms employed for these depositions, i.e. field/bog finds. There are records of offerings at springs all across Europe and throughout most of prehistory. But these finds associated with water flowing out of the ground, which may even have dried up in modern times, are difficult to recognise without an archaeo­logical excavation. Such investigations have only rarely been conducted because most Bronze Age depositions have been found accidentally, during agricultural cultivation, peat digging etc.<br>As part of a KFU (Kulturministeriets Forskningsfond)-financed research project, based on the results of excavations, topographical maps and examinations of old records in the archaeological literature and in museum archives, we are nevertheless able to conclude that depositions at springs constitute a previously under-­illuminated element of the Bronze Age wetland finds group. <br>More than a century ago, the famous well offering at Budsene was published and the original article mentions other finds from springs at Kirke Søby and Roskilde (figs. 1-3), but spring offerings are only rarely mentioned subsequently in the literature. This article presents 30 examples of finds from the Danish Bronze Age that, based on archival information and topography, are considered to derive from springs (figs. 4-7, tab. 1).<br>The period IV sword found by a metal detectorist in 2012 at Stærkær near the river Gudenåen prompted an archaeo­logical excavation conducted by Moesgaard Museum. Although it was not possible to relate the sword to a specific layer, the Stærkær excavation is a rare example of a documented, direct link between the deposited object and a spring-fed pond on the edge of a hill (figs. 8-14). <br>An even closer link between a deposition and a spring has been demonstrated at Hedegyden, near Nyborg, where Østfyns Museer undertook an excavation of an ornament deposition found by metal detectorists, which is dated to period V of the Bronze Age. The Hedegyden find is a multi-type deposition, consisting of three hanging vessels, a belt ornament and three lumps of metal. Remains of a wooden lid or container in one of the hanging vessels, as well as fragments of bark and wood, had also been deposited. Water still flowed at the site, and pale-yellow sand, together with pollen and NPP (non pollen)-­analysis, supported the spring interpretation. The NPP-analysis indicated the presence of bee hairs, which suggests that honey or beeswax were included in the deposition. The sequence of the deposition can be placed in a ‘chaîne opératoire’ (figs. 15-18).<br>In addition to the relatively detailed insight into the offering act itself, depositions at springs make a valuable and more general contribution to improving our understanding of the use by Bronze Age communities of the landscape outside settle­ments and fields.</p> Lise Frost Malene Refshauge Beck Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Mikroudgravning https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153199 <p><strong>Micro-excavation</strong><br><em>A method for documenting a micro-stratigraphy</em></p> <p>This article describes a method for harvesting, recording and systemising data from a heavily degraded and compressed body of block-lifted archaeological remains. The thickness of these remains was a maximum 3 cm, and identification was only possible with the aid of a micro­scope. An unorthodox way of implementing Harris matrices is demonstrated, by which the archaeological remains can reveal a picture of a more than 3000-year-old burial ritual.<br>The article first describes the archaeo­logical context of the Kongsted burial mound, the latest of the iconic Danish Bronze Age mounds containing well-­preserved oak-log coffins to be investigated, and the first since 1935. Figure 1 shows how the block was lifted within the oak-log coffin and figure 3 combines the geo-referenced sword with the skeletal parts. In figure 2, the sword is seen exposed in the block in the conservation laboratory.<br>The article describes in detail the special conditions for the preservation of organic materials prevailing in a Bronze Age burial mound with a preserved iron pan. For example, for protein-based materials such as hair (fig. 7), fur (fig. 6), woollen textile fibres (fig. 12), skin fibres (fig. 8) and the seldom surviving horn, which constitutes the hilt of the sword (fig. 14). It is then explained how the corroding bronze sword has created special preservative conditions for organic materials such as the mineralised hair from fur (fig. 9).<br>Furthermore, the article describes how the organic remains were extracted from the block and how they were identified under the microscope and with reference to the relevant literature. Features that are characteristic of bone (fig. 10) and skin (fig. 8) were detected at x100 magnification and hair at x200 magnification (fig. 7).<br>Archaeologically interesting details were also identified, such as the preserved oak sheath for the sword (fig. 15) and even its fur lining (fig. 16). Textile made a coarse, plainly woven z-spun type woollen thread was detected as being widespread in the vicinity of the sword (figs. 11-12), while a construction detail of the cloth, a curved edge, was also visible (fig. 13).<br>The block was defined by macroscopically obvious remains, namely the lid and bottom of the coffin, the skeletal parts and the bronze sword. The heavily degraded, compact fill was preserved between these clear horizons. Multiple samples were taken from the fill, the materials identified and their relation to each other noted on several plan drawings of the various hori­zons. The material identifications were illustrated by short Harris matrices, which were then combined with the horizons of the block to form a ‘cloud of matrices’, indicating the overall micro-stratigraphy of the contents of the grave (fig. 4).<br>Tentative suggestions about the nature of the burial ritual are made and illustrated (fig. 5). Finally, the potential for employing this method for harvesting and recording data from a degraded micro-­stratigraphy is outlined.</p> Helle Strehle Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Hverdagslivet i vikingetidens Vorbasse https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153201 <p><strong>Everyday life in Viking Age Vorbasse</strong><br><em>Between ancient practices and revolutionary innovations</em></p> <p>Over the past 30 years, hundreds of Iron Age and Viking Age villages have been excavated, but Vorbasse remains unique due to its state of preservation and the proportion of the site that was uncovered in the 1970s and 80s. In the Early Viking Age, the Vorbasse village was small, hardly the size of the average of Jutland village, but it was still the most important settlement in its immediate area (fig. 1). Despite only consisting of six farms, it nevertheless became a church town and the largest local ejerlav (= vill or cadastral district). The village is classified as a typical adelby (= noble town) with extended settlement continuity.<br>Six wells associated with the Early Viking Age village were excavated at Vorbasse, and these were found to contain many well-preserved wooden objects. Since most of these wells have been dated dendrochronologically, the objects found in them can also be dated accurately. Preserved wooden objects are rare finds in the Viking Age villages excavated in Denmark. Conversely, the preservation conditions at early urban sites from the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages are so favourable that many wooden objects associated with activities in daily life have been recovered. The largest body of material is from Hedeby, and the impression gained here is that wooden household objects constituted a significantly larger group than those of pottery, soapstone and other materials combined.<br>The assemblage of wooden artefacts recovered from Vorbasse includes many already known types, such as the wooden bowl with a handle, seen in many variants elsewhere, including at Hedeby and at Trelleborg on Zealand (figs. 12a and 12d). The stave-built bucket (fig. 12 g) is represented at Trelleborg. Similar spades to the Vorbasse examples (fig. 12c) have been found at several other sites, for example the royal mounds at Jelling and the ramparts of Danevirke near Hedeby. Similar ladders to those from Vorbasse are also seen elsewhere, including at the site of Næs in southern Zealand (figs. 8b and 11). Wagon axles, too, are known from other sites, including a well-preserved identical example from Viborg Søndersø. But the trough, baking peel (fig. 12c) and hayfork (fig. 12b) have as yet no parallels at other Viking Age sites in Denmark.</p> Lone Hvass Steen Hvass Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Runestenen fra Hørning genbelyst https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153203 <p><strong>The Hørning runestone revisited</strong></p> <p>In 1849, farmer Jens Mortensen was ploughing his field when he found a runestone. It has since been known as the Hørning runestone (figs. 1 &amp; 2). Jens Mortensen had the farm from 1809 until 1853. The field, cadastral parcel no. 3, extended from the village all the way northwards to the watercourse Aarhus Å. <br>The text on the Hørning stone<br>The Hørning stone has attracted attention from both archaeological illustrators and runologists since its discovery. The text appears quite straightforward and is translated as ‘Tóki Smith raised the stone in memory of Þorgísl Guðmundr’s son, who gave him gold(?) and freedom’. The final part of the text could, however, also be understood as a reference to Þorgísl Guðmundr’s son’s inclusion of Tóki Smith in his family. There are good examples of both possibilities in the provincial laws and the sagas. Tóki Smith was also behind the Grensten runestone (fig. 3), found near Randers, bearing the text ‘Tóki Smith raised this stone in memory of Hrifli, son of Ásgeirr Bjǫrn’s son. May God help their souls’. The Gylling runestone (fig. 4), found south of Odder, is possibly also linked to Tóki Smith. It bears the text ‘Tóki Þorgísl›s son raised this stone in memory of ... good and risbiik his brother’. Future investigations and 3D scanning of the Gylling runestone may provide data for a more comprehensive understanding of the inscription and a discussion of its relationship to the Hørning and Grensten runestones.<br>The discovery site of the Hørning runestone<br>The exact find site for the runestone is unknown, but several old notes from the National Museum’s archive provide some information on the distance from the bridge Bering Bro and the proximity to two burial mounds. The site can therefore be determined to within an area of c. 50 x 50 m on cadastral no. 3 (figs. 5 &amp; 6).<br>The stone’s subsequent fate<br>In 1849, rural dean Peder Mikkelsen Schinnerup arranged for the runestone to be placed at Hørning church. It was later moved to the church porch before, at some point, being consigned to the cemetery dyke by the road to Aarhus, where it remained until 1873. In 1850, Schinnerup wrote to the Inspector for the Conservation of Antiquarian Monuments in Denmark, J.J.A. Worsaae (fig. 7), saying that the stone would be placed in the church porch. Worsaae saw the stone that same year and gave his first interpretation of the text.<br>In 1852, the office of pastor was taken over by Knud Peter Knudsen (fig. 8), who was not thought to have had any interest in culture or ancient monuments. Via a travelling salesman, Knudsen contacted the museum in Aarhus to hear if they would accept the runestone. His offer was rejected by Professor Lund, the museum director. As the runestone is an ancient monument owned by the state, it could not be moved without authorisation from the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. Knudsen then hired a local haulier to transport the stone to the museum in Aarhus, where there was great surprise when, with no prior warning, the runestone was suddenly unloaded. <br>Worsaae is informed of the situation and writes “To the Society for the Historical-Antiquarian Collection in Aarhus”. “I take the liberty of officially requesting the board of the honourable society to take over the supervision of this stone’s preservation in a safe and suitable place until a more detailed decision on its definitive placement can be made”.<br>This sets the stage for a lengthy clarification and discussion of the actual purpose and function of the runestone. Museum director Professor Lund and curator Vilhelm Boye at the museum in Aarhus are most intent on returning the stone to Hørning church. In a letter from 1873, Boye writes to Worsaae about the difficulties with the stone and the priest in Hørning, “that if one could drink or eat the stone, he (Knudsen) would never have let it go”. Furthermore, he writes that “Professor Lund is very happy that the stone is here and wishes that it may remain in its current location until it can be set up in the new museum, which they probably intend to begin in the spring. His opinion is not that it should become the property of the society, but that it should be entrusted to it for safekeeping forever”.<br>The Hørning runestone remained at the museum in Aarhus and can still be seen today in the Viking Age exhibition at Moesgård Museum.<br>A new runestone in copy<br>The background for the renewed interest in the Hørning runestone is the discovery of the impressive grave of the ‘Viking from Fregerslev’ near Skanderborg in 2012 and local wishes for a copy of the runestone to be erected in Hørning. The ‘Viking from Fregerslev’ was buried in a chamber grave together with a wealth of equipment from his horse, dated to c. AD 950. The grave was excavated in 2017 with overwhelming results. For several years, wishes had been expressed by local groups and individuals for a copy of the Hørning runestone to be erected in the square in Hørning. In response, an accurate copy as possible (fig. 9) was produced by Filip’s stonemasonry in Horsens and rune carver Erik Sandquist and erected in a newly designed square by the church in Hørning.<br>Runestones, their texts and their locations in the landscape are, in themselves, wonderful monuments that take us closer to the people of the Viking Age. They provide a unique opportunity to create brief biographies of the characters who appear in the texts, and thereby contribute to both local history and storytelling in general. Future 3D scans may bring us even closer to Tóki Smith and his contemporaries. Very few runestones have, however, been found in their original location, so it may prove useful to examine the archives thoroughly in the search for a find site. The more pieces that can be assembled in this way, the better the overall story.</p> Ejvind Hertz Lisbeth M. Imer Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Fra det prangende til det ydmyge https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153204 <p><strong>From the ostentatious to the humble </strong><br><em>Towerless medieval churches in Denmark</em></p> <p>This article investigates a special category of medieval church – those without towers. The Danish concept of kullet, i.e. bald-headed, is discussed, an inventory of towerless churches is established for medieval Denmark and their architecture is analysed in relation to different ideals and studied from various social and economic perspectives. The churches in two parishes in Jutland, home of the iconic towerless church, are employed as case studies: Hover (fig. 1) and Sædding (fig. 2). Towerless churches are perceived as both historical sources and as an important aspect of our cultural heritage worthy of protection. <br>Much research has been focused on church towers and the churches associated with them (fig. 3), together with the aristocracy and their manors. There is a need for an alternative perspective, highlighting the more ordinary churches – those without towers.<br>Towerless churches are referred to in Danish as kullede, meaning bald-headed. Mention of a ‘bald’ church is seen for the first time in an atlas from 1768 in reference to Spørring church (fig. 4). These churches are perceived as a preserved architectural expression of the original Romanesque churches before Gothic transformation and other developments. They are also described in a romantic spirit, together with their surrounding landscape. <br>Wooden churches of the 10th and 11th centuries do not appear to have had bell towers, while none of the masonry churches of the 11th century can be said with certainty to have been towerless. Research has, however, been undertaken into the major churches, and the first masonry churches may have been built on the initiative of kings, bishops or members of the aristocracy. From the 12th century, most churches in western Denmark were towerless from the outset, whereas a relatively greater number were given a tower in eastern Denmark. This was probably because peasant farms dominated in the west and aristocratic manors in the east. During the 15th century, up until the Reformation, many churches had a tower added, although some were later reduced or demolished, for example at Mårup (fig. 5), and a few towers were even added in later periods, making the towerless church a rarity.<br>Different ideals existed for church architecture in the Middle Ages, as demonstrated by regulations against extravagance, including in architecture, applied by the Cistercians, Dominicans and Franciscans. A church might have a masonry tower added to it, but this was expensive and there were other and cheaper solutions, such as hanging the bells in a wooden belfry, a small bell cot, spire or ridge turret.<br>An analysis is conducted here of the towerless churches in two parishes in Jutland: Hover and Sædding. The architecture of the churches is assessed in the light of the fees paid by the churches during the 14th century and the years 1524-26, an evaluation of the agriculture in the parish in 1682 and the existence of manors. Towerless churches are more frequent in places where the taxes in 1524-26 are relatively low, where the parishes are small and poor and where manors are absent (tab. 1).<br>Towerless churches can be viewed partly as historical sources reflecting the social and economic topography of medieval Denmark, and partly as an important element of our cultural heritage reflecting the first phase of building masonry churches. All churches have, however, undergone changes and have had extensions such as porches added, even the iconic churches of Hover and Sædding. If one seeks a ‘genuine’ Romanesque church, as it might have appeared in the 12th Century, one must look to the church in the open-air museum Hjerl Hede in Jutland (fig. 6), where a church of this kind was reconstructed around 1950. <br>An overview has been produced showing the existence of 339 towerless medieval churches in present-day Denmark, Southern Schleswig with Fehmarn, Scania, Halland and Blekinge (fig. 7; tab. 2), see catalogue in appendix to this article. The towerless churches are divided into two categories: A genuine and B illegitimate. The first never had a tower, while the second have a free-standing tower, have once had a tower, which was later reduced to the roof of the nave and a bell cot, a spire or a ridge turret has been added. The towerless churches are also divided into Romanesque and Gothic types, the latter being written in italics</p> Jes Wienberg Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72 Anmeldelser 2023 https://tidsskrift.dk/kuml/article/view/153206 <p><strong>Cat Jarman:</strong> <em>Flodernes konger – Vikingernes rejser fra Skandinavien til Silkevejen</em><br>(Sara Croix)</p> <p><strong>Bodil Møller Knudsen, Lennart S. Madsen &amp; Frauke Witte (red.):</strong> <br><em>Potter, krukker og fade. Lokalt fremstillet lertøj i Danmark og Hertugdømmerne 1600-1850</em><br>(Jan Kock)</p> <p><strong>Kristian Kristiansen:</strong> <br><em>Archaeology and the Genetic Revolution in European Prehistory</em><br>(Louise Felding)</p> <p><strong>Mette Svart Kristiansen &amp; Lars Christian Bentsen (red.):</strong> <br><em>Landbebyggelsens struktur<br></em>(Hans Skov)</p> <p><strong>Mette Svart Kristiansen, Morten Søvsø &amp; Anders Hartvig (red.):</strong> <br><em>Landskaber og strategier. Sociale miljøer og identitet </em><br>(Hans Skov)</p> <p><strong>Stefan Larsson (red.):</strong> <em>Kvarteret Sankt Mikael. Arkeologi 1904-2020</em><br>(Jes Wienberg)</p> <p><strong>Per Kristian Madsen:</strong> <em>Guds huse på landet. 100 danmarkshistorier<br></em>(Jes Wienberg)</p> <p><strong>Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen og Poul Otto Nielsen:</strong><br><em>&nbsp;Limensgård. </em><em>Houses from the Early, Middle and Late Neolithic on Bornholm<br></em>(Torsten Madsen)</p> <p><strong>Teresa Østergaard Pedersen:</strong> <em>Eigi Einhamr. <br>Jernalderens guldbrakteater og den åbne krop som form</em><br>(Kent Otte Laursen)</p> <p><strong>Søren Sindbæk (red.):</strong> <em>Northern Emporium. Vol. 1 <br>The making of Viking Age Ribe</em><br>(Christian Løchsen Rødsrud)</p> <p><strong>Søren Sindbæk (red.):</strong><em> Northern Emporium. Vol. 2 <br>The networks of Viking-Age Ribe<br></em>(Christian Løchsen Rødsrud)</p> <p><strong>Sandra L. López Varela (red.):</strong> <em>Women in Archaeology. <br>Intersectionalities in Practice Worldwide</em><br>(Katrine Balsgaard Juul)</p> <p><strong>Alasdair Whittle, Joshua Pollard &amp; Susan Greaney (red.):</strong> <br><em>Ancient DNA and the European Neolithic: Relations and Descent</em><br>(Niels Nørkjær Johannsen)</p> <p><strong>Rane Willerslev, Lasse Vilien Sørensen, Mads Dengsø Jessen &amp; Henrik Hvenegaard Mikkelsen:</strong> <br><em>En historie om mennesket – Homo sapiens og meningen med tilværelsen</em><br>(Ole Høiris)</p> Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab Copyright (c) 2025 2025-02-10 2025-02-10 72 72