Herold, H. 2012, ‘Review of Gabriel, I., Kempke, T., Starigard/Oldenburg. The main castle of the Slavs in Wagrien VI, The graves, Introduction and finds – book in German, Offa-Bücher 85, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2011’, Medieval Archaeology 56, 389. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Commentary on Viking Period Graves
Eric Christiansen writes (1): " Archaeology has been the royal road to the understanding of the Nordic past for nearly two centuries, and it still is. " A large part of the archaeologists' effort was the discovery of graves and burials. Dated to between 750 AD and 1100 AD, these Viking Period graves contributed much to our understanding of the time and its peoples. This understanding has mostly been achieved by the examination of object found in graves. However, graves are more than just sources for material culture. The graves and burials themselves present problems. The first of these problems is geography. The Vikings, that is to say the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, raided, traded, explored, and settled from Newfoundland in North America to Kiev in the Ukraine. Obviously this is an enormous area, but beyond the fact this expansion was done by three separate nationalities, there is also the natives of the lands that the Vikings visited. With burials an object found may not be of Scandinavian manufacture, and in fact, the body of the deceased found in the grave may not be Scandinavian either (2) Politics is the second problem. The Vikings travelled to many countries and in some of them left significant archaeological evidence. However, the governments of these countries have different attitudes towards archaeology. A few governments believe that archaeological efforts should be used for ideological goals. The Nazies are the most obvious government to place ideology over archaeology, but the Soviet Union did the same. The result is the suppression of certain dig reports, and exclusion from general histories. An example of this suppression can be found in the Southwestern Baltic. This territory has been claimed by the Russian, the Germans, the Polish, and the Lithuanians. The evidence found in some older German digs have been suppressed and have only been " rediscovered " recently (3). In the meantime, any archaeological conclusions about the Southwestern Baltic are impossible.
Archaeology and Odin in Late Pagan Denmark
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift
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 ...
The following paper reflects upon perspectives essential to our understanding of graves as we see them in the archaeological record-out in the field or in the archives. It will engage with the complex nature of the mortuary process and attempt to understand how the sequences of this process might have left their traces. The perspectives are tried against the rich and varied grave material from the southern and western parts of Norway, a material that holds a high potential for understanding death and mortuary practices within Iron Age societies. The inner structures, or the grave itself, as well as structures and natural features in the mound and backfill will be touched upon, such as central blocks, earthfast stones, open spaces, thresholds and springs interpreted along lines of cosmic centres and axes. Structures connected to iron extraction or smithies, the occurrence of slag, pots and animals, such as the bear, are associated with processes of transition during the mortuary ritual. This is followed by a discussion on the sequenced variation between inhumation and cremations, leading finally to a consideration of stages of concealment by use of vessels, textiles, birch bark, slabs and sandy layers.
6-81dk(2015A) Quintessence and Proto History in Jutland 1
A recent visit a the small viking museum in the center of Aarhus showed that the DOM church was built of a prehistoric monument, a situation predictable when Quintessence is combined with history. This museum is run by the far more important Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) which was visited the next day and which confirmed the observed conjunction of both monuments, without giving more details. One of the expositions there was that of the Alken Enge Battle (200-500 AD) of which only is known that a great number of Roman weapons and artifacts were found. By applying the Hallstatt cycle to the battle, illustrated with observations of Tacitus and from the MOMU, points out that epidemic conditions at the time of the battle is a possibility. Also exposed is the Grauballe Man, characterized by the silvery shine of his body, something that corresponds very well with the chemistry in the Earth surface as described by Walter Schauberger. The three bodies from the Borum Eshøj burial mound in Jutland are interesting because of the relationship with their oak " coffins " and the preservation of the bodies. Also here the biokondensator action of Schauberger seems to play a role. Recent scientific observations shows a 40 days relationship between sunspots and lightning activity, a time slot also used in proto historical ceremonies. The key is here the figure 20, which is still part of the French as well the Danish language. The Church under the Church After the highly motivating IWONE 2015 conference in Höör .se, where we came in close contact with the works of Victor Schauberger and his sun Walter Schauberger, we went to Aarhus .dk, where we spend together with our friends a couple of very nice inspiring days. The active part consisted of visits to the principle points of the city, the churches and museums. Here was shown that the major DOM church was in fact build over a prehistoric stone monument, which was situated in the center of the city in Viking times.