Evidence of animal offerings in Iron Age Scandinavia

Abstract

Written contemporary sources of animal sacrificial rituals in Iron Age Scandinavia are almost non-existent. However, we have some rare descriptions about the people of northern Europe from Roman historians. Most famous of these is of course Tacitus who gives us valuable information about life in Scandinavia during the first century AD. Among other things we learn about fertility rituals carried out in sacrificial bogs and we understand the close connection between the goddess and water. Tacitus’ descriptions, as well as younger sources such as the Old Norse religious texts of Scandinavia, also clearly tell us about the magic role of different animals such as birds, wild boar, wolf and horse. In the archaeological material we try to recognize traces of religious acts that once took place. But how can we tell the difference and distinguish between the remains of ritual animal offerings on one hand and the normal kitchen waste on the other? This paper deals with some examples of horse offerings in bogs and ponds and with ritual deposits of animal bones in dry settlement contexts in Sweden. Zooarchaeological analysis gives us valuable data and a key to interpret the animal bone assemblages as evidence of animal offerings.