Skeleton Army Rises From Bog

Greetings, ATS!

Uncovered this interesting tidbit and thought I'd share.

The remains of hundreds of warriors have resurfaced from a Danish bog, suggesting that a violent event took place at the site about 2,000 years ago.
Discovered in the Alken Enge wetlands near Lake Mossø in East Jutland, Denmark, the skeletal remains tell the story of an entire army's apparent sacrifice

The working theory is that the army lost a battle, and were then sacrificed and thrown into the bog. I'm not clear why the scientists think the soldiers were sacrificed, but the theory is interesting just the same.

The site is so large the archeologists fear they may not be able to excavate it all.

Enjoy!

reply to post by smyleegrl


Cool find thanks for posting .
I love archeology and stuff like this just sets my imagination off , the quality of that axe is amazing and so well preserved for 2000 years old

Originally posted by gortex
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Cool find thanks for posting .
I love archeology and stuff like this just sets my imagination off , the quality of that axe is amazing and so well preserved for 2000 years old

edit on 16-8-2012 by gortex because: (no reason given)

Yeah, the pictures were pretty incredible.

I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to these stories is I try to imagine what life was like back then....that's a lot of contemplation but its still fun.

reply to post by smyleegrl

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Uncovered this interesting tidbit and thought I'd share.

A more direct link→ Skeleton Army Rises From Bog




That just looks weird.

[color=888888]Just to clarify: The hole is not an eye socket. It is/was a wound.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
Greetings, ATS!

Uncovered this interesting tidbit and thought I'd share.

The remains of hundreds of warriors have resurfaced from a Danish bog, suggesting that a violent event took place at the site about 2,000 years ago.
Discovered in the Alken Enge wetlands near Lake Mossø in East Jutland, Denmark, the skeletal remains tell the story of an entire army's apparent sacrifice

The working theory is that the army lost a battle, and were then sacrificed and thrown into the bog. I'm not clear why the scientists think the soldiers were sacrificed, but the theory is interesting just the same.

Bog sacrifices were de rigueur across much of Europe; partly for symbolic/religious reasons, partly because, pre-drainage schemes, bogs were everywhere.

Every now and again there's some evidence of mass executions: a few years ago, 50-odd bodily remains of Vikings showing signs of a mass execution were found in Weymouth, England, which were just thrown in a pit. If this had been Vikings killing Anglo-Saxons within the Danelass, the circumstance of geography might have had modern-day archaeologists finding these bodies in bogs (pretty marshy on both sides of the Pennines). I suppose it's whatever's to hand as to what's easiest to get rid of a large amount of bodies.

The site is so large the archeologists fear they may not be able to excavate it all.

I often think about Doggerland, the landmass that 'bridged' Britain with the (present day) Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, which is now at the bottom of the North Sea. It was a rich, fertile land for 1000s of years and would have hosted a 'shared' Mesolithic/pre-Neolithic culture. I can't imagine the amount of stuff still down there.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir

Bog sacrifices were de rigueur across much of Europe; partly for symbolic/religious reasons, partly because, pre-drainage schemes, bogs were everywhere.

Hasn't always been a bog.

Apparently, it was a lake during the time that this event supposedly took place.

They were then sacrificed and thrown into a lake that has since dried into a bog, preserving the remains.

■■■

Originally posted by BrokenCircles

Originally posted by Merriman Weir

Bog sacrifices were de rigueur across much of Europe; partly for symbolic/religious reasons, partly because, pre-drainage schemes, bogs were everywhere.

Hasn't always been a bog.

Apparently, it was a lake during the time that this event supposedly took place.

They were then sacrificed and thrown into a lake that has since dried into a bog, preserving the remains.

■■■

No, that's true, but disposing of stuff in water, whether it's a foot deep or a 100ft deep is pretty similar. It's 'out of the way' as opposed to using up genuinely useful land. That's all I meant.

reply to post by Merriman Weir


Thank you for the additional information about bogs and sacrifices....greatly appreciated!

When you stop to think how much history is under our feet, it truly is astounding...

reply to post by BrokenCircles


Oh, sorry about the link! Thanks for the fix!

reply to post by smyleegrl


Thanks OP, that is a fascinating article. The idea of all of those Vikings being sacrificed somehow seemed off to me so I tried to find anything I could on the subject. I did not find much on the ritual sacrifice of large numbers of Viking warriors at the same time but I did find this really great academic article by Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson called, The Birka Warrior: The material culture of a martial society. I would just head on down to page 27 or so.

The paper details how Viking society did have a very complex and developed concept of honor and loyalty. The warriors belonged to very close-knit fighting groups called Hird to which many would belong their whole lives. It is not hard to imagine that if the whole Hird took a hit to their honor for some reason that they might all go down together, so to speak. And member Merriman Weir's contribution concerning other sites with evidence of mass-killings has me thinking that this may be some little known feature of Viking society.

But why? Societal levelling mechanism?

Cool thread.

X.

reply to post by Xoanon


Thanks for the info, can't wait to read it.

Are you thinking that perhaps it was a mass suicide? Or partial ritualistic murder and partial suicide? That's interesting.....lots to consider....

Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Uncovered this interesting tidbit and thought I'd share.

A more direct link→ Skeleton Army Rises From Bog




That just looks weird.

[color=888888]Just to clarify: The hole is not an eye socket. It is/was a wound.

Looks like old school Trepanning.....

trepannng

Originally posted by Xoanon
And member Merriman Weir's contribution concerning other sites with evidence of mass-killings has me thinking that this may be some little known feature of Viking society.

I don't think this is a feature of Viking society, per se. I think it's just representative of the times the people were living in. For example, Æthelred ordered the St Brice's Day massacre as late as 1002 as a response to the on-going feuding with the Danes/Anglo-Danes. The idea being to kill every single Dane in England at the time in one fell swoop. That's fairly full-on.

Similarly, William the Fat Bastard ordered the 'harrying of the North' not long after the Norman conquest in an attempt to 'pacify' the rebellious Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Scandinavians in the North of England. Pacify equating to the starving and slaughter of 100,000 people in present day Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Cumbria &c. If that's not full-on, then I'm not sure what is. Incidentally, this is the real roots of the North/South divide in England.

You see this even today, it's not 'history' or 'cultural' as such. Think of all the mass graves uncovered in recent years from Eastern European massacres, African massacres, Cambodia &c. Pits, trenches, rivers. The bodies have got to go somewhere, particularly if you're intent on using the (nearby) land afterwards.

reply to post by smyleegrl

Are you thinking that perhaps it was a mass suicide? Or partial ritualistic murder and partial suicide? That's interesting.....lots to consider....

Well,

That's what got me to digging. It is hard to imagine more than 200 mighty Viking warriors saying, "OK, we really screwed the pooch, fellas. Let's kneel on down here and allow ourselves to be hacked to death".

The short answer to your question is, 'I have no idea'. But I always enjoy an opportunity, like the one presented in your OP, to try and get my head around ancient cultures and especially what made their societies tick. I am a novice when it comes to what it takes to understand that but I have made a few observations as I've tried to keep up.

I have been left with the impression that peoples in ancient cultures and societies had a much closer relationship than we do with the concept that human lives are a powerful commodity, in fact the ultimate symbol of commerce, when it came to changing the direction of society and even the 'will of the Gods'. That somehow, the awareness of the power of giving one's life to correct some deficit in society or in society's relationship with the Gods, was more prevalent in our ancient ancestors.

For instance, in the story of Iphigenia in Aulis, the sacrifice of Iphigenia is demanded by society. Some mechanism must be leveled, and even Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, cannot stop it, even though he is willing to try. Iphigenia knows this.

It is this knowledge of how society can somehow be corrected through death that is the part that stands out for me, and the seeming ever-readiness of our ancient brothers and sisters to cast off their flesh when society and the God's demanded it that keeps me trying to understand.

So it is with that in mind that I do not find it impossible that these may be examples of mass Viking Hara-Kiri.

X.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I love this stuff.
Excellent find.

I can't wait to read more in the journals once they've excavated as much as funding will allow, and have had time to ruminate on the findings for adequate detail in telling.

S&F!

reply to post by Merriman Weir

You see this even today, it's not 'history' or 'cultural' as such. Think of all the mass graves uncovered in recent years from Eastern European massacres, African massacres, Cambodia &c. Pits, trenches, rivers. The bodies have got to go somewhere, particularly if you're intent on using the (nearby) land afterwards.

Seems more than reasonable to me. I had no idea. Thanks for a great post.

2nd.

reply to post by Vasa Croe

Originally posted by Vasa Croe

Looks like old school Trepanning.....

Ouch. No thanks. I'll pass. I believe I would rather just go ahead and take my chances, and hope it just goes away.
(whatever 'IT' may be)



Anyways, at the bottom of that article, it states:

-- A skull with a mortal wound caused by a spear or an arrow.

I assume that whoever reached that conclusion probably had a reason for it. Also, they probably would have known the signs to look for, that might indicate 'Trepanning'.



...or maybe not.. I don't know.... just an assumption.

Wow, an archaeologists dream...........

The weapons and stuff are so well preserved.........

Awesome.....

OP, it's articles like these that keep me coming back to ATS.

This is awesome. Attempting to understand and almost put yourself in these peoples' shoes is truly astounding, it's really something else, something that I can't fully express.

I'm just struck with awe, this is incredible. It may seem menial to some, but I find this incredibly fascinating.

Thank you OP and other members who have provided more information... it's much appreciated.

Take it easy.

I think maybe if it was a lake before, they were smply cleaning up the battlefield of what may have become a stinky mess later on...so they chucked the dead into the lake...bet theres both sides buried together there......ironic hey?