Saturated with meaning: peatlands, heritage and folklore

YesPeatlands have often been represented in cultural material as being dangerous and inhospitable places, partly based on post-medieval influences, but also partly based on elements of folklore which emphasise the ‘other-worldly’ and liminal nature of these environments. Using Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, as a case study, the role of heritage, folklore and cultural media in guiding perceptions of the landscape is explored. Contemporary society is more diversified than historic situations, and our review indicates that perceptions of heritage landscapes reflect this complexity. The use of the peatland by different groups is explored, before addressing the interconnected roles of folklore and archaeology in past, present and future engagement with this landscape.JP-ICH under Grant number AH/S006427/1

Kultbåde fra Danmarks Bronzealder

Kultboote der dänischen Bronzezeit. Von besonderer Art sind die plastischen Darstellungen von Tieren und Menschen aus Bronze, die aus der nordischen Bronzezeit bekannt sind, freilich in sehr begrenzter Zahl. In erster Linie sind hier die Funde von Trundholm und Grevensvænge auf Seeland und Fårdal in Jütland zu erwähnen. Hinzu kommen weitere Darstellungen, teils paarweise oder einzeln gefundene Stücke, wie z. B. der Fund von Tågaborgshögden in Schonen und von Vestby in Norwegen, teils aber auch figürlich gestaltete Griffe verschiedenartiger Messer.Zweifellos hatten diese Figuren ihre besondere Bedeutung in der bronzezeitlichen Religion, aber nur im Falle des Trundholmfundes ist dies überzeugend genug hervorgehoben. Dieser Fund wird häufig als ein Sonnenwagen charakterisiert, welches jedoch eine falsche Bestimmung ist. Die Darstellung gibt deutlich eine Sonne wieder, die von einem Pferd gezogen wird, ist aber mit Rädern ausgestattet, um zu einem kultischen Zweck Verwendung finden zu können. Der Fund kann vielleicht die Miniaturkopie eines grösseren Kultbildes sein wie schon von Sophus Müller hervorgehoben. Der Wagen ist also sekundär im Verhältnis zu Sonne und Pferd, die auch mit Schiff herumgeführt werden konnten. Das geht aus den Felszeichnungen der Bronzezeit hervor. In gleicher Weise wie Trundholm müsste man dann auch den Fund von Trushøj in Skallerup deuten. Wir sehen hier einen Kessel auf einem Schiff, die ganze Gruppe wieder auf Rädern aus Rücksicht auf den kultischen Zweck (Abb. 2). Religionshistorisch ist dieses Stück also kein Kesselwagen, wie es immer hervorgehoben wird. Es ist ein Kessel, der mit dem Boot fährt. Diese Deutung eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten für die Bestimmung eines Motivs, das sehr oft auf mitteleuropäischen Bronzen wiederkehrt, dort aber immer als Sonnenschiff charakterisiert wird. In vielen Fällen muss man eher das Motiv als Kessel deuten, welche mit dem Boot fahren. Als Beispiel sei hier das betreffende Motiv an einem Bronzegefäss aus Este angeführt (Abb. 3). Der Skallerupkessel wird hier von oben, in ornamentaler Umgestaltung, auf seinem »Doppelschiff« gesehen. Auf einem Bronzedeckel aus Monteveglio sieht man dasselbe Motiv, hier aber symmetrisch gestaltet, sowohl nach der senkrechten als auch nach der waagerechten Achse. Hinzugefügt sind ausserdem die vier Räder des Skallerupkessels (Abb. 4). Eine solche Deutung dieses Motivs schliesst jedoch nicht aus, dass verwandte Darstellungen tatsächlich Sonnenboote wiedergeben.Es wurde oft hervorgehoben, dass das Schiff im täglichen Leben der nordischen Völker der Bronzezeit eine hervorragende Rolle spielte. Dies geht aus den zahlreichen Schiffsdarstellungen deutlich hervor, welche an den Rasiermessern der jüngeren Bronzezeit und auf den Felszeichnungen vorkommen. Diese Bilder hat schon längst Oscar Almgren als Wiedergaben wirklicher Kultboote bestimmt, die bei den religiösen Festen herumgetragen wurden. Einen entscheidenden Beweis für die Almgrensche Deutung der Schiffsbilder der Felszeichnungen würde der Fund solcher Kultschiffe innerhalb des nordischen Gebiets darbringen, und tatsächlich gibt es seit vielen Jahren solche Funde. Sie sind aber nicht erkannt worden. Wenn man nämlich auf dem sehr grossen gleichzeitigen Bildvorrat der Bronzen und Felszeichnungen baut und eine gesam­melte Komposition der 7 bzw. 5 Einzelfiguren, aus denen die beiden Funde bestehen, berücksichtigt, dann wird es wahrscheinlich, dass die Bronzefiguren aus Grevensvænge und Fårdal ursprünglich auf Miniaturkultbooten aus Holz angebracht waren. Es ist unter Verweis auf den Trundholm- und den Strettwegwagen eine allgemeine Annahme, dass diese Gruppen auf einem Kultwagen aufgestellt gewesen sind. Dagegen hat H. C. Broholm den Einspruch erhoben, dass die Figuren aus Grevensvænge Teile eines hölzernen Kultschiffes sein könnten. Er steht aber vom Versuch einer Rekonstruktion des ursprünglichen Kultbildes ab. Verwendet man indessen die klassische Wiedergabe des bronzezeitlichen Schiffes, das sich zu Tausenden findet, als Grundlage einer Rekonstruktion, dann bilden die Figuren der beiden Gruppen eine wohlkomponierte Ganzheit, in welcher nichts fehlt.Die drei Tierfiguren des Fårdalfundes lassen sich an den Stevenspitzen eines bronzezeitlichen Schiffes zwanglos anbringen (Abb. 5). Zahlreich sind die Felszeichnungen, wo die Schiffe an den beiden hochgeschwungenen Steven ähnliche Tierköpfe tragen, wogegen der Kielsteven nach vorne seltener einen solchen Schmuck erhält, obwohl man ihn ab und zu sieht. In den meisten Fällen handelt es sich um ein Axt- oder Sonnenbild, es kann aber auch ein Tierkopf sein wie auf der Sotorp-Felszeichnung (Abb. 1), während eine Vogelfigur und eine leierförmige Figur, welche an die von Tierköpfen umschlossene Vogelfigur des Fårdalfundes erinnern, an zwei Rasiermessen aus Jütland (Abb. 7-8) zu sehen sind. Es ist einleuchtend, dass die sitzende Göttin und die Schlange eine zentrale Steile im Boote gehabt haben und nach dem Beispiel des Rasiermessers aus Vestrup entweder nebeneinander oder die Schlange hinter der weiblichen Figur (Abb. 9), obwohl die von Carl-Axel Althin vorgeschlagene Szene, »Schlangenverehrung«, wo die Schlange die Brust der weiblichen Gestalt säugt, nicht ausgeschlossen werden kann.Die 7 Figuren des Grevensvængefundes lassen sich in gleicher Weise auf einem bronzezeitlichen Schiff anbringen (Abb. 6). Es geht aus der Zeichnung Chr. Brandts (Abb. 10) und der gehörnten Figur, die erhalten geblieben ist, hervor, dass die beiden Figurenpaare auf Ruderbänken angebracht waren, und unter Vergleich mit den Bildern des Vestrupmessers (Abb. 9) und wegen der Länge der Ruderbänke müssen die beiden axttragenden Götter vorne im Boot angebracht werden und die weibliche Gottheit, die mit einer Figur, vielleicht einer Schlange, zur Seite gestanden hat, hinter ihnen. Weiter geht es aus der Brandtschen Zeichnung hervor, dass es im Funde ursprünglich drei der zurückgebogenen weiblichen Figuren gab, welche sich an den Kiel- und Stevenspitzen anbringen lassen, wenngleich dies aus gleichzeitigen Darstellungen unbekannt ist. Dort ist aber diese »Todesgöttin« in mehreren Fällen über einem Boot wiedergegeben (Abb. 1). Diese drei Figuren können natürlich auch im Boote selbst angebracht gewesen sein, ihre Zahl aber unterstützt die hier vorgeschlagene Anbringung, vorausgesetzt dass wir auch damit rechnen dürfen, dass das Kultbild ursprünglich aus 7 Figuren bestand.Obwohl die Figuren aus Fårdal und Grevensvænge hier auf einem Boot vom Typ der Felszeichnungen in einen Plan eingezeichnet sind, ursprünglich aber wahrscheinlich auf einem plastisch gestalteten Bootsmodel aus Holz angebracht gewesen sind, vermitteln die Rekonstruktionen jedoch eine Vorstellung von prächtigen Skulpturkompositionen dänischer Künstler vor mehr als 2500 Jahren. Die Vorbilder der einzelnen Figuren sind aber fremde gewesen. Hier wurde der Versuch gemacht, das Zusammenspielen der verschiedenen Figuren zu gestalten, und eine wesentliche Unterstützung der Almgrenschen Deutung von den Schiffen der Felszeichnungen als Darstellungen von Kultbooten ist zuwegegebracht. P. V. Glob

Jørgen Troels-Smith, 60 år

JØRGEN TROELS-SMITH · 60 YEARSBasic to the great progress made in the field of Scandinavian Stone-Age research during the last generation has been the collaboration between archaeology and the natural sciences. Centrally placed, with one foot firmly planted in each of these camps, Jørgen Troels-Smith has been the main force behind this collaboration. He is the leader, and the founder, of the Danish National Museum's scientific department.During his boyhood years on Samsø Troels-Smith quartered the island from his home in the Justice's House at Tranebjerg, collecting artefacts and investigating Stone-Age settlements, in particular along the coasts and on the islands of the cloven Stavns Fjord, whose outlines he has captured, with their subtle colouring, in many an oil-sketch.Troels-Smith chose peat-geology as his speciality, and worked from 1938 as assistant on the Danish Geological Survey, later as head of department with the same survey, from 1944 combining the position with leadership of the National Museum's peat laboratory. Through his initiative the work for the National Museum gradually expanded to a degree where the formation in 1956 of a scientific department with Troels-Smith as head came as a natural consequence. It became the 8th department of the Museum, and soon embarked on new scientific projects, such as radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology.Despite the press of work in the laboratory, an impressive quantity of scientific publications has come from Troels-Smith's pen, dealing both with peat-geology and with archaeology, while he has taken part in a long series of excavations abroad, most notably of Swiss pile-dwellings, where he has supplied the scientific background to the culture. In Greenland, too, he has worked on settlements both of Eskimos and of the Vikings.In recent years Troels-Smith has turned his attention once more to his homeland, and at Hjortholm he is engaged in charting the course of the change-over from the hunting cultures of the early Stone Age to the farming communities of the later Stone Age. Noone here in Denmark has better qualifications for the successful completion of this exciting project than Troels-Smith, combining as he does the exactitude of the scientist with the intuitive grasp of the artist.P. V. Glo

Holger Friis, 75år

HOLGER FRIIS 75 yearsForemost among those who have worked with love and interest to unravel the prehistory of Jutland is Holger Friis. The dentist from Hjørring is known to all who have had the slightest contact with Danish archaeology. This is due not only to his long activity as museum worker and archaeologist, which nearly covers his 75 years -improbable as it may sound-but also as much to his fertile imagination and lively presentation of prehistory both on radio and television. He is the undisputed master on his home ground in Jutland's northernmost region.As an excavator, Holger Friis has more than half a century behind him. To the many unique discoveries he has made must be added thousands of more prosaic finds. What makes these so valuable is the skill with which they have been excavated and the many valuable observations made at the time. Moreover they are often interpreted with a freedom from prejudice which gives archaeology quite new perspectives. His work will always be fundamental to any study of the prehistory of Vendsyssel.Most of Holger Friis' finds are deposited in "Vendsyssels historiske Museum", the fine museum in Hjørring established the year before Holger Friis was born, mainly on the initiative of his father, Lønborg Friis, who was its first director. The museum also houses rich collections of rural culture up to the present day from North Jutland, material which would fetch thousands of pounds on the antique market, all collected by Holger Friis and his father, largely at their own expense.As a ten-year-old, Holger Friis was engaged at the museum as a custodian with a peaked cap at a wage of a penny a week - the largest wage he has ever received for his museum work, which has always meant money out of his own pocket. He has continued his father's valuable work and is now helped by his son, who himself has already fathered new small "museum curators".Danish archaeologists thank the Friis family for inspiration and hospitality. The close cooperation with the National Museum was initiated by Lønborg Friis and Sophus Müller, that strict, learned scholar and museum director who, in a letter, so cordially addressed Lønborg Friis as "My dear colleague and archaeological friend". The admiration which is apparent here was also given by Sophus Müller to Holger Friis, who is seen together with him in the photograph, during his last study visit in 1932 to the "Friises' Museum". We congratulate Holger Friis also with a: Dear colleague, archaeological friend!P. V. Glob

Jellings Bautasten

The Bauta Stones at Jelling When J. J. A. Worsaae, at the instigation of King Frederik VII, excavated the southern mound at Jelling in 1861, a number of large stones were found on its floor in two groups, comprising 8 stones to the east and 3 to the west of these. The excavation was carried out by means of mine shafts [1]. The original and the published plans show clearly that the 8 eastern stones stood in an irregular row, oriented northeast-southwest [2]. Dyggve's excavation in 1941 found all 11 stones again and added a further 28 bauta­like large stones (fig. 2) [3]. It was now possible to identify two rows of bauta stones, set at intervals of roughly 2 m. between stones, centre to centre. If extended to the southwest the rows would form an acute angle, the bisector of which would practically touch the centre of the mound, the large runic stone and the burial chamber in the north mound [4]. Dyggve held the peculiar view that they were part of a great triangular "bauta-vi" (fig. 3), opening onto the northern mound [5]. This was pure speculation, since such a construction is neither found among the Nordic stone monuments nor mentioned in the ancient literature. This theory was, however, strangely enough accepted almost without discussion by the majority of scholars, even by specialists in the Viking period [6-9], and analogy was claimed with a pair of diverging stone rows south of Tibirke church, uncritically called the "Tibirke Vi" [8], and another of Dyggve's creations, the "Tingsted Vi" on the island of Falster [9].Olaf Olsen has recently, in his thesis "Hørg, Hov og Kirke" demolished both the Tibirke and the Tingsted vi but left the question of the Jelling vi open, while C. J. Becker, in a review of this work [10], has upheld Dyggve's view and rejected an alternative theory that the bauta stones at Jelling may be part of a boat-shaped monument.The interpretation of the bauta stones at Jelling as being part of such a monument was originally given by the artist Magnus Petersen in 1874 [11]. He conceives of a ship­setting oriented east-west around the large runic stone. With the information we have from Worsaae's and Dyggve's excavations of the southern mound, we can however say that any ship-setting must have been oriented north-south, since the two rows of stones can only be the southern end of such a monument. It cannot be ruled out, however, that there were originally more than one ship-setting at Jelling, in accordance with the rows of stones east of the church which were mentioned by Abildgaard in 1771.It is unnecessary here to give a detailed account of Dyggve's arguments for his vi-theory. If one compares the oldest Jelling monuments, consisting of burial mound, runic stones and bauta stones with other well-known monuments of the Viking period, the problem of "bauta-vi" contra ship-setting solves itself.The monuments which can be compared with Jelling are Bække, Glavendrup and Tryggevælde. They each consist, or have consisted, of the same three elements, and were mentioned as early as 1876 by Engelhardt in his work on the royal mounds [17]. It is therefore strange that both Bække and Glavendrup are mentioned and illustrated by Dyggve, without the resemblance between them and Jelling being remarked [18].The monuments at Bække, which lie by the ancient main thoroughfare running down through Jutland only about 25 km southwest of Jelling, consist of two burial mounds and a northwest-southeast oriented ship-setting (fig. 4-5) with a runic stem-stone at the northwestem end which was noticed in 1858 and published immediately afterwards [19]. The inscription, which is of Jelling type, reads: "Revne and Tobbe (?) made these "kumler" (monuments) in memory of their mother Vibrog (Viborg?)" [20]. The inscription shows that "kumler" here means bauta stones in the shape of a ship, and a runic stone. Only one side of the ship-setting was visible in 1858, the stones apparently standing in one row issuing from a Bronze Age barrow to the east. The shape of the roughly 45 m. long and 6 m. wide ship-setting was, however, finally determined by Olfert Voss in 1956-57 [21].At Glavendrup in northern Funen there is a roughly 70 m. long ship-setting, oriented ESE-E and WNW-N (fig. 6-7). It issues from a Bronze Age barrow to the east, and has as stem-stone in the west the large stone with Denmark's longest runic inscription reading: "Ragnhild raised this stone in memory of Alle the Pale (?), priest of the "vier", most worthy chief of the house-carles. Alle's sons made these kumler in memory of their father and his wife in memory of her husband, while Sote carved these runes in memory of his master ... " [24]. When Erling Albrechtsen excavated the ship-setting in 1958, cremation graves of the Viking period were found, and the barrow from which it issued dated to the Early Bronze Age [25]. Also in the case of Glavendrup then, "kumler" probably stands for ship-setting and runic stone. It is certain that the Ragnhild and Sote of the inscription are the same persons as those mentioned by the Tryggevælde stone [26].The Tryggevælde stone is from eastem Zealand and was first mentioned in 1957, when it stood in the courtyard of the manor of Tryggevælde, to which it had been removed around 1550, perhaps from a nearby barrow, as stated by Worm, or from Hårlev churchyard, where pastor Leganger (1762) describes it as having stood by the "King's Barrow", a large barrow with a flat top like the Jelling mounds [27]. Its inscription reads: "Ragnhild, Ulv's sister, erected this stone and made this mound and ship-setting in memory of her husband Gunulv, a "baying" man, the son of Nærve ... " [28]. The runic stone thus mentions both burial mound and ship-setting.These three monuments of the Viking period should be able to convince us that the bauta stones at Jelling also originally stood in a ship-setting in which the runic stones can have been placed as stem- and stem-stones. The ship-setting at Jelling issued from a Bronze Age barrow to the north, which may have been around 150-175 m. long, which Dyggve found in 1941 under the mound containing the wooden burial chamber. It is thus the southern portion of the ship-setting which Dyggve has demonstrated. It is probable that the heathen King Gorm built a ship-setting for Thyre and placed her memorial stone, the small runic stone, as the stem stone to the south, at the opposite end to the Bronze Age barrow (fig. 8). This would fully accord with the contemporary monuments at Bække and Glavendrup. Since King Harald had buried his parents in the northern mound and had a runic stone carved for them, it was natural to place this stone in the mid-line of the ship-setting.The large Jelling stone now stands between the two mounds, but even though its original position is not known with certainty, it has not necessarily been moved very far [30]. If this is the case, it should be remarked that the stone is situated mid-way between the mounds. The southern empty mound, which has covered the south end of the ship-setting and which was constructed in several stages, may therefore be contemporaneous with the erection of the large runic stone and have been started by King Harald. It is another matter whether it is Harald who was laid to rest in a wooden building on top of the mound, the ten bearing posts of which were demonstrated by Dyggve in 1941. These posts were interpreted by Harald Andersen in the Society's first Kuml of 1951 as the burial chamber for King Gorm [31].P. V. Glo

Hans Neumann 60 år

HANS NEUMANN 60 YEARSHans Neumann was among the first university-trained archaeologists to become curator of a provincial museum. When he was appointed curator of the Haderslev Amtsmuseum in 1936, after 3 years as an assistant at the National Museum, there were only few museums outside Copenhagen with professional curators.Haderslev Amt is a large county and one of the richest archaeological areas in Denmark, and Hans Neumann has had to cover it alone. In recent years his responsibility has been extended to the whole of South Jutland. The fact that he has nevertheless been able not only to carry out a full programme of work in the field, but to build up one of the best prehistoric collections in the country is due to his enormous energy and to the local support he has enjoyed in his county of birth.Hans Neumann's working days have always been long, shared equally between excavation and work in the museum. At the same time, he has published his results in innumerable lectures and articles in the press and archaeological journals. Of his many important finds, only one of his latest will be mentioned here, the splendid weapon offering in EjsbøI bog, the excavation of which he and Mogens Ørsnes of the National Museum have directed for 8 years. Prior to this collaboration lay many years of solitary activity far from the nearest colleague, punctuated only by short and infrequent visits from the National Museum, which were his only opportunity to discuss scientific and museum problems.In spite of this isolation, Hans Neumann has retained his sense of humour and has worked so successfully, that the big museum in Haderslev can no longer house the collection. He has won such respect for the museum, however, that the local authorities have approved his plans for an extension to more than twice the size of the present museum. It is characteristic of Hans Neumann that he shows great consideration for visitors to the museum. A lecture hall, study rooms and cafeteria are included in the new buildings, and a hall for temporary exhibitions ranging from archaeology to modem art, so wide are his interests.The completion of these plans for the museum will be a great benefit to archaeology in Jutland and a fine monument to Hans Neumann's life's work.P. V. Glo

Harald Andersen, 60 years

              PAPER DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE AWARD OF THE WORSAAE MEDAL. The annual general meeting of the Society in 1956 voted for the institution of a gold medal, the Worsaae Medal, for meritorious archaeological work. It carries on the obverse Worsaae 's portrait and the inscription "For Nordens Oldtid", as suggested by Johannes Brøndsted. This mark of distinction was awarded for the first time in 1957, to Erik Vesterby for his pioneer work on the Mesolithic, and again in 1961 to Professor Mårten Steenberger, Uppsala, for his work in Nordic archaeology and for his efforts over the years at the Valhagar excavations on Gotland to establish collaboration between Scandinavian archaeologists. The executive committee of Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab has decided to award the third Worsaae Medal in celebration of its 25th anniversary, and is unanimous in nominating Harald Andersen as the worthy recipient. The Society thanks the Ministry of Culture for the means to mint the medal and for the concomitant grant. Harald Andersen -Uncle Anders to friends- needs no presentation. His great work as founder and editor of "Skalk" is known and appreciated throughout Scandinavia. Through "Skalk"s five million copies, archaeology, ethnology and history now speak to all, because Harald Andersen has given them a voice. But Harald Andersen has a distinguished record as excavator and shrewd observer. At his home near the Tystrup-Bavelse lakes in central Zealand Harald Andersen excavated in his youth the Kællerød dolmen and found a trephined Stone Age man. In Therkel Mathiassen's investigations in Åmosen and on the Gudenå in the war years he also played an important part. I myself have to thank him for two years' collaboration in the excavation at Slots-Bjærgby, where he among other things constructed a scaffold from which it was possible to photograph a section of the great mound by means of fifty exposures, which had to be and were combined to form one. Neither should valuable contribution in the sheikhdoms of the Arabian Gulf be overlooked. It was Harald Andersen who carried one of the heaviest burdens when our first yearbook was to be published, and it was naturally he who found the right name: Kuml. In Kuml he published three notable papers: The fifth great bog find. The Illerup find, an exemplary excavation, where he recovered a segment of the weapon deposit and a horse sacrifice as a preparation, both exhibited at Forhistorisk Museum. A village house on Gørding Hede. The first demonstration of an early Iron Age "span-house". Empty mounds. In which with starting point in the southern Jelling mound and the Slots-Bjærgby mounds he interprets a number of Scandinavian giant tumuli without chambers, a paper which caused a stir in Sweden and Norway, which have several mounds of the same type. Harald Andersen's excavation of a devastated mound at Esbjerg in 1949 is also noteworthy; he demonstrated five different stages in its history, published in Kuml 2 "Five stages in the history of a burial mound". There he excavated a child 's grave, the only one preserved of the many thousands of Battle Axe graves which may now be seen at Esbjerg Museum. Several of Harald Andersen's papers in Kuml and numerous in Skalk could be mentioned, all showing his work "For Nordens Oldtid", but I will conclude with his own modest words in Kuml 2. "The Esbjerg find does not belong to those finds which revolutionize archaeology. It is in no way epoch-making, but it adds many bricks to the edifice. For we have to think of archaeology as a great, unfinished building -a skyscraper of a hundred stories the first of which is not yet completed". Harald Andersen has helped to add to the height of the building and is thus a worthy recipient of the Worsaae Medal. P. V. Glo