Nørre Sandegård Vest: A Cemetery from the 6th-8th Centuries on Bornholm 8787483351, 9788787483353

Table of contents :
Foreword 9
1. Introduction 11
2. Finds from earlier periods 15
3. The Late Germanic Iron-age cemetery 21
4. The weapon graves of Northern Europe 86
5. The textiles from Nørre Sandegård Vest 118
6. Wood analyses from Nørre Sandegård Vest 141
7. Dansk resume 154
8. References 167
9. Catalogue 173
Plates 191

Citation preview

Nørre Sandegård Vest A Cemetery from the 6th-8th Centuries on Bornholm Lars Jorgensen and Anne Nørgård Jorgensen

N ørre Sandegård Vest A Cem etery from the 6th-8th Centuries on Bornholm

Nordiske Fortidsminder Serie B

Volume 14

Published with grants from:

H. M. Queen Margrethe II’s Archaeological Foundation The Carlsberg Foundation G.E.C. Gads Foundation Bodiljørgensen The Danish Research Counsil for the Humanities The National Museum of Denmark The State Antiquary The National Museum’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology under The Danish National Research Foundation Helen and Ejnar Bjørnow’s Fund for Military Research

N ørre Sandegård Vest A Cem etery from the 6th-8th Centuries on Bornholm

Lars Jørgensen and Anne N ørgård Jørgensen

with contributions by Ulla Mannering and Claus Malmros

DET KONGELIGE NORDISKE OLDSKRIFTSELSKAB • KØBENHAVN 1997

© 1997 Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab Frederiksholms Kanal 12, DK-1220 København K ISBN 87-87483-35-1 ISSN 0105-578X General editors: Ulla Lund Hansen and Birger Storgaard Translation: John Hines Produced and printed by: Rosendahls Bogtrykkeri • Esbjerg Font: Baskerville Book Paper: 115 g. MultiArt Silk Binding: Nordisk Bogproduktion Distribution: Herrn. H J. Lynge & Søn Silkegade 11 DK-1113 København K Cover: View to the cemetery area and the Baltic Sea (photo Lars Jørgensen).

To Michael and Tine

Contents

F o rew o rd ............................................................... 1. 1.1 1.2 2. 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 3.

3.1 3.1.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 3.2.6 3.2.7

I n tro d u c tio n by Lars Jø rg e n se n ................................... Vedel’s excavations of 1884 and 1901 . T he excavations of 1986-87 .................. F in d s fro m e a rlie r p e rio d s by Lars Jø rg e n se n ................................... Roman Iron-age graves ........................ Cremations of the Early Roman Iron A g e ................................................... Inhumation grave of the Late Roman Iron A g e ..................................... Undated graves....................................... T h e L a te G e rm a n ic Iro n -a g e c e m e te ry by Lars Jørgensen and Anne Nørgård Jørgensen ...................... Introduction by Lars Jø rg e n se n ................................... Children's and unidentifiable graves .. T he women’s graves by Lars Jø rg e n se n ................................... C hronology............................................. Description of the p h a se s...................... T he animal styles and absolute chronology ............................................. T he burial sequence............................... Synchronization with the male chronology ............................................. Grave construction................................. T he grave g o o d s..................................... Equal-armed b ro o c h ............................... Beak brooches......................................... Bird brooches ......................................... Disc-on-bow brooches .......................... Disc brooches ......................................... Oval plate brooches ............................... Rectangular plate b ro o c h e s .................. Zoomorphic plate b ro o ch es.................. Tortoise b ro o c h es................................... Godandic brooches................................. Dress pins ............................................... B e a d s ....................................................... Bead-string sp acers.................................

9

11 11 13

15 15 18 19 20

21 21 21 24 24 28 30 35 37 39 39 39 39 41 41 43 43 43 44 44 45 45 45 47

Ornamental d i s c ..................................... Pendants ................................................. Bead-string terminals ............................. Toiletry s e t s ............................................. Spiral p e n d a n ts....................................... Chains ..................................................... Copper-alloy box ................................... Purse mounts ......................................... A rm rin g s................................................. Spindle w horls......................................... Knives ..................................................... Scissors..................................................... C o m b s ..................................................... T esserae................................................... Rings, cleats, rivets and nails etc............ Wooden containers................................. 3.2.8 Sets of jewellery and reconstruction of c o stu m e ................................................... 3.3 T he male graves by Anne Nørgård Jørgensen ................ 3.3.1 Grave construction................................. 3.3.2 T he position of the grave goods .......... 3.3.3 C hronology............................................. 3.3.4 Phasing ................................................... 3.3.5 Absolute chronology ............................. 3.3.6 T he grave g o o d s..................................... T he two-edged sw o rd ............................. One-edged swords (saxes) .................... Shields ..................................................... Lances ..................................................... Knives ..................................................... O ther equipment ................................... 3.3.7 Weapon sets at Nørre Sandegård V est........................................................... 3.3.8 Weapon sets on Bornholm in general .. 3.3.9 Graves with h o rs e s ................................. 3.3.10 Local variation ....................................... 3.3.11 Weapons and weapon graves in D e n m a rk ................................................. 3.3.12 S um m ary.................................................

4. 4.1

48 49 49 49 50 50 50 51 51 54 54 54 54 55 55 55 55 60 60 60 62 63 65 70 70 71 74 74 75 75 76 76 78 78 80 83

The weapon graves of Northern Europe by Anne Nørgård Jørgensen ................ A methodological discussion concerning regional and transregional weapon-grave a n a ly sis..........................

86

87

4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.4 4.4.1

4.4.2 4.4.3 4.5 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.5.4

4.6 4.6.1 4.6.2 4.6.3 4.6.4

4.6.5 4.7

5. 5.1 5.2

5.3 5.4 5.5

Weapon-types and weapon sets on Gotland ............................................. Local variation ....................................... S u m m ary................................................. Weapon-types and weapon sets in Southern and Central Norway ............ Local variation ....................................... S u m m ary................................................. Scandinavian weapon graves - conclusion............................................. Chronological variation in the deposition of weapon-types in Scandinavia............................................. Burial weapons and real weapon sets .. The military elite ................................... Frankish-Alamannic weapon burial rite Weapon sets in Frankish-Alamannic graves....................................................... Saxes in Frankish-Alamannic graves . . . Two-edged sword in Frankish-Alamannic g ra v e s .................. A comparison of the weapon combinations in Scandinavian and Frankish-Alamannic graves.................... The Frankish military s y s te m .............. The military elite in Scandinavia.......... Conscription in Scandinavia in the light of the merovingian so u rc e s.......... Mounted troops and infantry .............. Scandinavian weapon graves and the military elite in the context of the early history of the Frankish kingdom. A summary of the political geography of the period............................................. Nørre Sandegård Vest at a historical turning point............................................. Appendix: Analyses of age and weapon-combinations in the continental cemeteries ...............................................

6. 88 90 91 6.1 91 94 94 6.2 95

96 97 99 99 101 102 103 6.3 104 105 107 109 Ill 6.4

Ill 116 6.5 6.6 116

by Claus Malmros ................................... 141 Introduction ........................................... 141 Laboratory analysis ............................... 141 State of preservation............................... 141 Wood-anatomical identification............ 141 Other organic m aterials......................... 142 The use of the types of wood at Nørre Sandgård Vest ............................. 142 Knives ..................................................... 143 S w o rd s..................................................... 143 Lances ..................................................... 143 Shields ..................................................... 143 Wooden b e a d s......................................... 143 Wooden box ........................................... 144 C offin....................................................... 144 Wood from objects of unknown function ................................. 144 C o m b s ..................................................... 144 Other organic m aterials......................... 144 The source of the wood from Nørre Sandegård V e s t....................................... 144 Trees on Bornholm in the Iron Age . . . 145 M ap le....................................................... 145 Pine ......................................................... 145 The contemporary situation on Bornholm ............................................... 145 The wood from Nørre Sandegård V est........................................................... 145 The wood from Nørre Sandegård Vest compared with other grave finds .. 146 Knives ..................................................... 146 Spears and lances ................................... 147 S w o rd s..................................................... 147 Shields ..................................................... 147 S um m ary................................................. 147 Comparative finds of wood from the later iron age in Scandinavia ......................... 147

N otes............................................149

The textiles from Nørre Sandegård Vest by Ulla M annering...................................118 Analysis of the textiles ........................... 119 The textiles ............................................. 120 Tabby weaves - the Gerlev-Dråby, Nørre Sandegård and Gudmingegård types ............................. 121 Twills - the Birka t y p e ........................... 124 The fibre - wool or f l a x ........................ 126 The yarn - thickness and q u a lity ........ 127 Colours ................................................... 127 C o rd s ....................................................... 129 Edges, hems and seams ........................ 131 Non-woven structures ........................... 133 Combinations of textile ........................ 135 Conclusive remarks ............................... 136

Wood analyses from Nørre Sandegård Vest

7.

Dansk resume ............................ 154

8.

References .................................. 167

9.

Catalogue.................................... 173 Plates............................................191 Grave inventory, PI. 1 -2 6 ....................... Colour plates, beads and inventory, PI. 27-40 ................................................... Grave plans, PI. 41-45 ........................... Detailed plans, PI. 46-51 ...................... Lindisfarne Gospels, fol. 266, PI. 52 .......................................................

192 218 232 237 243

Foreword

This book is the first publication of a substantial, newly excavated cemetery of the Late Germanic Iron Age from Bornholm for a hundred years. The district administrator Emil Vedel’s two books, Bornholm Old­ tidsminder og Oldsager [The Ancient Monuments and Finds of Bornholm] of 1886 and the supplement to that, Efterskrift til Bomhobns Oldtidsminder og Oldsager of 1897, still stand out as pioneering works of Danish ar­ chaeology. T he excavation of the cemetery of Nørre Sandegård Vest in 1986-87, however, offered a pre­ cious chance to reassess the many graves of the Late Germanic Iron Age that Vedel, together with School­ master J. A. Jørgensen, had excavated on Bornholm between 1866 and 1901. This book is therefore first and foremost a publica­ tion of the rich grave finds from Nørre Sandegård Vest, which can put the older excavations in perspecti­ ve. T he richly furnished women’s grave from Born­ holm in this period have been the object of detailed new chronological studies in recent years. In this book, however, the men’s graves are also thoroughly investigated for the first time in both the Scandinavian and the European context. Several colleagues assisted with the excavation and subsequent work on publication. Above all we wish to express our warm thanks to Museum Inspector M ar­ grethe Watt, Bornholms Museum, who passed the ex­ cavation of the cemetery over to Lars Jørgensen in 1987 and has since then supported the publication work. Bornholms Museum has waited patiently for the large number of finds that have remained in the National Museum in Copenhagen during much of the post-excavation phase. We also wish to thank stud, mag. Birgitte Borby Hansen who was in charge of the first rescue excavation in 1986 and took part in the fi­ nal excavation the following year together with Dorte Dam and Svend Kramp. Thanks also to mag. art. Finn-Ole S. Nielsen, who undertook the recording of the Early-neolithic setdement traces that were discove­ red in the course of the excavation. Furthermore we will thank Dr. Ulla Lund Hansen and Alice Lundgren for their support and help in connexion with the pub­ lication. Anne Nørgård Jørgensen is gratefull to Ber­ nard S. Bachrach for critical comments on the type­ script, and for drawing our attention to several publi­ cations. His observations have raised our awareness

of the ambiguities of the historical evidence, and some of the pitfalls of its interpretations. The drawings and watercolours of women’s outfits in the publication are the work of Poul Christensen, who finished the majority of the women’s material be­ fore retiring from the Institute for Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology of the University of Copenha­ gen. Stud. mag. John Pind drew the men’s equipment, many of the iron artefacts from the women’s graves, and the grave plans. The comprehensive conserva­ tion work was done by the Conservation Department of the National Museum, where the conservators Gerd Elling, Eva Salomonsen, Marianne Carlsson and Marianne Lundbæk have done an excellent job. The photographer in the Conservation Department, John Lee, took a large number of important record photographs in the course of this thorough work. Further thanks goes to conservator Else Østergård, Conservation Department, National Museum, and the weaver Anna Nørgård, both of whom provided good advice and guidance in connexion with the in­ vestigation of the textiles. T he age determinations of the badly preserved teeth were done by Merete Skjernow, National Museum. The english translation is the work of Jo h n Hines. Several funds and institutions have supported the publication and the scientific analyses. The Carlsberg Foundation contributed financially for the drawing and textile analyses, and has paid for the printing of the book. G.E.C. Gad’s Foundation gave a grant for drawing and the wood-anatomical analyses. Queen Margrethe II’s Archaeological Foundation, the State Antiquary, and Bodil Jørgensen have supported the drawing. Finally the Danish Research Council for the Humanities also made a contribution supporting the wood-anatomical work. The translation was paid for by the State Antiquary and the Centre for Maritime Archaeology under The Danish National Research Foundation. Warm thanks are owed to all these funds and institutions. We hope that this book will give its readers an in­ sight into the burial practices that a community on Bornholm used when burying its deceased members more than 1,200 years ago. Copenhagen, November 1996 Lars Jørgensen and Anne Nørgårdjørgensen

9

Southern Scandinavia and Bornholm.

1. Introduction by Lars Jørgensen

Cemeteries of the Late Germanic Iron Age, the period from ca. 520/30 to 800 A.D., are very rare in Den­ mark. Only on Bornholm is a reasonable number of sites known, with a total of more than 300 graves. By far the majority of these were excavated by the local official Emil Vedel in collaboration with the local schoolmaster J. A. Jørgensen in the second half of the 19th century (cf. Lyngstrøm 1990). From around 1870 down to 1901 they deliberately looked for ceme­ teries of this particular period and managed to identi­ fy and examine about 20 sites. The cemeteries were found to be concentrated particularly along the north­ eastern coast of Bornholm where they were sited on marginal land and thus had escaped being ploughed up. Many of the typical, low grave mounds were visi­ ble there in the 19th century and can still be seen today in several places along the coast.

1.1. Vedel’s excavations of 1884 and 1901 In 1901, Vedel andj. A. Jørgensen excavated their last cemetery together at field no. 11a, belonging to the farm of Nørre Sandegård, parish description 185, Østerlars parish, Bornholms Øster herred (Fig. 1). This cemetery is sited about 2 km. south of Gudhjem and about 200 m. from the coast. The cemetery was placed on a relatively flat terrace within an otherwise quite steep morain slope (Figs. 2 and 3). T he morain

F ig. 2 . View to the B altic from Gudhjem. The N ørre Sandegård Vest cemetery is sited behind the row o f ta ll trees in the background. (Photo,

LJ).

F ig. 1. L ate Germanic Iron-age cemeteries on Bornholm. 1) N ørre Sandegård Vest.

is almost exclusively heavy clay, but just on this terra­ ce there is a lens of sand in which the graves were pro­ bably deliberately placed. Several other cemeteries are located in this coastal area (Fig. 3). Below Nørre Sandegård Vest is the ceme­ tery of Kobbeå which Vedel and Jørgensen excavated in 1884-90 (Vedel 1886, 375f.; 1897, 139ff.; Nørgård Jørgensen 1991b). N orth of the Kobbeå cemetery are two further, contemporary cemeteries, Melsted-Sandhuset and Melsted (Vedel 1886, 372ff.; 1897, 138f.). Altogether Vedel excavated more than 100 graves of the Late Germanic Iron Age and early Viking Period in this area. In connexion with his investigations of the Kobbeå cemetery Vedel also excavated three gra­ ves further to the south, Kobbeå graves 34-36 (Vedel 1897, 143; Becker 1990, 95) but graves which clearly belong to another cemetery (Fig. 3b). Vedel’s excava­ tions in this cemetery were followed up by C. J. Becker, who from 1948 to 1952 excavated a large ce­ metery with cremations of the Early Iron Age at the

11

F ig. 3 . The coastal area a t the mouth o f the Kobbeå river w ith cemeteries o f the L ate Iron A ge an d Viking Period, a) N ørre Sandegård Vest; b) N ørre Sandegård; c) Kobbeå; d) M elsted-Sandhuset; e) M elsted:J ) N ørregård.

foot of the slope, Nørre Sandegård, in the course of which two more graves of the Late Germanic Iron Age were also found (Becker 1990, 96ff.). In order to distinguish between Becker’s Nørre Sandegård ceme­ tery, which thus also comprises Vedel’s Kobbeå gra­ ves 34-36, from the cemetery published here, our ce­ metery has been christened Nørre Sandegård Vest. T he distance between the two cemeteries is about 100 m. and they thus constitute two clearly separate ceme­ teries. T he field of Nørre Sandegård had been under cul­ tivation for a long time and in the area of the cemetery there were layers of stone that had been ploughed up at regular distances. Vedel and Jørgensen knew this type of Iron-age grave well by this time, and as early as 1884 they investigated an isolated burial mound from this period in the field, Kobbeå grave 33 (Vedel 1886,376; 1897,143). Further, in 1900 a fragment of a large, gilt disc-on-bow brooch was found about 60 m. EN E of Kobbeå grave 33 (Fig. 29; NM C 10206) and it was clear that there must be more graves in the field. In 1901 Vedel and Jørgensen therefore undertook an excavation in the field. Vedel wrote, in his report, that

12

all traces of barrows had disappeared and that even the stone layers over the graves were already comple­ tely or partially disturbed. T he only means by which they could locate the remaining graves was by pro­ bing with a spike for the remains of surviving stone layers. In this way Vedel and Jørgensen located seven inhumation graves of the Late Germanic Iron Age over an area 110 m. long, here referred to as graves V I-7. In addition four cremation burials of the Roman Iron Age were found, two in connexion with the exca­ vation of the inhumation graves V I and V2 and two ploughed-up cremations which are referred to here as V8 and V9. In the excavation report Vedel added a sketch of the relative placement of the individual gra­ ves with an indication of the approximate distances between them (Fig. 4). Vedel’s plan of the individual graves was creditably accurate, and during the exca­ vation of 1987 several of Vedel’s graves could be iden­ tified, the previously excavated graves standing out very clearly. Six of Vedel’s seven inhumation graves were re-located in 1987. Vedel’s method of excavation was that which he had previously used for this type of grave - only the

Fig. 4. Vedel’s sketch plan in his report o f 1 9 0 1 showing graves V I9 and Fobbed 3 3 .

central areas of the features were excavated. The pace of excavation was high and the excavation lasted only three days. In 1987 it was also possible to find untou­ ched grave fill along the sides of the grave in several of Vedel’s graves. Re-excavation showed, however, that no grave goods had been overlooked and left in place by Vedel and Jørgensen.

of three exposed graves, graves 1-3, could clearly be seen on the surface of the field. These were excavated that autumn by Birgitte Borby Hansen from Born­ holms Museum, and in the spring of 1987 a full exca­ vation was carried out. The results of this excavation were 47 more inhumation graves of the Late Germa­ nic Iron Age and a number of earlier prehistoric featu­ res in the form of settlement traces of the Late Stone Age; what are believed to be graves and a trench, pos­ sibly of the Bronze Age; and both cremation and in­ humation graves of the Roman Iron Age. Finally one more inhumation grave was excavated in 1989, grave 105, which is probably, however, of the late Viking Pe­ riod. In the course of the excavation of 1987 about 3,000 sq.m, were opened up (Fig. 5). A total of 15 trial trenches where laid out over the area at 10-m. inter­ vals in order to determine the extent of the cemetery. In spite of the close spacing of the trial trenches only two inhumations were initially located, graves 4 and 9, each lying at an opposite end of the cemetery! This is worth noting in respect of trial excavation of suspec­ ted cemetery sites - trial trenches have to be closely spaced as the risk of missing possible graves is great. One of the trial trenches was extended down to the road in order to link up with C. J. Becker’s excavati­ ons of 1948-52. Out of consideration for the cultivation of the field the excavation lasted only 5 weeks. The use of the me­ tal-detector helped with the rapid identification of the interesting areas within the graves, and since also only few skeletal remains survived the grave goods could be excavated swiftly. The complicated clusters of je-

1.2. The Excavations of 1986-87 In his report of 1901, Vedel noted that the majority of the graves had probably escaped their attention; he was thus in no doubt that there more graves in the field. As early as 1902 a fragment of a large disc-onbow brooch from a disturbed grave in the field was found (Fig. 29, C 11371) and this was followed in 1904 by the finding of another disc-on-bow brooch frag­ ment (Fig. 28, C 12507). Vedel’s supposition of the presence of more graves was fully confirmed in the autumn of 1986 when the then owner of Nørre Sandegård removed soil from a small area of the field for his garden. In the course of the following autumn ploug­ hing the plough cut through several graves in this area. By great good fortune the field was surveyed im­ mediately afterwards with a metal-detector by the lo­ cal amateur archaeologist Klaus Thorsen, and the re­ sult was the discovery of a great quantity of jewellery and weapon fragments in the ploughsoil. Klaus T hor­ sen informed Bornholms Museum of the finds and an inspection was carried out immediately. The dark fill

Fig. 5. Nørre Sandegdrd Vest. Areas excavated in 1987.

13

Fig. 6. Opened cast with thejewellery from grave 70. (Photo, John Lee).

wellery, however, which in several graves included more than a hundred items, could not, in view of the pressure of time, be excavated and fully recorded in the field. They were therefore lifted in casts and fully excavated in the National Museum (Fig. 6). Here the­ re was much more time, especially for the recording of

14

the large number of strings of beads, and thus to pro­ duce a record of the complicated sets of jewellery. It would have extended the length of the excavation substantially if this had had to be done in the field. Si­ milarly larger objects such as swords and shield bos­ ses were lifted in blocks and could then be excavated after radiography at the National Museum. In connexion with the excavation of 1987 an inter­ esting observation was made concerning the speed at which the cemetery is being ploughed away. In 1901, Vedel gave the depth of the graves as 60-65 cm. In the excavation of 1987 it could be seen that the base of the same graves was now only 30-40 cm. beneath the top of the ploughsoil - thus up to 30-35 cm. had been plo­ ughed off the graves since 1901! The year after the end of the excavation a heavier plough was used in the field, which ploughed 5-10 cm. deeper than previ­ ously. Only a few years’ ploughing would have led to all of the graves that were excavated in 1987 having been totally destroyed. Thus an alert amateur archa­ eologist was responsible for it being possible to save 50 graves before their complete destruction. W hat has been observed at Nørre Sandegård Vest in respect of the speed of plough erosion of our ancient monu­ ments should provide food for thought in respect of the preservation of those parts of our cultural heritage that are at present in cultivated fields. Nørre Sande­ gård unfortunately is not the only example of the gra­ dual destruction of ancient monuments by cultivation - similar conditions can be found at many other sites in Denmark.

2. Finds from earlier periods by Lars Jørgensen

It is in general terms impossible to undertake an exca­ vation on Bornholm without running into features and finds from several periods of prehistory. The undulating topography of Bornholm has meant that the same areas have been selected and used time after time in prehistory. The excavation of 1987 thus also resulted in the finding of a num ber of features from earlier periods, the most important of which are brief­ ly described here. In the southernmost part of the area of excavation a small amount of flint was found in the ploughsoil in a patch measuring 10 m.sq. Amongst the finds 2 block scrapers can be noted, a few microflakes and debitage. The inventory shows that this represents a small site of the Maglemose Culture belonging to the Melsted group (Becker 1990, 26). In the natural subsoil, how­ ever, no features could be identified. In the area around graves 7 and 26-28 there were traces of settlement from the Early-neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture (Fig. 8). In a surviving culture layer a large quantity of sherds and flint was found, and there was a particularly conspicuous amount of Early-neo­ lithic pottery in the fill of grave 7. In addition several postholes which could be dated to the Funnel Beaker Culture could be seen within a particular area. This may represent the base of a single building from this period as two larger posts with identical fill and Earlyneolithic pottery were found. In the northern part of the main area two large trench features were also recorded, feature 85 (Fig. 8). This consisted of two trenches, aligned NW-SE, which practically formed a ship-shaped structure with bowed sides. T he feature was about 17.5 m. long and had a maximum width of nearly 10 m. At the sou­ thern end of the feature the width was about 5 m. and there was an opening facing the SE. The terminal of the feature to the NW was much obscured by plough erosion; a transverse trench may have closed off this end of the structure, but this is uncertain. The two trenches that formed this feature were 1 to 1.5 m. wide and a maximum of 30 cm. deep. The fill was grey-brown mixed sand and humus. All along the length of the trench traces of a layer of stone could be seen which was still preserved in some places. Along the inner side of the trenches two rows of regular sto­ ne marks could be observed (Fig. 7). Where the sto-

Fig. 7. D eta il photograph ofthe trench infeature 8 5 w ith clear stcme marks in a possible ship setting. (Photo, L J ).

nes were still in situ they were smooth pebbles. It should be noted that the stone marks could only be recorded at a certain depth within the trench. It was clear that the absent stones had not been ploughed away in recent times but had probably been removed in antiquity. T he cross-section of the trench was trough­ shaped. Apart from the stone marks no traces of any other structures could be observed in these trenches. Thus there were no traces of possible monoliths, posts or the like. Within the feature itself, likewise, no postholes that might pertain to a building were visible. This structure is only very crudely datable - it is stratigraphically earlier than the Late Germanic Ironage graves, several of which were cut into the eastern trench. At the same time it is later than the Early-neo­ lithic culture layer which the southern part of the western trench cut through, and a number of Earlyneolithic sherds were found in the fill of the trench here. The form and function of the feature are un­ clear, but the ship-like shape could indicate this to be the remains of a Bronze-age ship setting. The NW-SE alignment of the structure would also support this.

2.1. Roman Iron-Age Graves As early as 1901 Vedel had found several Early Ironage cremations, V8-V9 and 2 graves associated with the inhumation graves V I and V2. In 1986-87 ano­ ther 20 cremations of the Early Roman Iron Age 15

16

(ERIA) were found. These were concentrated in a southern group of 16 graves: graves 7, 17-19, 33, 43, 73-74, 78-81, 83, 88 and 92-93 (Fig. 9). In 1951 C. J. Becker excavated a single cremation in this area, gra­ ve SI, during his excavations of the large cemetery at the foot of the bank (Becker 1990, 116). W ith Vedel’s 4 graves and Becker’s grave SI the southern group thus comprises at least 21 cremations. In the northern part of the area of excavation there was a small group of graves with 4 burials: graves 98, 100 and 102-103. During the investigations of 1986 several ploughed-up cremations were noted in the northern area but no surviving remains of these could be re-located in 1987 - probably because they had been totally ploughed away. Apart from the cremations there was a single in­ humation grave of the Late Roman Iron Age, period C2, grave 57. The total num ber of graves of the Early Iron Age thus is 26 (Fig. 9).

F ig. 10. Findsfrom the cremation grave 73 o f the E arly Rom an Iron Age. 3 :4 . (D raw n by JFbul Christensen).

2.1.1. Cremations o f the Early Roman Iron Age Grave V8: ERIA cremation grave (NM C 1029310294). Excavated by Vedel in 1901. In his report it is described as follows: At a depth of 60 cm. beneath the surface an intact cremation grave was found with the finds C 10293-94. Vedel’s grave 8 could not be identi­ fied during the excavation of 1987 and it has probably been completely ploughed away. Grave V9: ERIA cremation grave (NM C 1029510296). Excavated by Vedel in 1901. In his report it is described as follows: Cremation grave with a sword C 10295 and shield boss C 10296. Vedel’s grave 9 could not be identified during the excavation of 1987 and it has probably been completely ploughed away. Grave 17: Cremation grave (BMR 1409x332). Depth 7 cm. Fill with fragments of burnt bone and 1 sherd of an undecorated pot, x332. Grave 18: Cremation grave (BMR 1409x333). Depth 2 cm. 1 sherd in the fill, x333. Grave 19: Cremation grave, only the base preser­ ved. A little charcoal in the fill, x331. Grave 33: Cremation grave (BMR 1409x849). Diameter 60 cm., depth 10 cm. In the fill charcoal and burnt bone, x849. No other finds. Grave 43: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x54750). Dia. ca. 50-60 cm., depth 16 cm. In the fill scatte­ red pieces of charcoal and burnt bone. The grave goods included an iron brooch x547, a knife x548, a handled pot and sherds x549 and iron x550. The handled pot was found partially intact in the fill and the other finds were scattered through the fill. Brooch, iron (x547). Bow brooch with a cross-wire hook on the bow and a high pin catch. Knife, iron (x548). Length 11.3 cm. of which the blade 9 cm. Slightly curved edge. Grave 44: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x554-54). Dia. 65 cm., depth 18 cm. Everything 18

indicates that the grave has already been excavated as spademarks could be seen in its side. In the fill were found sherds x553 from a single pot and charcoal x554. Grave 73: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x831-34). Dia. 75 cm., depth 20 cm. Charcoal and burnt bone in the fill. A stone mark at the top. There were 2 copper-alloy brooches, a knife and a po­ lishing stone in the fill, x831-34. Brooch, copper-alloy (x831). L. 4.7 cm. with a headplate and a comb on the bow and foot. Profiled foot knob. (Fig. 10:1) Brooch, copper-alloy (x834). Only the profiled foot knob survives but certainly identical to x831. (Fig. 10:2) Knife, iron. Fragment, point of blade missing. L. 5.9 cm. Grave 78: Cremation grave. Dia. 60 cm., depth 21 cm. A few pieces of burnt bone in the fill. No artefacts. Grave 79: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x844-45). Dia. 40 cm., depth 10 cm. A handled urn and a beaker were in the grave, x844-45. Grave 80: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x835). Dia. 40 cm., depth 11 cm. Some burnt bone and sherds from 2 pots and a knife in the fill, x835. Knife, iron (x835). Blade point fragment, L. 3.7 cm. Grave 81: ERIA cremation grave (BMR 1409x846-68). Dia. 40 cm., depth 9 cm. A little burnt bone in the fill and sherds of a handled urn and 1 or 2 beakers at the base, x846-48. Grave 83: Cremation grave. Dia. 55 cm., depth 10 cm. Charcoal and few pieces of burnt bone in the fill. No artefacts.

F ig. 11. G rave 5 7 o f the L ate Roman Iron A ge. 1 :2 5 .

Grave 88: Cremation grave, only the base preser­ ved. No artefacts. Grave 92: Cremation grave, severely plough dama­ ged. No artefacts. Grave 93: Cremation grave, severely plough dama­ ged. No artefacts. Grave 98: Cremation grave. Dia. 40 cm., depth 15 cm. A little charcoal in the fill. No artefacts. Grave 100: Cremation grave. Dia. 35 cm., depth 10 cm. A little charcoal in the fill. No artefacts. Grave 102: Cremation grave. Dia. 25 cm., depth 10 cm. A little charcoal in the fill. No artefacts. Grave 103: Cremation grave. Opened during an earlier excavation. No artefacts.

2.1.2. Inhumation grave o f the Late Roman Iron Age During the excavation a single inhumation grave of the Late Roman Iron Age (grave 57) was also found, Fig. 11. This is the grave of a child (6-7 years). The combination of grave goods is of a character that is not typical of women’s graves on Bornholm at this pe­ riod. T he absence of brooches in particular seems to imply a boy’s grave. Amongst other things, the grave contained a small ceramic beaker and a glass beaker, indicating a dating to Period C2 of the Late Roman Iron Age, ca. 250-325 A.D. The reduced furnishing of the grave also suggests this dating as the Bornholm

graves of Period C l generally contain more grave goods and different combinations of types. Grave 57: child (6-7 years) (BMR 1409x792-95, 800-09). Irregular oblong, 0.6-1.0 m. x 2.45, aligned N-S. Depth 32 cm. At the northern end of the grave there was a refilled stone mark apparently left by a standing marker stone. T he fill of the grave was clear­ ly different from that of the Late Germanic Iron-age graves. By the ground level, in addition, traces of a coffin made of planks lying on edge could be seen, the long sides of which extended beyond the northern end. The coffin measured 0.45 m. x 2.20. Between the protuding coffin sides at the northern end stood a handled wessel x792 and a glass beaker x795. In the fill around the glass beaker there was a stray glass sherd x795 but it is unclear whether or not this comes from the beaker. In the northern end of the coffin the­ re were traces of the skull of the body, including teeth x794. Below the jaw lay 3 beads x800-01 and 804 and a glass sherd x803 which is definitely not from the glass beaker. About 30 cm. to the south of the skull was a buckle x807 and east of this there lay a belt ring with a leather strap x809. Attached to the belt ring was a knife x806 and an iron awl x808. At the western side of the coffin was a gold finger ring x800. At the southern end of the coffin was a ceramic beaker x793 and south of this lay 4 comb rivets x805. Beneath the metal objects a dark organic layer could be seen, pro­ bably the remains of the clothing of the body. Through the location of the grave goods and the position of the teeth it is possible to see that the body lay supine and extended. Goldßnger ring (x.800). Internal dia. 1.3 cm. Simple, spiral twisted gold ribbon. (Fig. 12:2). Glass beaker (x795). H. 5.7 cm, dia. of mouth 8.5 cm. In clear, light green glass with a rounded base and a slightly everted rim. (Fig. 12:1). Glass sherd (x803). Clear, colourless glass. Buckle, copper-alloy (x807). 3.5 cm. x 1.3. Rectan­ gular loop with a simple, looped pin. (Fig. 12:8). Belt ring, copper-alloy (x809). External dia. 4.2 cm. Round cross-section, dia. 0.5 cm. Around the ring a leather strap, 0.9 cm. wide. (Fig. 12:3). Knife, iron (x806). Only the blade survives. L. 6.7 cm. (Fig. 12:5). Awl, iron (x808). L. ca. 6 cm. Remains of a wooden handle. (Fig. 12:6). Comb with copper-alloy rivets (x805). Only 4 rivets made of rolled copper-alloy foil preserved. 3 beads (x800-01, 804). 1 blue-green polychrome glass bead with a yellow/red flower, 1 monochrome red glass bead, 1 disc-shaped amber bead. (Fig. 12:4). Handled wessel, ceramic (x792). Decorated with groo­ ves. (Fig. 12:7). Small beaker, ceramic (x793). Decorated with groo­ ves. (Fig. 12:9).

19

F ig. 12. The grave goodsfrom inhumation grave 5 7 o f the L ate Rom an Iron A ge. 1-4, 6, 8) 3 :4 , 5) 1:2,

7 and 9)

1:3. (D raw n by Poul Chris­

tensen and John P ind).

2.2. Undated Graves Five undated inhumation graves were found:graves 8, 39, 45-46 and 86 (Fig. 8). They can hardly be of the Late Germanic Iron Age as their fill was markedly dif­ ferent from that of the graves of that period. Grave 8: Inhumation grave(?) (BMR 1409x257). Oval, 0.75 m. x 1.70, aligned E-W. Depth 26 cm. The fill was clearly different from that of the Late Germa­ nic Iron-age graves. No artefacts. Grave 39: Inhumation grave, adult (BMR 1409x485). Narrow, rectangular, 0.35-0.50 m. x 1.80, aligned WSW-ENE. Depth 20 cm. Under excavation in spits the form of this feature changed to a long oval. Skull traces with teeth x485 at the western end of the grave and the clear body stain of a person laid exten­

20

ded and supine. The deceased measured at least 150 cm. Trough-shaped base to the grave. No dated grave goods were found but the fill and the structure of the grave were clearly different from those of the Late Germanic Iron Age. Graves 45-46: Inhumation graves (?). Two oval fea­ tures aligned N-S. No traces of bodies, coffins or grave goods. Fill clearly different from that of the Late Ger­ manic Iron-age graves, and probably examples of ear­ lier features. of our cultural heritage that are at present in culti­ vated fields. Nørre Sandegård unfortunately is not the only example of the gradual destruction of ancient monuments by cultivation - similar conditions can be found at many other sites in Denmark.

3. T he Late Germanic Iron-Age Cem etery by Lars Jørgensen and Anne Nørgård Jørgensen

3.1. Introduction by Lars Jørgensen During the excavation of 1987 it was possible to see that an area measuring about 15 m. by 35 at the sou­ thern end of the cemetery had been severely ploug­ hed down. This was due to the removal of soil in 1986 from a place where the two subsequent ploughings di­ sturbed several graves. It was here that graves 1-3 were excavated in 1986 and a number of detector finds were made in the ploughsoil (Fig. 13). Heavy plough erosion could also be seen in the area around graves 31-32 where the furrows cut through the base layer of the grave. Substantial plough erosion could also be seen in the area immediately east of the easternmost grave on the site, and any graves in this area must have been totally destroyed. There cannot, however, have been many graves to the east of the easternmost grave as the slope of the ground down towards the coast increases greatly here. The graves in the western, northern and southern parts of the ce­ metery were better preserved. Thus it could be obser­ ved that the westernmost graves had been cut through an old soil layer. In general, however, all of the graves were under severe threat, and ploughmarks were found at the level of the finds in grave 16. The general level of preservation of the graves was therefore mini­ mal, and the depth of the graves varied from just a few centimetres to 25 cm. - the majority, however, were just 5-15 cm. deep. T he ploughing down of the cemetery was clearly reflected by the large number of detector finds that were made at the same time as the excavation proper. There was the ploughing out of graves 1-3 after the removal of the soil that led to the excavation in the first place. Detector surveys have subsequently shown that these graves were not the only ones that were being ploughed out. Both before and after the archaeologi­ cal excavations a large quantity of finds from destroy­ ed graves have come in from the cemetery area. Even a detector survey of the garden to which the soil was removed yielded stray items of jewellery from de­ stroyed graves. Many of the finds, however, reveal such extensive wear and corrosion that they must have been lying in the ploughsoil for many years. Only a minority have a fresh surface which indicates

that they had been recently ploughed up. During the last 10 to 20 years several graves have probably been destroyed by ploughing on the cemetery site. In the area where the soil was removed in particular there is a distinct concentration of detector finds, although there are also several artefacts from ploughed-up gra­ ves in the northern area (Fig. 13). Every year since the end of the excavation in 1987 the cemetery area has been detected over, resulting in a steady stream of new finds (Figs. 27 and 30). The number of items from women’s graves is 36 (plus 34 beads), and on the basis of the number of brooches and their dating we can reckon that at least 7-10 women’s graves have been destroyed. As far as men’s equipment goes, a no­ ticeable number fragments of swords have been found, and it is believed that at least 5-6 men’s graves have been ploughed out. Some of the detector finds from 1986 could be at­ tributed to graves that were excavated in the fol­ lowing year as they can be fitted to objects in the undi­ sturbed parts of the graves. This is the case with grave 42, where the hilt and a blade fragment of a two-ed­ ged sword of which a large blade fragment was still lying in the grave were found in the plough layer above the grave. Through the excavations of 1884, 1901 and 198687 a total of 59 graves which can be assigned to the Late Germanic Iron Age have been recorded. O f the­ se 27 are women’s graves, 23 men’s graves and 9 chil­ dren’s or unidentifiable graves (Fig. 14). To these, then, we can add at least 7-10 women’s graves and 5-6 men’s graves, so that the cemetery would have com­ prised at least 70-75 graves.

3 . 7.7. Children 's and unidentifiable graves There is a very low number of graves with no genderspecific grave goods at Nørre Sandegård Vest. The ex­ amples are graves V I, V2, 34, 48, 51-53, 75 and 95. This category of graves, which form about 40°/o of all the graves at the contemporary cemetery of Bække­ gård on Bornholm, numbers only 9 graves, about 15% of the total. In the case of Bækkegård it has been suggested that the unidentified graves are for the most part the graves of children (Jørgensen 1990, 66). This also holds for some of the unidentified graves at 21

Nørre Sandegård Vest, but the very low proportion in­ dicates that the majority of the possible children’s gra­ ves have been ploughed away, as they were not buried as deep as the adults. This is supported by the fact that many of the adult graves with rich grave goods have evidently also been ploughed away at this site. There are only 3 graves in the cemetery that can definitely be identified as children’s graves, graves 22, 34 and 53. In grave 22 a 6-7 years old girl was buried with quite a large collection of jewellery. In grave 34 only weak skeletal traces of a buried child were visible with a knife and a wooden container as grave goods. In grave 53 a comb and a pot were found. The small dimensions of both graves also indicate that they were the burials of children. O f the remaining unidentified graves, V I and V2 were excavated by Vedel and contained no grave goods. During the re-excavation of these two graves, however, two large features were observed, which could possibly be adult graves. The only certain adult’s grave amongst this set is grave 75 in which clear skele­ tal traces of a fully grown person could be seen. The only grave goods here was a knife. Grave 48 also con­ tained a knife alone, but in this case it was impossible to offer any closer age-determination on the basis of skeletal traces. Finally, the suspected grave 95 should be noted, probably a robbed grave. Vedel excavated no graves in this area, but the size and alignment of the feature imply that an inhumation grave must have been excavated at this spot. It may have been the then landowner who undertook a single excavation on his own initiative after Vedel’s excavation.

3.2. The Women’s Graves by Lars Jørgensen Fifty-nine graves at Nørre Sandegård Vest (60 if featu­ re 95 is counted in) can definitely be assigned to the Late Germanic Iron Age. 27 of these can securely be identified as women’s graves on the basis of their gen­ der-specific grave goods (including the girl’s grave 22). The women’s graves of Bornholm in this period often contain a very substantial set of jewellery that al­ lows us to sex the graves without osteological analy­ ses. In the same way, many of the m en’s graves conta­ in weaponry identifying the sex of those buried there. The 26 women’s graves excavated in the cemetery also contain rich grave goods which can shed light on important chronological and social details of this peri­ od on Bornholm. The starting point for these analy­ ses is a dating of the relevant grave finds in the chro­ nology for the Late Germanic Iron Age on Bornholm.

3.2.1. Chronology T he women’s graves of Bornholm of the Late Germa­ nic Iron Age have already been used in chronological 24

analyses (Ørsnes 1966; 1970; Høilund Nielsen 1987; Jørgensen 1990). There is a rich and varied set of gra­ ve finds from this period, and the supplementary finds from Nørre Sandegård Vest provide the opportunity for a new chronological analysis. This does not imply that the earlier works are inadequate; rather that the new graves make it possible to re-assess the earlier chronological results. The work of Ørsnes from 1966 still forms the foun­ dation for the chronology of southern Scandinavia with his division of the period into the main phases 13. His system was revised, however, by Høilund Niel­ sen in 1987, where the finds from Bornholm were divi­ ded up into 8 phases, 1A-1D, 2A-2C and F, with Pha­ se F representing the Viking Period proper (Høilund Nielsen 1987). Høilund Nielsen similarly undertook some minor adjustments to Ørsnes’s typology, and in­ troduced, for the first time, a typology of bead strings, which proved to involve some clear chronological trends. In the present work Høilund Nielsen’s typolo­ gy is followed strictly. The analytical method used for the chronology is the same as that used by Høilund Nielsen in 1987 and involves a seriation and correspondence analysis of the combinations of types in the Bornholm grave finds. This method, and its possible weaknesses, has been described in several articles, and the reader will therefore not be wearied with long mathematical ac­ counts of the statistical basis of this method (cf. Høi­ lund Nielsen 1987; 1988; Madsen 1988; Hines 1992; Palm and Pind 1992; Scollar 1993). Put briefly, the place of a grave in a seriated matrix is calculated on the basis of a mathematical mean value for that grave’s combination of types. The major drawback of this statistical method lies precisely here, as a majority of old types will weigh more heavily than the latest ar­ tefact-type which is otherwise perhaps the most ap­ propriate for dating the act of burial. This source of possible error, however, only seems to occur in a small number of blatant cases, all of which will be noted in the following discussion of the result of seriation. A total of 111 women’s graves from Bornholm and 46 artefact-types were included in the analysis (Figs. 15-16). The seriation reveals the gradual replacement of types that can be seen in the grave groups down through the phases (Fig. 16). The phase boundaries in the seriation are primarily defined on the basis of rela­ tively conspicuous typological innovations. The seria­ tion produced 10 phases, in which phases 1A-2C constitute the Late Germanic Iron Age and phase VIK is the classical Viking Period. T he relevant corre­ spondence analysis to check this seriation clearly shows that there is a gradual chronological develop­ ment in the furnishing of the graves (Fig. 17). A neat parabola shows how the individual phases follow one another along the first axis which stands as the chro­ nological indicator in this type of analysis. A number of adjustments can be made to Høilund

F ig. 15. Type scheme show ing the classification o f jew elleryfrom , women ’s graves on Bornholm ofthe L ate Iron A ge and Viking Period. The type numbers refer to H øilund N ielsen 1 9 8 7 and are used in the seriatim , F ig. 16.

25

Fig. 1 7 Correspondence analysis o f the women s grave goodsfrom Bornholm o f the Late Germanic Iron A ge and Viking Period showing the 1 0 chro­ nologicalphases ofthe seriation.

Nielsen’s chronology of 1987, partly as a result of the omission of several grave groups which formed part of Høilund Nielsen’s Phase 1A, partly because of the substantial impact of Nørre Sandegård Vest, and final­ ly from the introduction of several subtypes of what were included only as main types in Høilund Nielsen’s study. The latter applies to the pins Høilund Nielsen PI-2, armrings Høilund Nielsen Q2-3 and the so-cal­ led terminals of type Høilund Nielsen R l. In Høilund Nielsen’s chronology, chains of both copper alloy and iron were included as type S3. It has already been po­ inted out that it does not make good sense to put these two types together as one type (Jørgensen 1990, 39). In this chronology, consequently, only iron chains are included as type S3. In her work Høilund Nielsen also