Illemose bog find
The Illemose bog find is a collection of tools, weapons and bones that were found while cutting peat in a large area of bog in the parish of Rynkeby , Odense Amt on the Danish island of Funen . The moor is about six kilometers away from Kerteminde on the east coast of Funen. The most important find is the Rynkeby cauldron .
Peat has been cut in the bog since the middle of the 19th century. Various archaeologically relevant pieces have been brought to light again and again. In 1893 the National Museum of Copenhagen arranged for a systematic excavation in the eastern part of the moor. But even after that, finds were repeatedly reported until 1942 and after 1984. Around 1900 the site was thought to be a battlefield. But today everyone agrees that most of the finds are victims of war booty.
There is also a complex of imperial weapons. It is noticeable that personal equipment (buckles, combs) is missing. Four human skeletons and many animal bones (horse, cow, sheep, dog and sea eagle) were also found. Using the 14 C method, human bones were dated to the pre-Roman Iron Age.
The bronze cauldron is assigned to the younger pre-Roman Iron Age . It has been ritually smashed. It was about two feet in diameter. The vertical edge was riveted to the vessel. The find also includes two inner plates, one of which is still attached to the vessel. On the edge is a head with parted hair and a choker ( torques ). On the other plate a wolf and a boar are depicted with a triskele in between . It is a parallel to the Gundestrup boiler , even if it is not so elaborately manufactured. One takes the 1st century BC. As manufacturing time. It cannot be said when the boiler was deposited in the bog, as the circumstances of the find are not sufficiently documented. Celtic Gaul is generally accepted as the region of origin .
The Illemose served as a sacrificial moor in the pre-Roman Iron Age until the later Imperial Age . Items of high status were deposited there. At the beginning of the 2nd century, weapons were also sacrificed. They are badly bent and damaged.
literature
- Claus von Carnap – Bornheim: "Illemose". In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 15. Berlin 2000. S. 344–346.
- Jan Bemmann, Güde Hahne: "Ancient Iron Age sanctuaries in northern Europe according to the archaeological sources." In: Germanic Religious History. Sources and source problems. Supplementary volumes to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 5. Berlin 1992. pp. 29-69.
Coordinates: 55 ° 23 ′ 23 " N , 10 ° 35 ′ 17" E