Nydam Moor
Nydam Moor or Nydamer Moor (Danish: Nydam Mose ) is an approximately twelve hectare moor area near Øster Sottrup , about eight kilometers from the town of Sønderborg on the Sundeved peninsula in Sydjylland . The moor was used in the Roman Iron Age as a sacrificial moor for numerous items of equipment and ships and is one of the richest explored sacrificial sites of the Iron Age.
Geological evolution
In the 6th millennium BC, it silted up at the site of today's moor A lake. Around the time of the birth of Christ, the lake formed again. Even before this new formation, peat was cut in what was then the moor . Until around AD 400, more and more sediment accumulated in the water and the lake silted up again. Today the place is overgrown with meadows.
Research history
The first accidental archaeological finds were made in the 18th century while digging peat, which was followed again and again by unscheduled emergency and rescue excavations. In 1859, the Danish teacher Helvig Conrad Engelhardt carried out extensive excavations and documentation there in several stages . These excavations brought a wide range of archaeological finds to light. In addition to four ships, numerous weapons , personal equipment and everyday objects were found, the majority of which are, however, the numerous weapons. In 1863 this work was interrupted by the outbreak of the German-Danish War . Since 1989 the site has been systematically excavated again by scientists from the National Museum of Denmark and an archaeological and geological survey has been created. These excavations brought a large number of other weapons and jewelry to light, such as belt buckles from the late Iron Age. During an excavation campaign in the summer of 2011, another boat, Nydam III, was discovered, which is significantly larger and around 100 years older than the previously known boat finds.
Results
Most of the sacrificed items are items of war booty that were deposited in the lake in four phases between 240 and 450 AD. All phases of laying down are closely related to the events that led to the sacrifices in the neighboring sacrificial sites such as Thorsberger Moor , Illerup Ådal or Vimose . From this, conclusions can be drawn about the turbulent situation at that time. Parts of the offerings were intentionally destroyed or made unusable by breaking, bending or burning before they were deposited. Weapons, shields, bridles, clothing, wooden objects and tools were sacrificed. The special finds from this site are the four large watercraft, which were almost completely preserved in the moor : These ships apparently played a major role in religious beliefs and are probably a victim of victories in successfully warding off an invasion by sea.
The weapons were mostly swords , shields , spears and lances , hatchets, bows and arrows . The arrowheads from the Nydam find consist mainly of iron, but there are also specimens made of bones and antlers .
The majority of the weapons finds come from the upper part of the lake deposits and the overlying peat layers.
chronology
According to recent studies, the sacrifices were made in six to eight phases. The four main resignation phases can be divided chronologically as follows:
- 1st laying down phase Nydam A around 240 AD. Weapons and personal equipment
- 2. Nydam B laying down phase around 300 AD. Weapons and personal equipment
- 3. Nydam C laying down phase around 350 AD. This phase is where the large Nydam ship is dumped , the oak planks of which are dendrochronologically dated to a felling date from 310 to 320 AD.
- 4th phase of laying down Nydam D around 400 AD. The last phase probably consists of several laying downs, but this cannot be said precisely because the analysis of the finds has not yet been completed.
History of the finds
As for the archaeological finds from Nydam Mose can appear in relation to other victims bogs particularly interesting is that they in the national conflict between, among others, their significant role, Prussia and Denmark as the German-Danish War and the First and Second World War played to have. After the German-Danish War in 1864, the parts of the finds that were in the Flensburg collection passed into Prussian possession. In 1877 the Flensburg collection was transferred to the Museum of Patriotic Antiquities in Kiel and exhibited there. After the referendum on the reorganization of the German-Danish border in 1920, the place of discovery belonged to Denmark, but the exhibits in Kiel belonged to Germany. However, after each war, Denmark claimed in vain to hand over these finds. They are therefore not only the subject and testimony to the dramatic situation at the time of their sacrifice, but also to the conflicts up to more recent history.
The Nydam Moor today
Today the site only consists of an agriculturally used meadow. On Nydamvej in Øster Sottrup is a parking lot from which a footpath which Nydamsti to the immediately located at the site Nydamhaus leads. A small exhibition in the house provides information about the moor, the excavations and finds. The roots of horsetail pose a threat to archaeological finds today.
The part of the finds belonging to Denmark is shown in the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen . The part belonging to Germany is currently shown in Gottorf Castle, alongside the finds from the Thorsberger Moor. The Iron Age sites as well as the finds from the Nydam Moor are currently being scientifically reworked in a multilateral project.
literature
- Herbert Jankuhn: Nydam and Thorsberg. Iron Age bog finds. Guide through the collection. Vol. 3. Schleswig-Holstein State Museum for Pre- and Early History. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1983, ISBN 3-529-01603-9 .
- Güde Bemmann, Jan Bemmann (Ed.): The sacrificial place of Nydam - the finds from the older excavations Nydam-I and Nydam-II. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1998, ISBN 3-529-01827-9 .
- Michael Fee, Claus von Carnap-Bornheim: Nydam and Thorsberg. Iron Age sacrificial sites; Booklet accompanying the exhibition. Archaeological State Museum, Association for the Promotion of the Archaeological State Museum e. V., Gottorf Castle, Schleswig 2000, DNB 962151653 .
Web links
- Nydamgesellschaft (in Danish, German and English)
- State Museum Schloss Gottorf - Nydam and Thorsberg. Retrieved January 5, 2013 .
- Flickr Set - Nydam Mose
Individual evidence
- ^ Report of the Schleswig-Holstein newspaper publisher (Flensburger Tageblatt)
- ↑ http://archaeologik.blogspot.de/2011/08/archaologen-gegen-schachtelhalme-ein.html Archaeologik August 23, 2011: Archaeologists against horsetail - a race for the newly discovered boat Nydam III.
- ^ Between Thorsberg and Bornstein ( Memento of December 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at www.kaiserzeitimnorden.de.
Coordinates: 54 ° 57 ′ 10 " N , 9 ° 43 ′ 23" E