A Cultural Transmission Model for the Origins of Westerwanna: Four-Sided Dice in Northern Europe

Sacrificial Tradition and Religion during the Early Iron Age in South Scandinavia – with Special Reference to Settlement SacrificesSacrificial customs and religion during the Early Iron Age (500 BC–400 AD) has occupied archaeologists from the infancy of archaeology. Most would probably agree that the religion was primarily fertility related, originating as it was in the existing peasant society. The literature does not reflect any disagreement about the religion of the Early Iron Age being polytheistic and consequently concerned a variety of gods. However, it is still unknown how the religion was integrated in the everyday life, and under which conditions it was practiced.The research interest and the overall synthesis framework have especially addressed sacrifices in bogs and wetlands (for instance weapon sacrifices, bog bodies, deposited earthenware, anthropomorphic wooden figures, domestic animals, cauldrons, ring sacrifices, etc.). Strongly simplified, the existing consensus may be expressed in one single sentence: The overall society-related sacrificial traditions develop from being almost exclusively connected with wetland areas during the Early Iron Age (until c.400 AD) to being primarily connected with dry land after this time, cf. Fig. 1.The question is whether – based on the intense data collection over the recent decades – archaeology can or should maintain this very simple picture of the development of the sacrificial traditions and the religions during the Iron Age? Is it possible that we – rooted in for instance narrow definitions of sacrificial finds, habitual thinking, and a “delusion” consisting of the numerous well-preserved, well-documented, spectacular, and impressive finds of bog sacrifices – fail to see numerous forms of deposits, which (as opposed to the impressive finds of sacrifices in bogs) are hidden in the archaeological material?The settlements of the Iron Age have been excavated in large numbers over the recent decades, and it is the ritual finds from these localities that provide the background for this article.The ritual deposits from the settlements can be divided into two superior groups distinguished by the physical context. One comprises sacrifices made to constructions, which are characterized by being directly connected to a specific structure; the other encompasses settlement sacrifices that are to a higher degree characterized by an overriding affiliation to the settlement. The establishment of a sacrifice definition suitable for scanning the archaeological material for relevant finds is of vital importance. As the definition should not beforehand restrict the search through the material, it is important not to narrow the basis by concentrating only on the physical characteristics of the individual artefacts. The general idea behind the present presentation is that the different ritual dimensions of a society are internally connected as they function within the same overall conventions and, as a consequence, make up parts of a general mental structure, which can leave physically recognizable traces across the different ritual dimensions, cf. Fig. 2. This principal viewpoint creates a theoretical starting point for my work and the established definition of sacrificial finds: All intentionally deposited objects, which analytically show significant similarities as regards their physical appearance and/or their deposition context with other recognized ritual objects/contexts, and which are closely connected to these in time and space, should, when analysed, be considered sacrificial finds.The British religious historian, Ninian Smart, describes religion as consisting of seven thematically describing situations, which – albeit not completely unconnected – may be described individually:1) A dogmatic and philosophical dimension, comprising doctrine systems.2) A mythical and narrative dimension, comprising tales of the deities, of the creation, etc.3) An ethical and judicial dimension, comprising the consequences of the religion in relation to the shaping of the life of the individual.4) A social and institutional dimension comprising organisations and institutions that tie together the individual religious society.5) An empirical and emotional dimension comprising the individual’s experience of god and the divine.6) A ritual and practical dimension comprising prayer, sacrifices, worship, etc.7) A materiel dimension comprising architecture, art, sacred places, buildings, and iconography.As archaeologists, we have a very limited possibility of investigating the very thoughts behind the practiced religion. It is therefore natural to concentrate to a higher extent on the overall setting for it – the ritual dimension and the materiel dimension respectively. The ritual dimension and in particular its sacrificial aspect is traditionally divided into groups characterised by their significance level within the religion as such.1) The first and most “important” group consists of cult rituals. These are characterized by being calendar rites based on the myths of the religion or the history of the people, and by playing a part in the events of the year.2) The next group comprises transition rites (rite de passage), which follow the life cycle of the individual.3) The last group comprises rites of crises, which serve the purpose of averting danger, illness, etc.It is important to realize that the two first ritual groups are predictable cyclic rituals addressing the gods, the myths, and/or the people/the individual respectively. Only the third and least central group of rituals is determined by non-predictable and “not-always” occurring incidences. On this background, it becomes central to analyse, which category one is facing when one wants to assess its importance for the religion as such, in order to evaluate the primary character of the religion.In an attempt to understand the overall importance of a specific ritual practice, one cannot ignore a very complicated problem, which is to evaluate whether the sacrifices were practiced by single individuals or by a larger group of people as part of more common and society-supporting rituals. The issue of the relation between different sacrifice types and the groups causing these has been addressed repeatedly. Often, narrow physical interpretation frames as to who sacrificed what are advanced (i.e. Fig. 3). However, the question is how suitable are these very narrow and rigid interpretation models? As mentioned above, a sacrifice is defined by the intention (context) that caused it rather than by the specific physical form of the object!The above mentioned methodical and theoretical issues provide the background for the author’s investigation of the archaeological sources, in which he focused especially on the relationship between ritual actions as they are expressed in bog deposits and in burial grounds and measured them against the contemporary finds from the settle­ments.The analysis of the archaeological material is based on those find groups (sacrifices of cauldrons, magnificent chariots, humans, animals, metals, and weapons), which have traditionally been presented as a proof that society supporting and more community influenced ritual sacrifices were carried out beside the bogs.The examination of the material supports that sacrifices of cauldrons, magnificent chariots, humans, animals, and earthenware are found in both settlements and wetlands (Figs. 4-12), and that the deposits seem to follow superior ritual conventions, i.e. Fig. 2. The sacrifices were not made in fixed sacred places but in a momentary sacred context, which returns to its daily secular sphere once the rituals have been carried out. Often, the ceremony consists of a ritual cutting up of the sacrificed object, and the pars pro toto principle occurs completely integrated in connection with both burial customs, wetland sacrifice customs, and settlement sacrifice customs. Sacrifices often occur as an expression of a rite de passage connected to the structures, fields, or infrastructure of the village. However, the repeated finds of earthenware vessels, humans, and animals in both wetland areas and in the villages indicates that fertility sacrifices were made regularly as part of the cyclic agricultural world. This places the find groups in a central position when it comes to understanding the religious landscape of the Early Iron Age. In a lot of respects, the settlement finds appear as direct parallel material to the contemporary wetland-related sacrificial custom and so one must assume that major religious events also took place in the settlements, for instance when a human or a cauldron was handed over to the next world. Both the selection of sacrificial objects, the form of depositing, and the preceding ceremonial treatment seem to follow superior ritual structures applying to both funerary rites and wetland sacrifices in Iron Age society.Often, the individual settlement-related sacrificial find seems to be explained by everyday doings, as largely all sacrifice-related objects of the Early Iron Age have a natural affiliation with the settlement and the daily housekeeping. However, it is clear that if the overwhelming amount of data is made subject to a comprehensive and detailed contextual analysis, settlement related find groups and attached action patterns appear, which have direct parallels in the ritual interpretation platform of the bog context. These parallels cannot be explained by pure practical or coincidence-related explanation models!As opposed to ploughed-up Stone Age axe deposits or impressive bronze depots from the Bronze Age and gold depots from the Late Iron Age, a ploughed-up collection of either earthenware, bones, human parts, etc. are not easily explained as sacrificial deposits. However, much indicates that the sacrificial settlement deposits of the Iron Age were not placed very deeply, and so they occur in the arable soil of later times. We

Muldfjælsplovens tidlige historie – Fra yngre romersk jernalder til middelalder

Spatial patterning of Early Iron Age metal production at Ndondondwane, South Africa: the question of cultural continuity between the Early and Late Iron Ages

Spatial patterning of Early Iron Age metal production at Ndondondwane, South Africa: the question of cultural continuity between the Early and Late Iron Ages

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Compositional analysis has proved to be a powerful tool for investigating the recycling of transparent glass in the Roman and Byzantine periods. This paper expands the focus further to explore the recycling of coloured and opaque glass in the Late Iron Age and Roman periods in Britain. A review of the findings to date, predominantly for beads and bangles, illustrates how a combination of methods is needed to identify when coloured glass has been recycled and altered in the past. Chemical analysis, microstructural examination and experimentation have been used to understand how coloured glass was mixed, diluted, and modified with novel colourants and opacifiers, in ways that are not apparent from non‐destructive chemical analysis alone. The paper discusses the possible types and sources of trade glass, the challenges of recycling mono‐ and polychrome glass in different colours, and the unconventional methods used by glassworkers on the periphery of Roman influence to extend and modify coloured glass to produce distinctive items in order to express their identity.

While oxidation products of unsaturated fatty acids, for example dicarboxylic acids (hereafter diacids), must form during the use of unglazed ceramic vessels for the processing of animal and plant products, such components have never been observed during studies of absorbed lipids. Their absence from the extractable lipid fraction is presumed to be the result of their loss from potsherds through groundwater leaching. Lipid oxidation products including short-chain dicarboxylic acids, ω-hydroxy acids and longer-chain hydroxy and dihydroxy acids have now been observed as components probably covalently bound into solvent insoluble residues of potsherds recovered from waterlogged deposits. These components were only revealed following alkaline treatment of the insoluble residues. A similar mixture of diacids was observed in high abundance in the free lipid fraction of vessels recovered from an exceptionally arid deposit where groundwater leaching would never have occurred. These results confirm the formation of oxidation and probable polymerization products of unsaturated fatty acids during vessel use and burial.

Cattle are the dominant species in most archaeological sites in the Netherlands during the Iron Age and Roman period. However, there are differences in the relative importance of cattle and in how cattle were managed. The aim of this paper is to find out which changes in cattle husbandry occurred between the Iron Age and Roman period, and whether these changes are related to introduced Roman practices. For this study, the Netherlands was divided into four regions, of which the northern region lies outside the Roman Empire. This allows a comparison of regions within and outside the Roman Empire and the potential identification of differential economic developments. First, we looked at diachronic changes and regional differences in the relative proportion of cattle compared to the other main domestic species. Second, data on slaughter ages were used to draw conclusions about the main product cattle were kept for: milk, meat or traction. Next, biometric data were used to investigate sex ratios of cattle, which – combined with mortality profiles – inform about management practices. Finally, biometric data were analysed using the log size index method to trace diachronic changes and regional differences in cattle size. A size increase and the growing role of cattle for traction and as meat providers in towns is also seen in other parts of the northwestern provinces. These changes can directly be related to the Roman occupation and the demand for meat and other animal products.

This is a major study of trade, exchange and economy in the maritime regions of northwest Europe during the Late Iron Age and Roman period (175/150 BC-AD 409). The study encompasses the regions of northwest Europe that were integrated into the Roman Empire, as well as those that lay in the Barbaricum, beyond the Empire's Rhine frontier. The author looks in detail at long-distance exchange goods, including: wine, olive oil and fish sauce amphorae; terra sigillata and pottery; coins; metals and metalwork; lava querns; building stone; glass; amber and agricultural products. Over 90 beautiful distribution maps and other figures are included. It is argued that three maritime exchange systems can be identified in the North Sea and Channel region: the Atlantic system; the Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel system and the Eastern North Sea system. These three systems can be distinguished from one another, though the first two in particular display considerable overlap. Geography is held to have played an important role in determining these systems and it is argued that they may endure across the longue durée. The author examines change through time and splits the study into five periods: 175/150-50 BC; 50 BC-AD 43; AD 43-165; AD 165-260 and AD 260-409. It is argued that changes in the nature and scale of connectivity are due to wider political and economic factors. For example, Caesar's Gallic Wars are held to have had a major transformative effect upon relations between Britain and the near continent. It issuggested that the eastern North Sea played an important role in the Augustan invasion of Germany, but in the aftermath of Varus's defeat there was a long phase of minimal contacts between Rome and the peoples of northwest Germany. The invasion of Britain in AD 43 led to a massive expansion in trade and exchange between Britain and the continent; however, in the late second century AD the impact of the Antonine plague and the Marcomannic Wars, and the consequent problems with the Roman money supply, began to lead to declining connectivity. In contrast, the problems experienced by the Empire in the late second century encouraged the Roman state to make political payments to, and form treaties with, tribes beyond its frontiers in the Barbaricum, which encouraged contact and trade in the eastern North Sea. From the second half of the third century AD the nature of North Sea and Channel connectivity changed dramatically as a result of the deepening internal and external crises of the Empire. Northern Gaul began to depend heavily upon Britain for its agricultural supplies, whilst Germanic peoples used the eastern North Sea to raid and settle in parts of the Empire. Britain's secession from the Empire in AD 409 caused the virtual collapse of state-contracted and private overseas trade. Finally, the author notes that the vulnerable and changeable nature of connectivity in the North Sea and Channel presents a very different picture to that of the Mediterranean, where connectivity remained at a high level continuously across the longue durée.

By the late first century BC, most of north-west Europe had been incorporated into the Roman Empire or had fallen under its shadow. This has profoundly affected how the late Iron Age is perceived and studied. Being able to view peoples and places through written sources and coin inscriptions means that the archaeology of the period is often approached very differently to those discussed in previous chapters, with greater emphasis on historical events and causality. The chronology encourages this. Late La Tène sites on the Continent can now be dated to within a generation or so, anchored by a growing number of dendrochronological fixed points (Kaenel 2006; Durost and Lambert 2007), although similar precision is rarely attainable in northern Europe or in Ireland and northern Britain, which rely largely on radiocarbon dating. The prevailing narrative for the late Iron Age in central Europe, Gaul, and southern Britain—essentially the areas that later became part of the Roman empire—is one of increasing hierarchy, social complexity, political centralization, urbanization, and economic development. These changes are seen as bound up with increasing contact with the Mediterranean world, leading up to the Roman conquests of the first centuries BC and AD. This is contrasted with the situation in northern Britain, Ireland, and ‘Germanic’ northern Europe, which are assumed to have been more tradition-bound and resistant to change. As we shall see, recent excavations do not necessarily contradict this narrative, but they do suggest that the picture is far more complex. Not all developments can be fitted into the story of growing social complexity, whilst to assume that Roman expansion was the most important factor at work at this period is to see events through the eyes of Classical writers (Bradley 2007). It is important to understand late Iron Age societies in their own terms, rather than just as precursors to provincial Roman societies. Many influential approaches to the period—from core–periphery models to the current emphasis on the agency of client rulers (Creighton 2000)—suffer from teleology as a result of having been constructed with half an eye to explaining the pattern of Roman expansion.

Fårehyrder, kvægbønder eller svineavlere – En revurdering jernalderens dyrehold