Archaeology and Odin in Late Pagan Denmark: A Note

ABSTRACT: This article discusses archaeological evidence for the veneration of Odin in late pagan Denmark. According to place-name evidence Odin was totally dominant in public cult at this time, and was closely linked to warriors and kings. (Actual evidence for a relationship with the great cult centre at Lejre is uncertain.) However, a group of riders’ graves with weaponry from the tenth century represent a new burial custom for magnates, and it is argued that they relate to Odin and Valhalla. Female magicians, who have been convincingly identified in a series of Viking-Age graves, and miniature chairs, from which the once seated figure is usually missing, were probably also connected with Odin. Further, it has been suggested that miniature swords, spearheads and staves might have been Odinic symbols. Some figurative amulets, however, often featuring women in various guises and often interpreted as Valkyries, likely had an entirely different meaning. RESUME: Artiklen diskuterer de arkæologiske vidnesbyrd om dyrkelsen af Odin i det sen-hedenske Danmark. Ifølge stednavnematerialet var Odin totalt dominerende i den offentlige kult på denne tid og nært forbundet med krigere og kongemagt. (Der er dog ingen sikre belæg for forbindelse med det store kultcentrum i Lejre.) En gruppe ryttergrave med våben fra 900-tallet, som især findes i Jylland, repræsenterer imidlertid en ny gravskik blandt stormænd, og der argumenteres for, at de relaterer til Odin og Valhal. Kvindelige magikere, der overbevisende er identificeret i en række vikingetidsgrave i Danmark og andetsteds i Skandinavien, samt miniaturestole, hvor den siddende figur som regel mangler, var sandsynligvis også knyttet til Odin. Det er desuden foreslået, at miniaturesværd, -spydspidser og -stave var symboler for Odin. Derimod har en gruppe figurative amuletter, der tit forestiller kvinder i forskellige situationer, og som ofte er tolket som valkyrier, formentlig en helt anden betydning

Beretning om hjemtransporten i maj-juni 1945 til Oslo af de norske officerer i tysk krigsfangenskab

Artiklen er en let redigeret beretning skrevet i 1985 på basis af dagbogsoptegnelser og illustreret med forfatterens fotos. Den beretter om hjemtransporten til Oslo i maj-juni 1945, gennem det krigshærgede Tyskland og tre besættelseszoner, af ca. 843 norske officerer, der havde været i tysk krigsfangenskab og var ’strandet’ nær Leipzig. Beretningen slutter med en beskrivelse af folkefest og folkestemningen i Oslo 5.-7. juni. Denne transportopgave var den første af flere, som efter Befrielsen blev udført af dele af det transportkorps, som i krigens sidste tid havde hentet koncentrationslejrfanger til Danmark

Genetic Diversity among Ancient Nordic Populations

Using established criteria for work with fossil DNA we have analysed mitochondrial DNA from 92 individuals from 18 locations in Denmark ranging in time from the Mesolithic to the Medieval Age. Unequivocal assignment of mtDNA haplotypes was possible for 56 of the ancient individuals; however, the success rate varied substantially between sites; the highest rates were obtained with untouched, freshly excavated material, whereas heavy handling, archeological preservation and storage for many years influenced the ability to obtain authentic endogenic DNA. While the nucleotide diversity at two locations was similar to that among extant Danes, the diversity at four sites was considerably higher. This supports previous observations for ancient Britons. The overall occurrence of haplogroups did not deviate from extant Scandinavians, however, haplogroup I was significantly more frequent among the ancient Danes (average 13%) than among extant Danes and Scandinavians (∼2.5%) as well as among other ancient population samples reported. Haplogroup I could therefore have been an ancient Southern Scandinavian type “diluted” by later immigration events. Interestingly, the two Neolithic samples (4,200 YBP, Bell Beaker culture) that were typed were haplogroup U4 and U5a, respectively, and the single Bronze Age sample (3,300–3,500 YBP) was haplogroup U4. These two haplogroups have been associated with the Mesolithic populations of Central and Northern Europe. Therefore, at least for Southern Scandinavia, our findings do not support a possible replacement of a haplogroup U dominated hunter-gatherer population by a more haplogroup diverse Neolithic Culture

Disequilibrium, adaptation and the Norse settlement of Greenland

This research was supported by the University of Edinburgh ExEDE Doctoral Training Studentship and NSF grant numbers 1202692 and 1140106.There is increasing evidence to suggest that arctic cultures and ecosystems have followed non-linear responses to climate change. Norse Scandinavian farmers introduced agriculture to sub-arctic Greenland in the late tenth century, creating synanthropic landscapes and utilising seasonally abundant marine and terrestrial resources. Using a niche-construction framework and data from recent survey work, studies of diet, and regional-scale climate proxies we examine the potential mismatch between this imported agricultural niche and the constraints of the environment from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. We argue that landscape modification conformed the Norse to a Scandinavian style of agriculture throughout settlement, structuring and limiting the efficacy of seasonal hunting strategies. Recent climate data provide evidence of sustained cooling from the mid thirteenth century and climate variation from the early fifteenth century. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Norse made incremental adjustments to the changing sub-arctic environment, but were limited by cultural adaptations made in past environments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Prestige, Display and Monuments in Viking Age Scandinavia

The article discusses the prestige and display aspects of some Scandinavian Viking Age monuments : a chieftain's residence at Borg in Lofoten, northern Norway ; the royal monuments at Jelling, Denmark ; the Danish geometrical fortresses ; bridges and causeways, with a side-view on rune stones. The Danish monuments in question, all dated by dendrochronology and probably built by King HARALD BLUETOOTH, are unique, and it is argued that they reflect his attempt to introduce new concepts of royal power. It is further argued that as most Scandinavian type Viking monuments would not have been understood abroad, such monuments are hardly to be expected there, except in areas with a strong Scandinavian cultural dominance.Roesdahl Else. Prestige, Display and Monuments in Viking Age Scandinavia. In: Les mondes normands (VIIIe-XIIe s.) Actes du deuxième congrès international d'archéologie médiévale (Caen, 2-4 octobre 1987) Caen : Société d'Archéologie Médiévale, 1989. pp. 17-25. (Actes des congrès de la Société d'archéologie médiévale, 2

The Bagergade find in Svendborg. Wasters from a medieval pottery kiln

                The Bagergade find in Svendborg. Wasters from a medieval pottery kiln The pottery find from Bagergade in Svendborg, Funen, consists of 35 pieces (fig. 1). It was found in 1925 and is one of the five Danish finds of wasters from medieval pottery kilns known to-day (Farum Lillevang and Faurholm in North Zealand, Åle and Illerup in East Jutland). Until now only the Faurholm find has been finally published. (1-6). The trade in pottery in Denmark is briefly discussed: local trade, imports and a possible export to areas like Norway and the southern shore of the Baltic. (7-12). The Bagergade find is identified as wasters from a kiln for the following reasons: In many respects the material is remarkably uniform; there are, for example, only two shapes of thumb marks at the bottom of the jugs. Further, about half of the sherds have an applied decoration, and such pottery is meant to be glazed. But glaze is present on only six sherds and only in small areas. Five of these sherds are decorated with applied scales (fig. 7, 9, 11). On two of the sherds mentioned part of the glaze material has formed drops of lead (13) (fig. 2, 9a). Two other sherds have cracked (fig. 1t and 3b), but real deformities seem to be absent. It is possible that a low firing temperature is the reason for the mishap. The locality of the actual workshop is unknown -an excavation in 1973 showed that the sherds found in 1925 belonged to a later infilling of the area. (14). All identifiable sherds are of jugs one of which has been tentatively reconstructed (fig. 12). The jugs were thrown on a fast wheel. Their thickness is comparatively small (0.4-0.6 cm). The glaze has a clear light green colour on the side of the jugs, but where a scale is glazed the colour is brown (15-17). Elements of shape and decoration allow seven different jug models to be identified: Jug with cut-off base: No decoration on the lower part of the belly (as fig. 3a, 4a, 5a). Jug with small, closely applied thumb marks at the base. No decoration on the belly (as fig. 3c, 5c). Jug with small, closely applied thumb marks at the base. Horizontal grooves clearly visible on the outside, probably starting 8-9 cm over the base and probably covering the rest of the jug up to the neck at least (cf. fig. 1i, 3b, 4b, 5b). Jug with profiled rim, rod handle and on the upper part of the belly two fillets framing groups of 3 scales. Green glaze on the side of jugs and brown on the scales (as fig. 9-10). Jug with large thumb marks at the base, probably a profiled rim and a rod handle. Applied decoration of scales arranged in two alternating vertical bands. Glaze as described under d. Height probably c. 30 cm (as figs. 11 and 12). Jug with large thumb marks at the bottom and a decoration of applied raspberry stamps arranged in horizontal and vertical bands. The jugs must have been glazed (as fig. 1aa). Jug as described under f but with smaller raspberry stamps (as fig. 14). In addition there is possibly a jug with decoration of scales in larger groups than described under d and e (cf. fig. 1n). In general, it may be said that the jugs were probably quite broad and tall (jug model a is a possible exception). The jug of model e can probably be regarded as a rough standard for the dimensions of the other models with applied decoration. As almost all Danish medieval jugs had a spout, and a spout sherd (fig. 6) belongs to this find, the jugs of Bagergade probably also had one. Likewise it is probable that all the jugs had profiled rims, as this was the rule for jugs of the period. It can further be suggested that the workshop mainly or only used rod handles. This was the case for the Farum Lillevang workshop, (18) while the Faurholm workshop and the two in Jutland had a penchant for strap handles (19). Bases like those on models a-c probably belong to jugs without much decoration, while bases like those on models e-g probably belong to jugs with applied decoration. Nothing indicates that jugs of models a-c were meant to be glazed -unglazed jugs with a simple decoration or none are well known in Funen as well as in other parts of Denmark (20) -but the possibility of glaze cannot be ruled out. The workshop of whose production a little has been found in Bagergade thus had quite a repertoire in jugs. It was larger than the Faurholm pottery's (21) and probably also the Jutland potteries (22). But with only 35 sherds the repertoire of Bagergade cannot compare with that of 'Farum Lillevang' (23). Other products of the workshop of the Bagergade find have not yet been identified (24-26). The dating relies on the conventional dating of decorated medieval jugs, say 1225-1375 (27). According to a modern functionalistic and aesthetic view the jugs -or at least the decorated ones- were of very high quality and belong to the best Danish medieval pottery. If the Middle Ages shared this view, and if pottery was exported from Denmark in that period, the workshop of the Bagergade find is a likely supplier. Else Roesdah