A 5th century sacrificial site full of spears and swords

The site was discovered by archaeologists from Vejle this August during a survey for a planned motorway extension. The weapons were stored in two houses of the former settlement. One set was preserved after the demolition of the house in the place of the holes left by the corner posts. The other was stored in the exact opposite way, with the guns stacked around the support posts during the construction of the house.

The weapons were therefore not part of the barracks workshop or armoury. Archaeologists believe that they were stored as a protective ritual offering of the warrior's house or community chief. Only further research on the weapons may yield important information, such as whether they were made from local raw materials or were spoils of war, which archaeologists are so far inclined to do.

In addition to the weapons, other items such as horse smokes, fragments of a neckcloth and one exceptionally rare chainmail shirt were discovered. The round cross-section of the neckerchiefs with large bronze beads identifies them as symbols of Nordic Iron Age power and influence. They are comparable to the scenes depicted on the gold bractets from the Vindelev Treasure.

The chain shirt is also very rare, with only 13 similar examples discovered in Denmark so far. At the same time, it is the first found in a dwelling and outside a burial. The production of the shirt was so expensive and laborious that only an elite warlord could wear it. As an offering to the gods, it must have been a very powerful display of wealth and power.

"From the first preliminary surveys we could see that it was going to be something spectacular, but the result exceeded all our expectations. The huge amount of weaponry is amazing in itself, but what really fascinates me is the insight into the social structure and daily life of the Iron Age that these finds provide. Suddenly we feel very close to the people who lived here 1,500 years ago," said Elias Witte Thomasen, archaeologist and head of excavations at Vejle Museums.

Mass finds of weapons are very rare at settlement sites. The vast majority come from swamps or burial contexts. This assemblage is an exceptional insight into the life of a settlement and its leader in the Iron Age.

Roman Nemec