Denmark’s new stash of Viking gold

It was found in Denmark, in a fiel near Vejen, a stash composed of seven wonderfully crafted bracelets, six of which are made out of gold, and one of silver.

The bracelets were handed over to the Sønderskov museum, and I must point out that this treasure was found by amateurs, and just like any responsable adult, the people in question delivered the treasure to their rightful place. Anyway - a little bit of personal thoughts on the matter - the bracelets date back to 900AD, and are decorated in a style typical to Viking jewelry weared by nobility or with high-status in society.

It is important to take in mind that the so called Viking Age is actually the "silver age" when it comes to hoards. The vast majority of them contain only silver. If there is gold, it is always a small part, which isn't the case in this specific finding, since objects made out of gold are the majority of this hoard.

Swedish King's Grave of the Bronze Age

The entrance to the tomb - [Photo Credits]

Kungagraven, translating - The King's Grave - is the name given to the Nordic Bronze Age tomb located in southeastern Sweden, in the province of Skåne near Kivik. A double burial architecture with more or less 3000 years old. A magnificent structure of an unusual size; it is the largest known burial mound in Sweden.

Unfortunately the site was used as a quarry for construction materials until 1748 when two farmers quarrying in the old mound uncovered a 3.25 meters (11 ft) stone tomb, constructed with ten slabs of stone measuring 0.65 meters (2.1 ft.) wide and 1.2 meters (3.9 ft.).

The stones within the cairn represent various symbols, including sun wheels and possibly Bronze Age mortuary rituals held before, during and after the burial. There is also the representation of grave goods. The mound contained two cists which are adorned with petroglyphs which show people and ships, weapons, lurs being played, symbols, animals (including birds and fish), and a chariot drawn by two horses and having four-spoked wheels.

Archaeological investigations of the tomb were carried out during the 30's of the past century. Within this large mound it was found another burial chamber which was called "Prinskammaren" meaning: The Prince’s Chamber (smaller compared to the first one).

Inside the tomb - [Photo Credits]

A Celtic Chieftain's Grave

To this day the celts are still a strong subject which awakens the interest of many. Although with each passing year we are coming to the conclusion that the celts were not a people but merely a culture withdly spread, and that in fact the "celts" are thousands of different peoples who have adopted "celtic" cultural, political and religious similarities, it's still a fascinating subject. The more we dig the past, the better we can understand how our ancestors lived, and when it comes to study a culture which left nothing writen behind, and the only records are from outsiders or from people who lived long after the culture they are trying to discribe was already the stuff of legend, it's always difficult to comprehend the true nature of bygone population who shared a certain traditional background. Fortunately, archaeology has given us new insights on how the "celts" conducted their lives, what were their traditions, political and religious consciousness and, of course, their daily activities.

At the end of the 70's of the last century, a celtic burial chamber was found near Hochdorf an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. A richly furnished chieftain's burial mound dating back to, more or less, year 530 BC. The interred subject in this grave, laid out upon a lavishly decorated 9 ft (275 cm) bronze couch on wheels, was about 40 years old and unusually tall for a person of the Iron Age (being a bit over 6ft tall (182 cm)). Judging by the objects found in the grave, this man had probably been a chieftain.

I've said this before, and here it goes again, we archaeologists spend a lot of time with the dead, it's true. The dead (well, their resting places) provide us with a lot of information about the societies of the past especially the votive objects which are, most of the time, what people gave much importance to. The graves of people who were highly respected and revered by the community of their time, are always the ones with a lot of artefacts, and these give us a lot of clues in how the societies of the time functioned.

The well-preserved funerary objects of this grave provided a lot of knowledge into the world of the rulers of these societies during the late Iron Age. This chieftain had been buried with a gold-plated torc on his neck which is clearly a symbol of power and strength; amber jewelry which have always been a "must-have" material, due to its rarety, since the Paleolithic; a gold-plated dagger made of bronze and iron, that we must not forget that this was the age of metals and such weapons had no use in war but were merely symbols of power and prestige; a bracelet on his right arm, a nail clipper, a comb, fishing hooks, a flat cone-shaped hat made of birch bark adorned with circle patterns and punched decorations, arrows, a razor knife, and thin embossed gold plaques were on his now-disintegrated shoes. At this man's feet was a large bronze cauldron, filled with honeyed-mead. The entrance to the burial mound was facing north, and the mound itself was surrounded by a stone ring and oak posts. The east side of the tomb contained an iron-plated, wooden, four-wheeled wagon holding a set of bronze dishes – along with the drinking horns found on the walls, enough to serve nine people. The one reserved for the host was delicately decorated with gold, the tip being adorned with beads made of bones. 

Nearby the burial mound, a museum dedicated to the grave was built, and fortunately enough during the construction of museum the foundations of an ancient Celtic village were found - probably the one to which the chieftain belonged to.