Skedemosse
Skedemosse was a moor on the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea . It was drained in the 19th century. The area became known in the 20th century as a rich archaeological site. Today it is designated as a Natura 2000 area .
location
The bog east of Borgholm was one of the larger bogs on the island. The flat area covered an area of around 190 hectares.
Emergence
In the period from 7000 to 6000 years before our era, an inland lake had formed in the area of the later moor. The lake formed on the west side of the so-called Ancylus Wall , which ran in a north-south direction , a large beach wall on Öland that was created when the Baltic Sea was formed . Due to the incline of the island from west to east, the water stagnated on the wall at right angles to it. The lake drained south.
Inland lake
The lake was about 1.5 to 2 meters deep in the Stone Age . The bottom of the lake was covered with a layer of sand, which lay on a ground moraine . There was also lime sludge on the lake bed. Remains of fish such as tench , pike and perch can now be found in this layer . Initially, aquatic plants only existed to a small extent. The lake was fished with spear, net and hook.
However, more and more aquatic plants appeared on the shore. Sedges and reeds predominated. Around 2000 BC, during the Bronze Age , there was a clear tendency towards silting up . There was Detritusschlamm slowly grew up. The fishery was particularly profitable during this period. Today can for this period animals such as frogs , toads , mallard , teal , goldeneye , tufted duck , teal , song thrush , common snipe , white-tailed eagle , red-breasted merganser , water shrew and Ostschermaus be detected.
Siltation
At the beginning of the Iron Age (around 500 BC) there were still small areas of open water, which were surrounded by muddy bog. The condition is likely to have corresponded to the current appearance of Norra Mossen further north . The surrounding landscape was unforested and sparsely populated. There were individual farms and hamlets. Herds of cattle grazed in pastures. There were some smaller fields of grain.
During this time, the lake was used to sink offerings, which established the later archaeological importance. The lake may have been considered sacred. The oil countries came to the lake to celebrate sacrificial feasts. The constantly dry Ancyluswall was also used for the journey. The offerings were sunk in open water. It is unclear whether the lake was still fished at this time.
Drainage
As with many Öland moors, efforts have been made in modern times to dry up the moors in order to gain arable land. A first attempt was made as early as 1650. Karl X. Gustav , at that time Duke of Öland, later King of Sweden, arranged the first drainage ditches that pierced the Ancyluswall to the east. The arable land was used to grow oats , which were delivered to Borgholm Castle . However, this use ended when Karl X. Gustav became king and left Öland.
At the beginning of the 19th century a concrete concept for drainage was drawn up and implemented with extensive work in 1818 and 1819. From 1821 the Skedemosse farm was built. Further drainage work was carried out in 1895. During this time, agricultural use was once again significantly intensified. Instead of the bog, arable land now expanded.
The loss of the Öland moors had serious ecological consequences, especially for the Öland water balance.
Archaeological finds
First finds
The first verified archaeological finds from the Skedemosse area date back to 1901. Senior teacher FJ Bachrendtz from Kalmar reported to the Swedish Academy of Sciences on the discovery of axes, swords and spearheads made of iron. A year later, Hans Hildebrand sent further finds to the state historical museum. There were other reports from 1910 to 1930. In the parcel 1: 5A , the first excavations were carried out by TJ Arne in 1928 and 1930 . A little later, another small investigation was carried out in parcel 1: 2B by Manne Hofren from Kalmar.
Gold finds
In 1949 a gold ring was found. Due to an error, however, the find was registered at the finder's place of residence in Lindby . In 1959, Birger Karlsson , grandson of the first finder, discovered another gold ring while building a drainage ditch. It turned out that the location coincided with that of the first ring. Locality was the significantly as Goldacker named Parcel 1: 10A .
Excavations from 1961
This second gold find was the reason for an extensive excavation in 1961 under the direction of Ulf Erik Hagberg , employee of the Swedish National Monuments Office and researcher at Uppsala University . Extensive excavations, the creation of test shafts and the control of plow furrows took place.
The largest excavation area was set up on the Goldacker parcel and an adjacent field to the north. Five more gold rings were found on an area of 200 m². The total weight of the seven rings is 1.3 kilograms. In addition, Roman silver coins and silver-plated bronze fittings on the belts of Roman officers were found. In addition to some weapons and spearheads, animal bones and a human skull were recovered.
In the adjacent parcel 1: 9 , weapons, swords and individual parts of sword scabbards made of bronze were found during excavations . Also amulets for hanging swords, so-called sword beads , clasps, fittings and ferrules . More weapons were found in a dig in parcel 1:12 , about 50 meters south of the gold finds. A bridle could also be found here.
The strong concentration of the finds is attributed to the fact that there a small headland pushed into the lake from the south and there was a place for victims.
Another excavation area was on the former west bank of the lake. Following the excavation area of 1928, parcels 1: 5A and 1: 5C were examined. In addition to individual weapons, swords, spears and swords with a Roman pommel, there were also entire bundles of weapons. The elegantly decorated ferrule of a sword scabbard and belt decorations were also found. Parts of a human skeleton and animal bones were also found again.
In the parcel 1: 2B in the northern part of the region is no weapons found. Animal bones from horses, cattle, sheep and a dog were found. Equipment for fishing such as a fence trap and floats made from bark were among the finds.
Interpretation of the finds
It is assumed that the lake in front of the moor at this point was considered sacred at the beginning of the era and that offerings were regularly sunk. The northern unarmed site should be seen as part of the normal fertility cult of the local farming population. The other sites apparently served warriors as sacrificial sites. The weapons found were rendered unusable. The sacrifices should serve the gods, not humans. Warriors who had contact with the border areas of the Roman Empire located significantly further south also played a role here.
Todays situation
The area of the moor and the archaeological finds are still used for agriculture. Nothing at the sites reminds of the sensational finds. A museum set up in Hof Skedemosse provides information on the history of the moor and the archaeological excavations.
literature
- Kent Anderson: Gold of the North. Scandinavian treasures from the Bronze Age to the Vikings . Theiss. Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8062-2184-8
- Ulf Erik Hagberg: Religious-historical aspects of the moor find from Skedemosse on Öland In:
H. Jankuhn (Hrsg.): Prehistoric sanctuaries and sacrificial sites in Central and Northern Europe. Report on a symposium in Reinhausen near Göttingen 1968 (treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen) 1970
- Michael Müller-Wille: Sacrificial Cults of the Germanic Peoples and Slavs , Theiss, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1443-3 , pp. 60–63
Web links
- Skedemosse Museum (Swedish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Natura 2000 i Kalmar län, page 2. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Staffan Rodebrand, Moore auf Öland , ISBN 91-974576-9-8 , page 18
- ↑ Staffan Rodebrand, Moore on Öland , ISBN 91-974576-9-8 , page 8
Coordinates: 56 ° 50 ′ 23.3 " N , 16 ° 45 ′ 38.2" E