Illerup Ådal (English: ''Illerup River-valley'') is a

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ...

and archeological site located near Skanderborg in East Jutland,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Archaeological discoveries

According to Forte, Oram, and Pedersen, "The Illerup Ådal site is one of twenty-five in Denmark and southern Sweden where weapons were sacrificed." The sites include eastern Jylland, Fyn,

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

, Sjaelland, and

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

in Denmark, plus

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

and

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

in Sweden. The oldest deposit in Illerup Ådal contained 300 spear points, two with the name ''Wagnijo'' written in runes, plus shields, belts, and scabbards. In addition, about 129 tinderboxes, and 124 combs were unearthed. The first

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

findings at the river valley of Illerup Ådal were revealed in 1950, during some drainage work. The area was subsequently excavated from 1950 till 1956 and again from 1975 to 1985. During the excavations more than 15,000 items, mainly

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

weapons and personal equipment from 200 to 500 AD, were found. It is generally agreed that the findings are enemy equipment captured after victories, and then thrown into the lake, as a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

to the gods. Illerup Ådal is one of twenty-five sites in Denmark and Southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

where sacrificed weapons have been found. Archeological excavations also produced some findings bearing the

Elder Futhark The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark, ), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Per ...

runic inscription A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

s from the earliest period. To ensure preservation of the area, which still holds many findings, the location was granted protected status in 1996.

Alken Enge

The wet meadows of Alken Enge (Alken Meadows), forms the lower part of the short

of Illerup Ådal. The Alken Enge wetlands are located near Lake Mossø at Skanderborg and they are the site of a recent massive archaeological excavation. The skeletal remains of hundreds of

warriors were found in 2008 and 2009, during a large scale archaeological excavation carried out as project work by students of

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

in what was likely a lake bed when the remains were placed there about 2,000 years ago. The area covers 40 ha and although the events behind the macabre scene are unclear at the moment, many of the dead are believed to be warriors, maybe sacrificed prisoners of the wars at the time. The finds in Alken Enge predates the former Illerup Ådal find, but are also from the

Nordic Iron Age Iron Age Scandinavia (or Nordic Iron Age) was the Iron Age, as it unfolded in Scandinavia. It was preceded by the Nordic Bronze Age. Beginnings The 6th and 5th centuries BC were a tipping point for exports and imports on the European contine ...

. Excavation Project Manager Mads Kähler Holst, professor of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, has been quoted as saying of finding the remains of a violent conflict at the site: "It's clear that this must have been a quite far-reaching and dramatic event, that must have had profound effect on the society of the time. The dig has produced a large quantity of skeletal remains, and we believe that they will give us the answers to some of our questions about what kind of events led up to the army ending up here."Macabre finds in the bog at Alken Enge
EurekAlert!

References

Sources

*https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120814100302.htm *http://sciencenordic.com/entire-army-sacrificed-bog *http://www.heritagedaily.com/2012/07/an-entire-army-scarificed-in-a-bog *http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/14/alken-enge-danish-bog-remains_n_1776654.html

External links

Illerup.dk

Alken Enge - The mass grave at Lake Mossø
Skanderborg Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Illerup Adal Skanderborg Municipality Valleys of Denmark Archaeological sites in Denmark Prehistory of Denmark Iron Age Scandinavia Votive offering

Archaeological discoveries

Alken Enge

See also

References

Sources

External links