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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations
The Graduate School
2008
Political Complexity in Denmark during
the Roman Iron Age: A Spatial Analysis of
Settlement Patterns, Roman Imports, Grave
Distribution, and Soil Types
Maureen Mahoney
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
POLITICAL COMPLEXITY IN DENMARK DURING THE ROMAN IRON AGE:
A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF SETTLEMENT PATTERNS, ROMAN IMPORTS,
GRAVE DISTRIBUTION, AND SOIL TYPES
By
MAUREEN MAHONEY
A Thesis submitted to the
Department of Anthropology
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Degree Awarded:
Spring Semester, 2008
The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Maureen Mahoney defended on
February 29, 2008.
________________________________
William Parkinson
Professor Directing Thesis
_______________________________
Lynne Schepartz
Committee Member
_______________________________
Glen Doran
Committee Member
Approved:
________________________________
Dean Falk, Chair, Anthropology
The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee
members.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the committee, my family, friends, and Ohio.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................ vi
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................viii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... ix
1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 1
Regional and Settlement Analyses ....................................................................... 2
Problem Orientation............................................................................................. 2
Thesis Outline...................................................................................................... 3
2. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SIGNIFACE OF SETTLEMENT PATTERNS AND
THEIR APPLICATION TO THE FREE GERMAN CULTURE ..................................... 5
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5
The Significance of Settlements and Burials ........................................................ 5
The Definition of Complexity and Power............................................................. 6
Existing, Testable Hypotheses ............................................................................. 8
Possible Hypotheses that are beyond the Scope of this Thesis ............................ 10
Regional Differences among the Free Germans.................................................. 11
Settlements ........................................................................................................ 16
Environment and Landscape .............................................................................. 20
Agricultural Techniques..................................................................................... 23
The Importance of Cattle ................................................................................... 25
Imports in Free Germany ................................................................................... 25
Free German Exports ......................................................................................... 30
Warfare in Free German Society........................................................................ 31
Power Differences in the Free German Culture .................................................. 34
Cultural Evidence of Political and Economic Differentiation ............................. 37
Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 40
3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 41
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 41
Choice of Variables ........................................................................................... 41
Basic Mapping Techniques ................................................................................ 45
Soil Analyses ..................................................................................................... 47
Settlements ........................................................................................................ 47
Weapon Grave Analyses .................................................................................... 48
Analyses of Imports........................................................................................... 49
Analyses of High NAT Deposits ........................................................................ 50
Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 51
4. RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 52
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 52
Settlements ........................................................................................................ 52
iv
The Distribution of LpRIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon Sets .................... 55
Distance of LpRIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon Sets to Settlements ......... 55
Comparison between LpRIA Full Weapon Sets to Weapon Graves and all other
Graves ............................................................................................................... 58
Location of ERIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon Sets.................................. 62
Distribution and Distance of ERIA Full Weapon Sets to high NAT Graves........ 63
Number and Distance of Settlements to ERIA Full Weapon Sets ....................... 64
A Comparison of the Location of LpRIA and ERIA Full Weapon Sets on different
Soils .................................................................................................................. 66
Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets .................................................................. 68
Number and Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets on Different Soil Types......... 68
Number and Distance of Settlements to LRIA Full Weapon Sets ....................... 68
Number and Distance of LRIA Full Weapon Sets to Weapon Graves................. 70
Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets to LRIA High NAT Graves....................... 71
Distribution of Weapons in Bogs ....................................................................... 71
Summary of the Distribution of LpRIA, ERIA, and LRIA Full Weapon Sets ..... 72
Location of High NAT Deposits ........................................................................ 73
Location of ERIA High NAT Deposits in Comparison to Settlements................ 73
Distribution of ERIA High NAT Deposits on Different Soils ............................. 73
Number and Distribution of LRIA High NAT Graves and Deposits ................... 76
Location of LRIA High NAT Graves and Deposits on Different Soils................ 76
Number and Distance of LRIA High NAT Deposits and Graves to Settlements . 77
Number and Distance of EGIA High NAT Deposits and Graves to Settlements . 78
Number of EGIA High NAT Deposits in Different Soil Types........................... 80
Location of LRIA and ERIA Imports ................................................................. 80
Types of Imports................................................................................................ 82
Number and Distance of Settlements to ERIA and LRIA Imports ...................... 83
Number of Imports in Different Soil Types ........................................................ 83
Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 85
5. DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................... 88
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 88
Political Differentiation throughout Denmark .................................................... 89
Trade Patterns and Relationships ....................................................................... 90
Ideological Beliefs during Political and Economic Upheavals ............................ 91
Roman Influence on House Size, Property Rights, and the Monetary System..... 91
Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 92
6. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 94
Future Research ................................................................................................. 96
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 97
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ....................................................................................... 112
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Free Germany from the 2nd century AD ......................................................... 12
Figure 2. Denmark........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 3. Locations mentioned throughout the thesis .................................................... 13
Figure 4. Mound villages of Thy and Mors................................................................... 14
Figure 5. Cultural regions of Denmark and Southern Sweden ....................................... 14
Figure 6. Regional varieties of graves goods in the Early Iron Age. Graves consist of one
male and one female, from each region (north and south) in Jutland .............................. 15
Figure 7. House forms with possible byres ................................................................... 16
Figure 8. Excavations and houses at Heltborg............................................................... 18
Figure 9. Houses and Villages of Grøntoft .................................................................... 19
Figure 10. Soil Map of Denmark .................................................................................. 21
Figure 11. Arable Land with settlements....................................................................... 22
Figure 12. Number of settlements in different soil types ............................................... 23
Figure 13. Trade routes from Sjælland in the 2nd and 3rd century AD ............................ 26
Figure 14. Early Roman Period and Late Roman Period imports .................................. 27
Figure 15. Distribution of LpRIA, ERIA, and LRIA full weapon sets (sword, shield,
javelin) .......................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 16. Distribution of LpRIA and ERIA weapon graves ......................................... 34
Figure 17. Distribution of LRIA and ERIA Princely Graves ......................................... 36
Figure 18. Phase one and two of the village at Hodde ................................................... 38
Figure 19. Phase three and four of the village at Hodde ................................................ 39
Figure 20. My division of Jutland, Fyn, and Sjælland ................................................... 46
Figure 21. Distribution of different soil types and the location of settlements ............... 53
Figure 22. Soil type of LpRIA full weapon sets ............................................................ 56
Figure 23. Distribution of full weapon sets on different types of soil and the location of
settlements .................................................................................................................... 57
Figure 24. Distance from settlement to LpRIA full weapon Set .................................... 58
Figure 25. Distribution of LpRIA full weapon sets and weapon graves ......................... 59
Figure 26. Distribution of LpRIA full weapon sets and the location of non-weapon
graves............................................................................................................................ 59
Figure 27. Distance of LpRIA weapon graves and other graves to full weapon sets ...... 60
Figure 28. Distance between full weapon sets and the total number of graves, high NAT
deposits, and weapon graves.......................................................................................... 61
Figure 29. Distance between ERIA full weapon sets and ERIA non-weapon graves ..... 61
Figure 30. Distance between ERIA Full weapon sets and weapon graves...................... 62
Figure 31. Distribution of ERIA full weapon sets and high NAT deposits..................... 64
Figure 32. Distribution of settlements and ERIA full weapon sets................................. 65
Figure 33. Number of settlements at different distances to ERIA full weapon sets ........ 66
Figure 34. Number of ERIA full weapon sets in different soil types.............................. 67
Figure 35. ERIA Full weapon sets in different soils ...................................................... 67
Figure 36. Soil types of LRIA full weapon sets............................................................. 69
Figure 37. LRIA full weapon sets in different soils....................................................... 69
Figure 38. Comparison of settlement location to LRIA full weapon sets ....................... 70
vi
Figure 39.
Figure 40.
Figure 41.
Figure 42.
Figure 43.
Figure 44.
Figure 45.
Figure 46.
Figure 47.
Figure 48.
Figure 49.
Figure 50.
Figure 51.
Figure 52.
ERIA, LRIA, and EGIA bog finds or hoards with weapons or horse gear .... 72
Distance of settlements to ERIA high NAT graves and princely graves ....... 74
Location of ERIA high NAT scored graves in comparison to settlements .... 75
The distribution of ERIA high NAT deposits in different soil types ............. 75
Location of ERIA high NAT and princely graves in different soils .............. 76
Number of LRIA high NAT deposits in different soils................................. 77
Number of settlements and their distances from a LRIA high NAT deposit.. 78
Distance and number of settlements from EGIA high NAT deposits ............ 79
Location of EGIA high NAT deposits on different soils............................... 80
Number of ERIA and LRIA imports ............................................................ 81
Distance of settlements from pRIA, ERIA, and LRIA imports ..................... 82
Distribution of grave, bog, and individual finds ........................................... 83
Number of imports on different soils ........................................................... 84
Location of ERIA and LRIA imports on different soils ................................ 85
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Periods and dates in Denmark ......................................................................... 13
Table 2. Number of buildings of different lengths at Hodde, Vestervig, Hurup, and
Heltborg ........................................................................................................................ 18
Table 3. Distribution of Roman coins on Jutland and Fyn ............................................. 28
Table 4. Division of Denmark ...................................................................................... 46
Table 5. Sources of settlement distribution ................................................................... 48
Table 6. Analysis of weapon graves.............................................................................. 49
Table 7. Variables for the location and number of imports and sources......................... 50
Table 8. Variables and sources for high NAT deposits.................................................. 51
Table 9. Distribution of ERIA weapon graves............................................................... 63
Table 10. Number of high NAT graves within eight kilometers of an ERIA full weapon
set ................................................................................................................................. 64
Table 11. Number of weapon graves, high NAT graves, and all other graves near a LRIA
full weapon set .............................................................................................................. 70
Table 12. Percentage of settlements to ERIA, LRIA, and EGIA high NAT graves........ 79
viii
ABSTRACT
Studying settlements can lead to an understanding of a community’s political,
economic, and ideological sectors. While, many settlement studies exclusively
examine either environmental or cultural attributes, by utilizing both variables, it is
possible to understand settlement placement and daily interactions.
The Free Germans in Denmark during the Iron Age (500 BC- AD 600)
inhabited two types of settlements: a stationary mound village and a relocating
settlement. The existence of mounds in some villages in northern Jutland indicates that
buildings remained in the same position for centuries. However, the majority of
settlements in Denmark relocated to a new area every 20-50 years. The existence of
two distinct types of villages resulted from a variety of cultural and environmental
factors. In order to analyze previous hypotheses, I used ArcGIS to produce a variety of
raster and vector layers that enabled me to demonstrate environmental, political, and
economic differences between settlement types. The spatial analyses included
overlaying a raster layer of the location of soils with vector maps illustrating the
distribution of imports, weapon graves, settlements, and deposits that had a higher
number of artifact types and may be from elite men and women. Since the same
cultural goods and soil were present at both types of communities, the differences in
settlement patterns was not due to the mound villages lacking certain items or using
better soil. Based on the hypotheses that I could analyze, the most plausible
explanation is that the mound villages formed because of the different materials that the
Free Germans used during the construction of the houses.
Around 200 BC political differentiation grew in the Free German society, and
during the same period, they encountered the Romans for the first time. These parallel
occurrences led me to question whether the growing political differentiation resulted
from independent developments, or whether trade with the Romans was the basis for
the emerging elite class. The present study addresses the question of elite emergence in
Denmark by examining the two types of settlements and their different levels of
political complexity. While the Free Germans adopted Roman goods and some Roman
traits through the importation of items and ideas, the acceptance of the goods and ideas
did not specifically lead to the new elite class.
ix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Analyzing where people settle leads to an understanding of the daily life of a
community. Specifically, spatial studies of settlements help to determine subsistence
patterns, social interactions, differences in wealth and power, and other political,
economic, and ideological identities. Settlement studies usually examine the location and
existence of settlements based on either environmental (Brandt et al [1992] site location
research) or sociopolitical variables (Carneiro’s [1981] settlement hierarchy
examination), but the best way to analyze settlement distribution is by investigating both
factors. While the environment plays a large role in people’s decisions on where to live,
they may also consider cultural factors. Cultural attributes are most readily apparent by
using spatial information to compare the distribution and location of settlements, burials,
and goods.
By using a combination of environmental and cultural variables, it is possible to
determine why two types of settlements existed for a single culture. The Free German
Iron Age culture extended over many modern day country boundaries, and analysis in
Denmark has shown wide variation in the culture even in a small region (Liversage
1980). Although there was a different level of political and economic differentiation in
Denmark, it was not a lack of elite leadership that caused differences in settlement
patterns. Rather, I argue that because the northern Danish region lacked trees, the Free
Germans in the north had to employ different construction methods for their houses. As
long as the people living in the northern houses did not relocate to new areas, the houses
remained stable. Conversely, members of the ephemeral villages moved every 20-50
years, but it appears that their relocation was not due to environmental constraints. The
inhabitants of the relocating villages may have moved for cultural reasons, such as the
presence of ghosts or built up human and cattle waste, but both hypotheses are beyond
the scope of my thesis.
In both mound and ephemeral settlements, there is archaeological evidence of
political and economic differentiation. Elite men and women relied on Roman imports to
display status, but I cannot assume that Roman trade resulted in the emergence of an elite
class. I use Wallerstien’s (1974), Kardulias’ (1999), and Wells’ (1999) examinations to
1
analyze the interactions between the Romans (core) and the Free Germans (periphery).
Based on the theory of world systems (Kardulias 1999; Wallerstein 1974; Wells 1999)
and the available trade evidence, it does not appear that the Romans exploited the raw
materials of the peripheral Free Germans. The absence of Roman exploitation may mean
that the Free German elite class emerged independently and not through Roman
guidance. Furthermore, trade between the Romans and the Free Germans suggests that
each group traded in raw materials or prestigious items, but neither came under control or
exploited the other group.
Regional and Settlement Analyses
Settlements are helpful in a regional analysis because they provide information on
many different aspects of a community. Parsons (1972) presented the history of the study
of settlement patterns, which included differences in architecture, information on site
topography and resources, and the changes of these variables through time. Similar to
Parsons’ (1972) Americanist settlement study, Willey’s (1953) analysis of the Viru
Valley included a regional examination of settlements within an area of several hundred
to several thousand square kilometers. Willey’s analysis permits an interpretation of the
location of settlements based on both cultural and environmental factors.
Problem Orientation
Two types of settlements comprised the Free German society that inhabited
Denmark during the Roman period. In the areas of Thy, Mors, and Himmerland the main
form of settlement occurred on large mounds. At mound settlements, the Free Germans
rebuilt their houses to form continually higher mounds that they occupied for up to 200
years. While the same type of mound building occurred at other sites in southern Jutland,
it stopped shortly after the Early Roman Iron Age (1-200 AD). The inhabitants of later
settlements in southern Jutland, such as Grøntoft, Hodde, and Vorbasse, were constantly
rebuilding their settlements in new areas close to the original communities.
Suggestions for the variation in settlement locations in Iron Age Denmark range
from purely environmental explanations (Kaul 1999) to cultural (Jensen 1976, Kaul
1999), or a combination of the two (Gerritsen 1999, Hamerow 2002, Thurston 2001). In
2
order to determine which hypothesis best fits the archaeological data, I used ArcGIS to
combine a variety of maps that contained information on settlements, graves, Roman
imports, and soil types.
The present study attempts to understand the main differences in settlement
patterns in Denmark, and it will have larger implications for determining the level of
influence that Roman contact had on the emerging elite. Beginning ca. AD 200 there was
a dramatic increase in evidence for social and political hierarchies in the form of grave
goods, increased imports, more cattle stalls in a small number of houses, and deposits
with more artifact types. Political differentiation occurred at roughly the same time that
the first Roman imports made their way into Denmark, and it remains a question whether
the Romans caused the Free German elite class by exploiting their goods and land.
Hedeager (1992) analyzed the existing and emerging elite within Denmark by focusing
on political and economic differences. She examined the number of weapon graves,
which contained a sword, shield, javelin, spur, or a combination of these weapons, and
high number of artifact type (NAT) deposits versus the total number of graves. She
(1992: 103) used the term “high NAT deposits” to describe deposits with a higher
number of different artifact types and I will follow her use of this term throughout the
present study. I used the location of high NAT graves in conjunction with settlement
types to understand settlement management, decision making, and differential access to
power, money, or other forms of prestige. Early Iron Age spatial analyses of political
differentiation may enable projects that examine later periods in Free Germany to
determine the amount of centralized power that certain districts maintained from the
Early Iron Age to the Later Germanic Iron Age and Viking Periods.
Thesis Outline
The following chapters detail the culture of the Free Germans and provide an
analysis of the different distributions of goods and finds. Chapter two discusses the
different models that authors have proposed to explain why two types of settlements
coexisted. The second chapter is also a beginning point in understanding the political and
economic changes that occurred in Iron Age Denmark. In order for the reader to
3
comprehend the various aspects of the Free German culture, I describe the environment
and their reliance on land, cattle, and trade.
Chapter Three explains the methods used to construct the final GIS maps and
charts. With the help of numerous sources, I produced a number of GIS layers that
included imports, high NAT deposits, full weapon sets, settlements, and soil types.
Chapter Four contains the description of the spatial and mathematical analyses. Chapter
Five details how the spatial analyses can help answer how much influence outside contact
had on the Free Germans.
4
CHAPTER TWO
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SETTLEMENT STUDIES
AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE FREE GERMAN CULTURE
Introduction
To understand political and economic complexity, analysis of settlement
differences, burial types, and the location of imports is necessary. The following chapter
demonstrates that a variety of variables seen in the archaeological record can reflect
political differentiation. Many of these variables may also be factors in the location of
the Free Germans’ settlements.
This Chapter begins by explaining the importance of studying settlements and
burials. Secondly, it discusses different theories of power and complexity and
specifically, a definition of political complexity. The third section describes the different
hypotheses that researchers proposed to explain why different types of settlements
existed in Free Germany. The six different hypotheses described in this Chapter ranged
from environmental explanations to cultural ones, and the present thesis analyzes each
hypothesis in a later Chapter to determine which, if any, best fits the archaeological data.
Many variables affect settlement location and type, so the remainder of the Chapter
describes cultural attributes of the Free Germans. The cultural characteristics include the
various settlements that existed, the house styles of the villages, the Free Germans
emphasis on warfare, trade patterns, and the growing differences in political and
economic power.
The Significance of Settlements and Burials
The study of settlement patterns provides information on political and economic
differentiation within and between communities. Whether the study involves variation in
houses within a settlement or in the differences between settlements, the analyses still
display evidence of the range of cultural differences within human societies. In his
analysis of the Mesoamerican village, Flannery (1976) argued that variation in the houses
of villages is one way archaeologically to determine variation in subsistence, division of
labor, craft activity, and social status at the community level. Status is a public affair,
and people will only recognize social standing if it is displayed publicly. Therefore,
having a larger house, private fence or imported items may indicate the differences in
5
rank. For comparisons between sites, Steponaitis’ (1978) study of North American
Mississippian sites demonstrates that political and economic centers usually had different
architecture. While examining Uruk administration, Johnson (1987) concluded that the
difference in the size of the centers was also a clear indication of differentiation.
Flannery’s (1976), Steponaitis’ (1978), and Johnson’s (1987) analyses demonstrate that
settlement studies at a variety of levels are helpful in determining differences of
economic or political power.
While house size is a good indicator of political and economic differentiation
within a village, researchers should also study other factors that make up the village. For
example, burials represent a community’s interment of a particular person (Binford 1971,
Saxe 1970). The objects that the community members placed in the burial illustrate the
social standing of the deceased in relation to the living people. The living relatives of an
elite man or woman deposit prestigious goods in graves to reaffirm their own status in the
community. Status in chiefdoms and tribes is partially based on how closely related a
person is to the chief or other high-ranking official. To claim their rights to economic or
political power that may have belonged to the deceased, the living exhibit their
connection to the dead man or woman by depositing numerous grave gifts for the
remainder of the community to see.
The Definition of Complexity and Power
While archaeologists use the terms “political complexity” or simply “complexity”
to denote hierarchies within a culture, very few explicitly define the terms. Political
complexity is most widely used when referring to power differences. Nicholas (1966:
52) defined power as “control over resources, whether human or material”. Steponaitis
(1981) used Nicholas’ (1966) definition to measure political complexity in terms of how
much tribute a person could receive from the people he ruled. For Steponaitis, tribute
came in the form of goods, craft items, and labor for building and military service.
Webster (1990) used labor as the main variable in discussing the emergence of stratified
societies. He (1990:338) wrote that tribute emerged when a person could control labor
parties and achieve surplus resources. Most researchers, such as Steponaitis (1981) and
Wesbster (1990), base their definition of “political complexity” on societal divisions that
6
Fried (1967), Service (1962), and Sahlins (1958) proposed. Each one of these three
authors examined societies differently, and used distinct phrases to explain their societal
divisions. Fried, Service, and Sahlins terms include “chiefdoms,” “tribes,” “states,”
“egalitarian,” “ranked,” or “stratified” societies (Fried 1967, Service 1962, Sahlins 1967).
While societal divisions help make cross-cultural comparisons, not all societies fit into
one of these specific molds. For example, based on Service and Fried’s descriptions, the
Free German culture could be a chiefdom, tribe, or even a ranked society, because
definitions of all three fit the society.
The definition of political complexity used in my thesis is similar to Nicholas’
(1966) description of power except that it emphasizes differential access to political
power by certain members of a group. Because I want to determine the level of
influence that Romans had on the emerging Free German elite, I need to know how the
Free Germans moved from a chiefly society to a highly stratified society bordering on a
state. Two groups may share a similar culture and environment, but in many cases, they
can develop into comparable hierarchical societies by different means. Flannery (1995:4)
defined changes in power over time, or social evolution, as the “reorganization of society
to a different level of complexity.” For example, in many societies that came into contact
with the Romans, dramatic changes began during their first encounter but the long-term
influence that the Romans had on these communities varied. At Rijswijk in northern
Netherlands, the community kept the same house form but constructed a Roman style
temple. By retaining the house form distinct to the culture, the inhabitants continued to
illustrate their own identity (Wells 1999:151). Both the inhabitants of Iron Age Denmark
and Rijswijk exhibited the same level of political complexity but differed in the number
of Roman cultural traits that they adopted.
The above-mentioned example of Rijswik illustrates that a modified version of
Wallerstein’s theory of world systems may help in understanding interactions and trade
patterns between the Free Germans and the Romans (Kardulias 1999). Wallerstein’s
(1974) definition of periphery does not exactly fit the Free German community.
Wallerstein (1974: 348-350) defined the periphery as an area that lacked a strong central
government and exported raw materials to the core. While this portion of the definition is
appropriate for Free Germany, the second part of the definition, specifically that unequal
7
trade relations kept the capital surplus of the periphery in the hands of the core, does not
concur with Roman-Free German interactions. While the Free Germans lacked a
centralized government, there is no evidence that the Romans ever exploited or controlled
raw materials or trade patterns. To fit the Aegean Bronze Age trade patterns, Kardulias
(1999:195) slightly modified Wallerstein’s definition of periphery by explaining that if
the core does not maintain a permanent residence in areas with raw materials, it does not
actually control the periphery. In both the Aegean and Free Germany, the extraction of
raw materials was locally controlled. While relationships between areas in the Aegean
and the Romans and Free Germans varied, there was a clear reliance by the core areas on
the periphery for raw materials (Kardulias 1999:196). Likewise, the Free German elite
class relied on Roman imports to illustrate their status to the rest of the community.
Existing, Testable Hypotheses
Numerous hypotheses attempt to explain why different types of Free German Iron
Age settlements existed in an area that had a similar economic and political culture. Kaul
(1999) suggested that mound construction occurred because of the way in which Free
Germans in northern Jutland built their houses. Unlike people in the south, who made
their houses from timber, stakes, and wattle-and-daub, the inhabitants of Thy used
stacked turfs in their house construction since the region lacked forests. Stacked turf
structures first appeared in the LpRIA and went out of style in the LRIA when timber
became available through trade. Lack of timber available to the inhabitants of Thy was
not only evident in pollen analyses (Andersen 1995), but also in the abundance of sod and
turf used for fires in the houses and for cremations (Kristiansen 1998).
Based on Ringtved’s (1999b) analysis of Jutland’s political structure, Kaul (1999)
proposed that the people built their houses in a particular way not because of
environmental reasons, but because of the sites’ locations. He explained that houses in
Thy remained stable because the inhabitants of the region were outside of the political
changes beginning in the LRIA in central and southern Jutland. Kaul specifically pointed
to competing factions and an increase in warfare as evidence for growing political
differentiation. He hypothesized that Thy was simply out of the war zone and immune to
the political and social changes. If Thy lacked the elite class, there may have been
8
differences in the technologies that people employed. For example, the inhabitants in
Thy and Mors were in a peripheral area and did not use tools such as the new loom type
and rotary quern (Ringtved 1988:195). In a recent excavation at Vestervig, Kaul (1999)
found both the rotary quern and new loom type within the mound settlement, implying
that access to technology may not explain the various settlement patterns.
Jensen (1976) suggested that the village mounds were permanent because each
specialized in producing or manufacturing agricultural or other products. His main
argument lay in the distribution of house types at Vestervig, Mariesminde, and Täbel.
Jensen argued that Vestervig mound and other western Thy villages were fishing
communities, while agriculture predominated the mounds in eastern Thy. However, there
were no significant differences between the sites and no evidence of fishing in the
western part of southern Thy (Bech 1985), such as at Nørre Fjand on the Nissum Fjord.
Jensen (1976: 68-71) also suggested that because Thy was so densely settled there
was no room to move or expand a village. One main problem with Jensen’s argument is
that there were also relocating settlements that had a shorter and more normal duration in
the region (Kaul 1999:54). Since the ephemeral settlements in Thy relocated every 20-50
years, there was presumably available land for the mound villages.
Subsistence and most other cultural attributes were the same between the two
types of settlements; therefore, the answer could very well lay with differences in the
environment. However, Gerritsen (1999) asserted that environmental studies are
problematic because the soil and agricultural techniques that exist today are different
from those of the Iron Age. Gerritsen (1999:139) suggested that there is not enough
evidence in these environmental analyses to show a causal relationship. He bases his
assertion on the lack of knowledge that exists to explain the frequency of house
relocation and the contemporaneity of fields and houses. The problem with Gerritsen’s
(1999) assertion is that the Free Germans clustered their houses in the same areas that
have fertile soil today, meaning the Iron Age soil in those areas was the presumably the
most fertile in Denmark.
In terms of environmental causations, the southern settlements may have occupied
less fertile soil than the mound villages in Thy. Therefore, the inhabitants of the southern
villages had to relocate to nutrient rich land more often than the communities in Thy.
9
While Thurston (2001) did not explicitly test Denmark’s pre and Early Roman Period
soils, she does mention a possible hypothesis that explains the relocating villages. In her
brief description of the cultural and environmental aspects of Roman period Denmark,
she suggested that based on Van Odgaard’s (1988) report of the low sustainability of soil,
the relocating villages moved for agricultural productivity rather than for their houses.
As Thurston (2001:43) explained, “sites that were abandoned and moved to nearby
locations during the Iron Age may be a part of a reflection of the need to change not only
fields but entire field territories every few generations although social or ritual
explanations may be indicated as well.” Because of nutrient poor soils, the Free German
farmers may have simply needed to move fields and their house to more agriculturally
productive land. In a recent paper, Thurston (2008) suggested that the Free Germans
outside of Thy continued to use the same fields, implying that the fields did not lose
nutrients and therefore there may be another reason for the relocation.
Possible Hypotheses that are beyond the Scope of this Thesis
Although numerous hypotheses exist that attempt to explain the occurrence of
relocating and mound villages, in this thesis, I only focus on those hypotheses that I can
analyze. Many other cultural and environmental suggestions require further analysis that
I cannot provide at this time, but that I hope may garner future research attention. The
possible explanations that I discuss in the following paragraphs suggest that people in the
relocating villages moved from ghosts that haunted their houses or from built up waste in
their yard.
Relocating villages usually moved a few hundred kilometers from the original
location, which suggests that they might not have been moving for new fields.
Relocating settlements (or wandersiedlung as they are called in German) existed
throughout the European continent and the British Isles (Hamerow 2007), from the
Neolithic (Parkinson 2002) to the Medieval Period. Therefore, the reason for their
relocation may not be due to something particular to the Free German’s environment or
culture. Ethnographic sources suggest that when the head of the household died, the next
generation moved from his house and built a new house in a different area (Kracke 1988;
Perry 1972). Although the Free Germans placed the cemetery outside of the village
10
walls, the idea that the dead man’s ghost still lingered in the original house must have
been prevalent. In his examination of Kagwahiv Indians in Brazil, Kracke (1988:213)
explained that the living attempted to distance themselves from the dead by giving away
the deceased person’s goods, burning the house, and relocating to another area. He
suggested that the Kagwahivs believed that the continued use of a dead person’s good or
house could invite dangerous contact with the spirit of the dead person. Like the
Kagwahivs, the Free Germans may have moved away from the dead person’s house to
leave the ghost.
Inhabitants of the relocating villages may have also moved in order to distance
themselves from the waste that they built up at their original house. While the Free
Germans may have cleared out the manure from their byres to fertilize their fields, there
was presumably other waste that accumulated within and outside of the house. Rather
than trying to dispose of the built up waste and garbage, the inhabitants simply moved to
a new, uninhabited area. Because the mound villages in Thy, Mors, and Himmerland had
the same level of waste it remains a question as to why these communities did not
relocate. Phosphate analyses could detail the amount of built up waste in different areas,
but research undertaken to study phosphates in soil does not exist for both relocating and
mound villages.
Regional Differences among the Free Germans
The Free German group inhabited Denmark and the northern most reaches of
Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. Based on the available material culture, the Free
Germans were culturally distinct from their southern neighbors the Celts and Romans
(Figure 1). Even though I looked at Denmark (Figures 2, 3,4) as one cultural unit,
regional variations in grave types and material culture existed within the Free German
territory (Figures 5 and 6). Most of the differences in grave types signaled regional
diversity in different groups or tribes. Distinct grave types suggest that there were two
contrasting cultural-provinces in southern Scandinavia. An eastern cultural zone
contained the southern Scandinavian mainland and its adjacent islands, and a western
cultural region consisted of Jutland and Fyn, although neither area was completely
homogenous (Liversage 1980). Lolland and Falster were closely related to Sjælland, but
11
not enough to justify regarding these three islands as a single group (Liversage 1980).
Southern Sweden most closely resembled Sjælland and Bornholm since just north of the
border of southern Sweden lies a very dense and impassable forest wilderness (Thurston
2001:42).
Figure 1. Free Germany from the 2nd century AD.
Data source: ESRI; Thurston (2001: 42, Figure 3.1)
Figure 2. Denmark
Data source: ESRI
12
Figure 3. Locations mentioned throughout the thesis
Data source: ESRI
Table 1. Periods and dates in Denmark
Period Title
Date
Late Bronze Age (LBA)
800-500 BC
Early pre Roman Iron Age (EpRIA)
500-250 BC
Late pre Roman Iron Age (LpRIA)
250-1 BC
Early Roman Iron Age (ERIA)
AD 1-200
Late Roman Iron Age (LRIA)
AD 200-400
Early Germanic Iron Age (EGIA)
AD 400-600
13
Figure 4. Mound villages of Thy and Mors
Data source: ESRI; Kaul (1999: 64, Figure 12)
Figure 5. Cultural regions of Denmark and southern Sweden
Data source: ESRI; Liversage’s (1980) textual description
14
Figure 6. Regional varieties of grave goods in the Early Iron Age. Graves consist of one
male and one female, from each region (north and south) in Jutland
Data source: ESRI; Ringtved (1993: 180, no figure number)
15
Figure 7. House forms with possible byres (Rasmussen 1999: 282, Figure 1)
Settlements
The types of houses known from the Early Iron Age include longhouses with
stalls, longhouses without stalls, and minor buildings that usually did not have stalls or
hearths and probably served as barns, pigsties, or henhouses (Figure 7). The term “byre”
applies to Roman Iron Age longhouses with stalls that usually had a domestic area in the
west half and an area for cattle and other animals in the eastern portion of the house. The
byre house type was indicative of the Free German landscape in both the permanent and
constantly relocating settlements.
While the byre is the most recognizable house type in Denmark, there were
buildings and houses that did not share the same pattern. For example, at Heltborg in
Thy (Figure 8), a variety of buildings, the earliest dating to the pRIA, included a
longhouse (14 x 4.5 m) and two other smaller buildings (2.7 m x 2.7 m and 5x5 m) that
were south of the longhouse on either side of a gravel yard that served as a work area
(Bech 1985). House 4 (the aforementioned longhouse) was not as long as most
longhouses but still had the characteristic byre pattern. Bech (1985:144) suggested that
these smaller longhouses were independent economic units that did not keep cattle.
16
House 17 at Heltborg appears to lack stalls and the area where the Free Germans kept
their animals sloped up 40 cm. The slope made the part of the house occupied by humans
lower than the area for animals. Because longhouses without stalls and cattle appeared
regularly in Heltborg, there may be different functions of the longhouse. Evidence for
various purposes of the longhouse occurs at Norre Fjand, where there were two houses
and one area with cattle bones, and eight houses with sheep/goat and swine bones (Hatt
1957).
While the house types within the two kinds of settlements were roughly similar,
many of the inhabitants in Thy, Mors, and Himmerland kept their village in one location
for hundreds of years rather than relocate (Figure 4). For example, the mound village at
Vestervig within the Thy region remained in one location from 100 BC-AD 450 (Kaul
1999). Cultural layers over two meters in thickness and houses with turf walls
characterize the mound villages (Kaul 1999). The settlement mounds were normally in
small groups 250-600 m apart and in a straight line that followed a north to south
orientation. Usually mound settlements were contemporaneous, although sometimes,
because of variable terrain conditions it is difficult to determine the date of mounds (Bech
1985).
In the remainder of Denmark, inhabitants constructed houses at one location, but
did not rebuild them for a second occupation. For example, in the Early pre-Roman Iron
Age (EpRIA, 300-200 BC), Grøntoft was comprised of a few smaller farmsteads and
over the next few centuries the settlement continually moved, expanded, and contracted
(Hedeager 1992) (Figure 9). Hodde, another relocating settlement, demonstrates the
differences in house size between mound and ephemeral villages. In comparison to
Hodde, Thy had much smaller houses (Table 2). Bech (1985:143) suggested that the
difference in house size was related to a much higher population density in Thy. The
problem with Bech’s conclusion is that even if the population was higher in Thy, there
were less houses, albeit larger, at Hodde. The more logical explanation is that there were
cultural differences between the two areas.
17
Figure 8. Excavations and houses at Heltborg (Bech 1984: 43, Figure 5)
Table 2. Number of buildings of different lengths at Hodde, Vestervig, Hurup, and
Heltborg. Based on Bech (1984: 49, Figure 8)
Site
1-5 m
5-10 m house 10-15 m house 15-20 m
20-25 m
house
Hodde
house
house
6
35
36
9
1
Vestervig 4
10
5
3
0
2
9
10
3
0
2
11
9
5
0
(Thy)
Hurup
(Thy)
Heltborg
(Thy)
18
Figure 9. Houses and Villages of Grøntoft. Solid rectangles are pRIA houses, open
rectangles are BA houses. Huse: house and Landsby: village. Scale of contour lines is
unknown (Becker 1971, in Odgaard 1985: 122, Figure 2)
19
Environment and Landscape
The environment in Denmark invariably affected the Free German’s subsistence,
settlement location, and livelihood. By understanding the different soil types and natural
resources of an area, it is often possible to determine the types of agriculture and the
effect that the environment had on settlement locations.
Thy is delimited from the mainland of Jutland by the Limfjord and large areas in
the west and north of the region are covered by wind-blown sands. Thy is relatively
arable, but the remainder of the Limfjord area is marked by extensive marine forelands
that were usually unsuitable for settlement in the first millennium BC (Ringtved 1999).
The central and eastern parts of Thy consisted mainly of sandy and clayey till (Kelertas
1997). Today, the region is treeless due to intensive agriculture that began in the Bronze
Age and persisted throughout the RIA and GIA (Kaul 1999). Evidence of knots on
timber in houses suggests that Thy lacked timber even in the Bronze Age (Kaul 1999).
Other than Thy, evidence of complete deforestation exists in only a few other pollen
analyses from Denmark, such as western Jutland. Kaul (1999:64) suggested that unlike
Thy, sites with deforestation in the remainder of Denmark were situated on poor soils.
Pollen analyses at Hassing Huse Mose demonstrated that tree pollen increased (from 3344%) in the pRIA and RIA. Oat and Barley also increased in these periods, suggesting
the growing importance of cereal (Andersen 1995). Conversely, in the RIA and GIA,
tree pollen decreased because of forest clearance. The rising amount of open land led
Thy’s inhabitants to grow more cereal, implying that people in Thy exploited the land
more intensively than the inhabitants of eastern Denmark (Andersen 1995).
The boulder clay of eastern Jutland, Fyn, and Sjælland is the most arable soil in
Denmark, evident by the number of settlements that the Free Germans clustered on it
(Figures 10, 11, 12). While Jutland is a large area, most of the inhabitants of the
peninsula avoided the heath and sandy areas and instead settled in the boulder clay.
Boulder clay can support limited agriculture for only short periods; usually only a few
hundred years if the inhabitants practice shifting cultivation (Vad Odgaard 1988). As
Figure 12 illustrates, all areas in Denmark had settlements on the boulder clay, while the
majority of regions also had settlements on the glacial and moraine sand. Mostly forested
20
and heath zones existed in the glacial and moraine sand and the primarily boulder clay,
meaning that both areas were agriculturally productive.
Figure 10. Soil Map of Denmark
Data source: ESRI; Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager
1992:211, Figure 4.12)
21
Figure 11. Arable land with settlements
Data source: ESRI; Adamsen 1992; Andersen 1984, 1995, Bech 1985, 1999; Becker
1971, 1980; Ethelberg 1995: 111, Figure 1 and 25; Hatt 1957; Hvass 1985a, 1985b,
Figure 25; Kaul 1985, 1999:64, Figure 12; Knudson 1999; Jensen and Watt 1993;
Liversage 1980; Mikkelsen 1988, 1990; Nielsen 1989; Odgard 1985: 121, Figure 1; Ole
Rindel 1999, Rieck et al. 1993, Schmid 1978; Stummann Hansen 1999; Åge Tornbjerg
1985: 147, Figure 1
22
425
400
375
350
325
300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
Marsh
Glacial plains and river
valleys
Raised sea bed from the Ice
Age
Raised sea bed from the
Neolithic
Blown sand
Th
y
N M
E
or
J
s
N utl
W an
Ju d
SW tl
a
J nd
SE utla
Ju nd
tla
n
Sa d
m
N sø
E
F
N yn
W
F
SW yn
F
SE y n
Fy
n
La Æ
ng rø
el
a
Lo nd
lla
n
Fa d
ls
te
r
N
E Mø
Sj ns
SW æ
l
S la n
N jæ d
W ll
S an
SE jæl d
l
Sj and
æ
lla
nd
Number of settlements
Number of pRIA, ERIA, and LRIA settlements in different soils
Primarily boulder clay
Glacial and Moraine sand
Areas in Denmark
Figure 12. Number of settlements in different soils
Agricultural Techniques
While the environment is a critical factor in determining settlement location,
technology allows human societies to settle even non-arable land. Hedeager (1992:192)
explained that during the Roman period, people could settle on any type of land because
the agriculture was flexible and adaptable. She suggested that because the Free Germans
heavily exploited their land, they were unable to settle new areas. Therefore, the only
way to offset population pressure and soil exhaustion was to make dramatic agricultural
and technological changes (Hedeager 1992: 192). Due to increasing population and the
search for better land in AD 200-500, the Free Germans expanded their land use,
motivating the development of agricultural techniques and an increased awareness of
political and economic differentiation.
Iron Age inhabitants located their settlements on every type of soil, including both
the heavy soils in the east and the sandy in the west. Because of the differences in soil,
most areas of Jutland, such as Hodde and Grøntoft, began to focus primarily on cattle
husbandry in the LpRIA. However, at the same time, the majority of other areas in
23
Denmark and southern Sweden relied less on cattle farming (Thurston 2001). Since the
Free Germans grew crops in every community, 80-100% of villages were within 1 km of
arable land that was not too heavy or too wet. Furthermore, the population strategically
placed settlements so that they had access to minor wet areas that could provide winter
food for the animals. The inhabitants placed their settlement in relation to larger,
coherent agricultural areas, or near good meadowlands (Hedeager 1992).
Celtic fields began in the early Roman period, as the common agricultural
practice of the Free Germans until ca. AD 200. Celtic fields were stationary fields
surrounded by low boundary banks that used a cultivation technique similar to that of the
Bronze Age. The abandonment of the sandiest and less fertile soils resulted in the end of
the Celtic field system. Under the wetter conditions of the beginning of the Iron Age, the
Free Germans could exploit and cultivate sandy soils. Pollen analyses demonstrate that
the end of the Celtic field systems did not accompany the abandonment of settlements
and reforestation (Hedeager 1992). The Free Germans abandoned the Celtic field system
because of intensive forest cultivation and changes in the climate that led to the extraction
of nutrients and the formation of hardpan (a layer of hard subsoil or clay).
The resulting agrarian system was the infield-outfield technique in which a farm
utilized its area at three different levels of intensity. Inhabitants kept an annually sown
infield, an outfield with shifting cultivation, and an area for cattle to graze (Widgren
1985). Farmers applied manure to the infields since this area continuously grew crops,
while the outfield was sporadically cultivated. Areas around the Limfjord on the North
Sea coast illustrate that infield-outfields were under cultivation for between 40-100 years
(Widgren 1985).
Studies (Bradley 1978, Hatt 1931, 1949, Müller-Wille 1965) describe that the
farmers laid out their fields very systematically. For the most part, the farmers produced
the division of fields by plotting a number of long straight axies (Hedeager 1992). Texts
from historic Scandinavia, specifically the Medieval period, explain that people
organized villages and land use with a system of field rotations formed by outfields and
infields. Normally, inhabitants partitioned their township into the number of fields and
communal meadows needed for the rotation system. Within these fields, the arable and
meadow land, was subdivided among the farms of the village. Community level division
24
meant that activities like plowing, sowing, harvesting, and grazing had to be coordinated
among all the farmers (Berglund 1991). In many cases, neighboring villages rotated their
fields at the same time so that adjacent fields could lay fallow together, implying that the
entire villages had to communicate (Kelertas 1997).
The Importance of Cattle
In the Roman period, cattle were extremely important as both an exchangeable
good and as a way to fertilize fields. Numerous Roman texts, such as Tacitus and
Columella, describe the Free Germans use of cattle as a good. Even early laws in
northern and central Europe illustrated the cattle’s high value by describing the
punishment for someone who stole the animal. Tacitus (Germania 12 [Birley 1999])
wrote that criminals paid a part of the punishment for a specific offense to the king or the
“state” and a part to the victim of the crime. The fine for the crime was either in the form
of horses or cattle. In early Medieval sources, cattle were suitable payment for a fine as
penance and as manbote (money paid to a lord as compensation for killing his man)
(Haio Zimmerman 1999).
Imports in Free Germany
Trade between the Free Germans and their southern neighbors occurred in the
Bronze Age and throughout the Iron Age (Figure 13). Already at the close of the pRIA
the first foreign objects, including crafted swords and carts, cauldrons, and golden
torques, made their way into southern Scandinavia from the Etruscans, Romans, and
Greeks (Hedeager 1987). A large number of foreign prestige goods in votive deposits did
not occur until the ERIA (Hansen 1993). While the Free Germans traded with the Celts,
as well as the Romans, they rarely placed Celtic goods in graves (Hedeager 1988). The
lack of Celtic grave goods implies that the Free Germans valued Roman goods over the
items that came from their closer neighbors, the Celts.
Archaeological evidence from Denmark demonstrates that particular clusters of
elites in various periods controlled the trade with the Romans. The earliest concentration
of Roman goods occurred in high NAT burials in Lolland dating to the 1st and 2nd
centuries AD (Jensen 1982). In the early period of trade, the goods entered the north
25
when Roman messengers entered Denmark to give the Free German elite class gifts and
elaborate items. Not until later did a limited number of Free Germanic rulers organize
the importation of Roman goods (Hansen 1987). In the 3rd century AD, the elite on
Sjælland controlled trade via a sea route to the mouth of the Rhine that bypassed
continental land routes (Figure 13). Like Sjælland, most islands between Jutland and
Southern Sweden assumed power with the help of the archipelagic nature of Denmark
(Thurston 2001). Beginning in the middle of the 3rd century AD, eastern Fyn controlled
trade, primarily because it could easily trade with water traffic and merchants from
Roman provinces. In the 4th century AD and continuing into the EGIA, Jutland had the
greatest contact with the Roman Empire (Hansen 1993). Jutland’s increased interactions
with the Romans probably occurred because the Ox or Army Road ran through the
narrow isthmus of the southern part of the region. Viking Age documents described Ox
Road as a corridor that allowed traders and travelers to move easily between the continent
and Denmark (Thurston 2001).
Figure 13. Trade routes from Sjælland in the 2nd and 3rd century AD
(Jensen & Watt 1993)
Unlike items that the Free Germans made, foreign manufactured goods, such as
Roman bronzes and glass, were prestige items that they did not regularly use or trade.
Instead, prestige goods had a role in the creation of rank and the new elite (Hedeager
26
1992). The Free German elite exclusively accumulated foreign goods, and kept the items
rare and valuable by depositing them into bogs or graves. The large number of imports
(Figure 14) in graves and bogs demonstrates that these men and women could afford
never to see the goods again. The deposits with imports also reaffirmed the status of
those people related to the man depositing the goods or to the deceased person in the
grave. Evidence that Roman imports were a marker of elite identity include their location
in graves with the greatest number of artifact types (NAT), including both the ‘princely’
graves and the highest NAT women’s graves (Hedeager 1988).
Figure 14. Early Roman Period (ERP) and Late Roman Period (LRP) imports.
Data Source: ESRI; Brogan (1936, Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18), Eggers (1951)
27
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
156
35
42
28
1
16
6
2
Siliquae
Latest One
Several Scattered Loose Denarii Aurei
Began
Date Hoard hoards hoards
finds (small (1=25
value) Denarii) 4th
Century,
1=1/24
Solidus)
AD
X
191
188
AD
X
X
5
192
AD
X
X
36
201
AD
X
25
189
Fyn
Lundeborg1
LundeAD
borg2
355
Gudme1a AD
355
Gudme1b AD
355
Gudme2 AD
355
Gudme3 AD
367
Jutland
Illerup
Katrinelund
Dankirke
Site
1
11
X
25
175
11
41
X
X
X
X
X
37
47
X
X
5
191
Total Bog Settlement
Solidi
th
4
Century,
Replaced
Aureus
Table 3. Distribution of Roman coins in Jutland and Fyn (Kromann 1993:200, no figure number). Several hoards: more than one
hoard at the site; scattered hoards: items extremely close to each other but not in one cache.
Although most imports were prestigious grave gifts, others, like coins, were in
circulation for centuries. Most of the coins reached Denmark after AD 200, but the Free
Germans did not deposit the majority of Roman coins until the 4th century AD (Kromman
1993). Hoards within settlements contained most of the coins (Table 3), although this
distribution is different from the location of other imports. The Free Germans used the
coins to buy prestigious Roman merchandise or to pay the warrior retinue. While these
coins were imported goods, the level of their prestige differed from other imported items
since the Free Germans regularly used and traded them. Trade occurred either directly
with the Roman merchants, or through Free Germanic traders or local chiefs, who acted
as intermediaries (Hedeager 1988).
Unlike most Roman imports, graves rarely contained coins, though when they did,
the Free Germans often made them into pendants (Hedeager 1988). Of the 15 graves
from the RIA that contained Roman coins, one coin was on the mouth of the deceased
and in two other cases they were in the mouth (Nielsen 1989). Coin-pendants were
usually gold and in the wealthiest burials. Williams (2006:166) wrote that coin-jewelry
had a religious or amuletic function like the bracteates (coin-like objects with motifs
usually worn as a necklace) of the EGIA.
Most arguments that attempt to explain why trade occurred between the Romans
and Free Germans point to the need for maintaining relations and creating prestige for the
traders. According to Strabo (Geography 7.2.1 [Jones 1923]), the Cimbri, who was a
northern tribe, gave a grooved pail to Augustus - supposedly “the most sacred cauldron in
their country.” Goods, like the Cimbri’s cauldron were gifts that the Free Germans gave
to the Romans. Gifts usually entail more than the given items themselves; they create
relationships between individuals (Gregory 1982). The Romans and Free Germans
exchanged gifts to create ties and good relationships with the other group.
The Free Germans and the Romans also sought certain items that bestowed
prestige. Regarding the Free Germans, external trade with the Romans supplied goods
that showed a person’s tie to the elite. For the Romans, exchange provided food, clothes,
and other necessary items. Hedeager (1978) analyzed the distribution of exported Roman
goods beginning at the Limes (Roman army outposts that marked the edge of their
empire) and extending into Free Germany. She (1978: 207) concluded that along the
29
Limes, the Roman soldiers and citizens traded everyday goods. Along the limes, most of
the coins were denarii, which demonstrate an emphasis on trade with a monetary base
(Hedeager 1999). Because the items traded at the Limes were commodities that many
people could afford to buy or barter, a large portion of the Celtic population participated
in the trade. Conversely, lower value goods were rare in Free Germany. Instead, the
Free Germans placed emphasis on the importation of gold, silver, and other valuable
items (Hedeager 1978). Due to the worth of the imported goods, only a small portion of
the Free German population regularly traded with the Romans. The elite imported most
of the goods into Free Germany, but lesser-valued goods, such as terra sigilata and
smaller coins, also found their way into the region. The presence of low value goods
demonstrates trade between lower ranked individuals and Roman traders. Presently, it is
unclear whether the Free Germans exchanged with Roman soldiers, Roman citizens, or
an intermediary between the two groups. It is also possible that Free German
mercenaries returning home from serving in the Roman army brought foreign goods back
to Free Germany. The variation in trade between the Frontier Zone (area along the
Limes) and Free Germany illustrates that trade with the Romans varied depending on the
needs of a group or on their intended purposes for the goods. For the Free Germans,
exchanges may have created and maintained good relations between the groups (Strabo
Geography 7.2.1 [Jones 1923]), or the trade occurred to acquire simple commodities
(Hedeager 1978).
Free German Exports
Textual sources contain most of our evidence for trade between Denmark and the
Romans or Celts. Texts mention the Free Germans exportation of slaves, hides, skins,
goose down, amber, and women’s hair to the Romans (Hedeager 1988). Typically, the
Free Germans produced items like iron implements and other simple household items
only for local needs (Wells 1984).
Wells (1999a) has demonstrated that the Roman military bases and the thousands
of Roman soldiers stationed in them created demand for food products, raw materials,
and manufactured goods. For example, a single Roman legion used the hides of roughly
54,000 calves for the tents, belts, and straps during one campaign. The arrival of the
30
Romans produced an opening for exchange of certain goods, like cattle. Trade of
livestock is likely because the Free Germans produced more cattle than they actually
needed. Likewise, although slaves do not appear in the archaeological record, prisoners
of war presumably occurred since the Free Germans were constantly fighting. Brogan
(1936) suggests that the old German word mangon, meaning merchant, derived from the
Latin ‘mango’ meaning slave dealer. The exportation of slaves and cattle suggests that
land was the supreme good (Gregory 1997) for the Free Germans. In order to raise the
needed cattle for exportation, the Free Germans had to obtain more land by constantly
waging war.
Warfare in Free German Society
Beginning in the pRIA increased evidence of warfare between the many different
Free German settlements appeared. All of the data point to a society in which the men no
longer fought for their families, but instead for their chief. Tacitus (Germania 14 [Birley
1999]) explained that the chief enticed warriors to fight for him by providing food,
clothing, horses, and weapons - most of which came from war booty. In order to receive
these items, the warriors fought to the death for their chief. If the area was too peaceful,
they looked for service with a more active leader. In order to support a military
hierarchy, the community brought offerings of cattle and crops and the more powerful
chieftains received tribute from neighboring tribes (Tacitus, Germania 14 [Birley 1999]).
Deposits of weapons in bogs and graves support the reconstruction of a society in which
a chief led a group of men as one large assembly. Due to the continuity of sacrificial
finds, including weapon bog deposits, it is likely that as early as AD 200 large regions in
Denmark had a common defense policy. These regions remained stable for 400 years
and they were the first sign of political centralization in Denmark (Lønstrup 1988).
Further evidence for warfare is the fortifications that surrounded the settlements at
approximately the same period in which may of the bog deposits and high NAT graves
appeared. At Priorsløkke in Vejle amt (eastern Jutland), a fortified village dating to the
ERIA lay on a small headland projecting into the Hansted valley northwest of Horsens.
A ditch with a palisade of heavy oak stakes prevented the attackers from reaching the
headland. Likewise, at the Bank (AD 278), stretching from Haderslev to Åbenrå in
31
southern Jutland, there was a lengthy bank with a 4 km long palisade on the northern
side. East and west of the Bank were eroded valleys, watercourses, and bogs (Rieck et al
1993). Ringtved (1999a:375) suggested that the defensive strategy at the site was not
dependent upon strong fortifications, but on the ability of the heavily populated bygds
(community) to mobilize a large defensive force.
One of the strongest arguments for warfare during the Iron Age is based on
weapon graves in Free Germany on both sides of the Rhine and well into Scandinavia
(Figure 15 and 16). Because these graves existed over a wide area, they illustrate that the
forming elite identity linked regional populations. These weapon deposits emerged at
the beginning of the LpRIA and were characterized by long iron swords, ornamented
scabbards, lances, shields, spurs, and helmets (Hedeager & Kristiansen 1981). Only a
few weapon graves, known as full weapon sets, contained every one of these items
(Hedeager 1992). Most weapon graves contained only one or a combination of these
weapons. The Free Germans decided how many weapons should be in a grave based on
the age of the man interred and his accomplishments. For example, older men had graves
with spurs and a high NAT, but lacked all other weapons (Hedeager & Kristiansen 1981).
Only a small group of warriors had spurs and wealth in their graves and the high level of
their grave gifts suggest that they achieved their rank through political and military
leadership and an inherited position. In comparison to other weapon graves, spurs
demonstrate that there was a status for men that extended beyond their warrior function.
Because only a small number of men had weapon graves, men inherited the right to be a
warrior. The differences between full weapon sets and weapon graves illustrates that the
only way to rise in the warrior ranks was through certain achievements (Thurston
2001:47).
32
Figure 15. Distribution of LpRIA, ERIA, and LRIA Full weapon sets (sword, shield,
javelin)
Data source: ESRI template map, Hedeager (1992:125, Figure 3.22, p. 126, Figure 3.23,
p. 127, Figure 3.24)
Weapon graves and full weapon sets disappeared in the LRIA when the elites
consolidated. As Hedeager (1992:134-5) explained, the disappearance of weapon graves
did not mean that the warrior culture vanished. Rather, the importance of warriors was
so ingrained into the society that it was no longer necessary to deposit weapons to
illustrate warrior status. Weapon graves disappeared, but the Free Germans still
commonly deposited weapons in hoards. The depositions suggest that the population still
waged war among themselves and with outside groups (Hedeager 1992).
33
Figure 16. Distribution of LpRIA and ERIA weapon graves
Data source: ESRI, Hedeager (1992: 122, Figure 3.19, p. 123, Figure 3.20)
Power Differences in the Free German Culture
Using Nicholas’ (1966:52) definition of power as control over resources, political
complexity is evident archaeologically through differential wealth and access to certain
goods. Even in Bronze Age Denmark, ranked chiefly societies existed with dominating
warrior chiefs. Early chiefdoms had political leaders that intervened in the economy to
strengthen and improve the resources of the whole society by financing certain activities
(Thurston 2001). While chiefdom level societies declined in the LBA, they resurfaced in
the LpRIA with the lengthening of the byres, the emergence of warrior and high NAT
graves, and an increase of Roman imports (Kristiansen 1998). Changes in social
organization suggest the transformation from a society that emphasized commonality to
one in which individuals aligned themselves with the gods. The latter type of community
is apparent in the weapon and ritual deposits, which illustrated a fused military and
34
ideological sphere (Hedeager 1992). Likewise, in the ERIA, votive deposits ceased but
individual households carried on the tradition through individual brooches, bog deposits,
and food offerings. Political centralization is evident during the LRIA when the Free
Germans established a single center to control large regions. Other evidence for political
centralization in Free Germany includes the strong concentration of high NAT graves
with Roman imports, which differs from the preceding periods (Hedeager 1992).
Ethelberg (1995:131-132) divided the Free German society into four strata.
While typologies can be troubling since many people could potentially fall under two
categories, understanding the different types of graves helps in making cultural
comparisons. The top tier consisted of a prince, who had greater regional power than a
chief. Characteristic of princely graves (Figure 17) were Roman imports that included
bronze or glass vessels, gold finger rings, spurs, and sometimes weapons. Princely
graves from the central area of the over Jerstal group include inhumations at Dollerup,
Brokær, Kastrup, Gjenner and Bodum Mark, and Tombølgård. The distance between the
sites was 30-40 km and Ethelberg (1995:131) believed that the distance illustrates princes
connected through alliances.
The level below the prince was the chief, whose grave contained inlaid spurs but
never weapons. Women’s graves in the chiefly stratum had silver hairpins, gold filigree
beads, gold breloques, and bronze or gold fibulae. Unlike princely graves, chiefs’ graves,
or graves with a comparable number of artifact types, occurred in cemeteries that also
had poorer inhumations, such as at Stepping Mølle and Horløkke. Furthermore,
excavations at Stepping Mølle demonstrate that the chieftains lived in large isolated
farms outside of the village. Other examples include Hammelev Nørremark, Kærbølling,
and Galsted. These farms lay approximately 8-12 km apart from each other (Ethelberg
1995), and provide some notion of the general area that the chief controlled.
35
Figure 17. Distribution of LRIA and ERIA Princely Graves.
Data source: ESRI; Steuer 1982:211 and 221
The third level contained warrior graves and graves with gold rings. Ethelberg
(1995:131) cautiously regarded these as the graves of village leaders. Weapon graves did
not usually occur at cemeteries where there were people interred with gold rings, but they
were still somehow attached to a village. It is unclear whether warriors or those persons
with gold rings lived in the isolated farms or exclusively in the villages.
The fourth level consisted of village farmers, who had family graveyards that
contained graves with pottery, fibulae, pins, knives, and belt buckles (Ethelberg 1995).
These graves occurred throughout Denmark.
Tacitus described the different social strata in his explanation of the German
government, especially in the institution of the assembly. Tacitus’ ethnography may
seem like an easy way for archaeologists to view past cultures, but we should use his
texts with some caution. Tacitus wrote Germania with the objective to both describe the
Germans’ culture and to provide a commentary on his dislike of the Roman political
36
system. Therefore, it is likely that not everything Tacitus wrote about the Free Germans
is explicitly true.
In Tacitus’ description of the Free German government, the assembly was a
government meeting place where the Free Germans elected kings of noble birth. Tacitus
(Germania 7 [Biirley 1999]) explained that these kings did not have limitless or arbitrary
power, but instead they made decisions on lesser matters. On greater matters, the
assembly consulted all free men. Tacitus (Germania 13) explained that the assembly
presented young men who were in the chosen chief’s retinue with arms, which seems to
accord with the archaeological record. Thurston (2001:46) explained that the form of
rule resembled the corporate system since many unrelated men were involved in
government decisions. Even though the government during the ERIA and LRIA was
shifting toward a corporate rule, young men with chiefly potential still had to attach
themselves to an older, wiser leader and follow in his entourage. The Free Germans
presumably made young men align themselves with an older individual so that they could
gain enough experience and honors to lead their own men (Thurston 2001:46).
Cultural Evidence of Political and Economic Differentiation
Like other evidence, shifts in settlement form demonstrate changes in political
structure during the ERIA and LRIA. The elongation of the byre in the ERIA
demonstrates a change in the culture that emphasized cattle production. While the
building width did not vary dramatically between the different periods - the earliest phase
of Grøntoft was 3.5-4 m and the later 1st century phase was 5-5.5 m (Hedeager 1992) -,
length varied considerably. For instance, the earliest buildings at Grøntoft were 7-11 m
long and the later ones were usually 12 m, but one reached 16 m (Hvass 1988). In the 3rd
and 4th centuries AD, the longhouses became longer, the stalls and storage capacity
increased, the dependent minor buildings became larger, and the buildings developed
functional internal divisions. For instance, at Hodde, the length of most longhouses
ranged from 10-23 m. Conversely, the principle farmstead (chief’s farm) was 30 m long,
allowing more room for animals. The chief’s farm also had some of the best pottery in
the village. Underneath the chief’s farm, were two of the largest houses of the settlement,
and each had enough room for 16-22 animals. In comparison to most of the remaining
37
farms, which had room for 14-16 animals, the later chief’s farm could hold 16-22 animals
(Hvass 1988). Clearly, the difference in the number of animal stalls exemplified one
person’s control of more resources than the rest of the village, suggesting different levels
of wealth.
Fencing and enclosures adds to the understanding of political and economic
complexity because the fence normally signals ownership of property. During the
entirety of the Roman period, the main common fence of the village surrounded and
connected farmsteads. The inhabitants of Hodde built a fence onto the principle
farmstead, and Hedeager (1992:219) suggested that it meant that the whole village
belonged to the principle byre (Figures 18 and 19). Villages throughout Denmark
changed character in the 3rd century AD when members of a household surrounded their
own farmstead with a fence.
Figure 18. Phase one and two of the village at Hodde (Hvass 1985a: 308). Fence is solid
line surrounding rectangular byres.
38
Figure 19. Phase three and four of the village at Hodde (Hvass 1985a: 309). Fence is
solid line surrounding rectangular byres.
39
Chapter Summary
The Free German culture in Denmark had diverse forms and locations of
settlements, burials, and hoards that illustrate its social differentiation. While all types of
settlements required arable land, cultural practices elucidate the main differences in their
formation. Political and economic complexities were critical in the formation of the
different settlement types. Beginning in the pRIA, political and economic differentiation
that had been in place in the Bronze Age began to expand so that material goods and
economic options (settlements, burials, cattle, trade) increased for certain people and not
for others. Differences of political and economic power in Free German society is
similar to Nicholas’ (1966) and Steponaitis’ (1981) definition of power as control over
resources. For Free Germany, burials, settlement forms, and house sizes, most succinctly
demonstrate political and economic differentiation. While the byres (houses) all had the
same styles, there were a small number of byres larger than the rest that could house
more cattle. The owners of these cattle traded for other goods, such as Roman items,
which subsequently increased their prestige.
40
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The chapter outlines the basic methods used to test the proposed hypotheses and
to determine the level of influence that outside sources had on the formation of different
settlements. I begin with a discussion of the analyzed variables and the variables that
other authors employed. The chapter also provides detailed analyses of the variables and
the source of the data. The second section explains basic techniques used to form
comparative charts that mathematically explain the relationship between two variables.
Choice of Variables
Numerous authors have used a variety of methods to examine environmental
effects on settlement location and political inequality. Drennan and Quattrin (1995)
looked at the formation of chiefdoms by mapping sites and site clusters in comparison to
agriculturally rich land. In a similar manner, Price and Feinman (1995) concluded that
social inequality emerged in areas where the inhabitants could produce a surplus of
resources. Both studies focused explicitly on agricultural production and the
environment to model social differentiation.
Other methodological possibilities include measuring the amount of grain or cattle
each area produced to determine if one was more profitable. Determining the amount of
grain that each household produced could be possible by examining storage pits, but
these were mostly absent in Free Germany. Cattle are also problematic since evidence of
stalls does not persist in the archaeological record. Thurson’s (2001) phosphate analysis
of Järrestads Härad provides ample information for the location of sites for one small
region in southern Scania. Phosphate readings can demonstrate the number of cows that
people housed in their byre and the difference in herd size may illustrate disparities in
political and economic wealth. In order to measure political differentiation by the
number of cows in a byre, I would actually need a greater number of phosphate tests from
a variety of Danish regions.
One prominent method pertaining to cultural interactions is an analysis of
settlement and regional exchanges to determine the differences in trade between areas.
41
Flannery (1995) investigated networking and trading of goods and people in Mexico and
concluded that alliances and trade patterns could show the chief’s ability to take over
large areas of land. He explained that in Mexico from 1200-500 BC, large villages
formed networks with smaller communities and these two populaces exchanged not only
goods but also women. Because marriages were acts of alliance, the women at the
smaller villages had some of the wealthiest burials, presumably because they were from
the chiefly center (Flannery 1995). These same alliances are evident in the political
differences of the Free Germans. The problem with such an analysis is that it requires a
detailed test of one small location within a region to determine the birthplace of the
women. Rather than looking at one specific region, I wanted to examine a wide range of
burials, including weapon graves and high NAT graves for males and females.
Carneiro (1981) tracked political differentiation by comparing the different sizes
of settlements in an area. He explained that inhabitants of similar sized villages did not
cluster together and instead they spread out over the landscape. In a chiefdom, capital
villages or towns were significantly larger than other settlements in the political unit
(Carneiro 1981:54). As Wright (1984:43) noted:
The center of each polity in a network of interacting complex chiefdoms is
usually the seat of the paramount, and will become both larger than and
architecturally differentiated from ordinary chiefly centers, both physically
accommodating the paramount’s following and providing a focus for
major social rituals.
The problem with using Carneiro’s analysis is that larger settlements did not exist in the
Free German society. An intra settlement study illustrates differences in the size of
houses, but it is not possible to examine the difference in settlement size for an inter site
comparison. Instead, I identified prominent regions through clusters of imports and
deposits with a higher NAT score.
Monumental architecture could denote particular villages in a region with greater
economic and political power. Renfrew (1976) argued that there was usually only one
village in a region with larger buildings or edifices, and these villages controlled the
region and its resources. He used the distance of monumental architecture from
settlements to measure political and economic differences in regions with barrows, or
large constructions of soil. Because barrows, and even cemeteries, mark out territories
42
and because there were few burials within a barrow, those who did achieve the privilege
had more power in their particular community. While I did not explicitly use barrows in
my analyses, the Free Germans used full weapon set graves, weapon graves, and graves
with a high NAT, to serve the same purpose as the barrows. Because the weapon graves,
full weapon sets, and high NAT graves interred a person of high economic or political
power, there was probably a marker to display the location of their grave. The marker
was likely a funeral pyre that reminded the community members of the deceased and
acted as a territory boundary that warned other groups.
Because monumental architecture required a great deal of labor to move soil or
carry materials, Renfrew (1976) argued that the workers required a leader to organize the
construction. The problem with such a conclusion is that not all societies with
monumental architecture were highly complex either politically or economically. Some
cultures, such as the Adena who built Serpent Mound in Ohio, lacked high levels of
political differentiation. While the amount of differentiation varied between the
separated Adena societies, there is no dramatic evidence for ascribed intergenerational
hierarchies (Hays 2001).
Carneiro (1981) used the location of ceremonial centers to show political
complexity. He argued that fewer monumental buildings or earthworks could imply a
politically unified region. However, in a number of different cultures, such as the
Ancestral Puebloan, there is no evidence of political and economic differences between
settlements even when one is near a ceremonial center (Adler 2001).
Clark and Parry (1990) investigated craft specialization in their examination of
the level of influence it had on cultural complexity and the emergence of chiefdoms.
They concluded that communities that made labor intensive goods were communities in
which making and maintaining prestige was critical. State-level societies produce laborefficient types of goods, or those that were cheaply and mass-produced. Therefore, parttime craft specialization correlates with agrarian rank and chiefdom societies, while
highly stratified state level communities had full time craft specialization (Clark and
Parry 1990: 321). Evidence in Free German communities indicates that the majority of
goods required more labor than those mass produced in other societies. Because the
43
entirety of Free Germany had the same level of production, an analysis of craft
specialization would not show political and economic differences between settlements.
Instead of the previously mentioned analyses, I examined differences among
particular regions, settlements, and soil types in Denmark based on the location and
number of imports, high NAT burials, and weapon burials. Numerous authors (Brogan
1936; Eggers 1951; Fulford 1985; Goldstein 1999; Hansen 1987; Hedeager 1978, 1987;
Jeske 1996; Klindt-Jensen 1950; Wells 1999b) have researched imports. I used the
distribution of imports with an emphasis on those from Roman traders to determine how
much influence, if any, Roman trade and the Empire had on increasing political and
economic differentiation in Free Germany. Imports are important because they can often
be more than just goods. Piot (1991) explained in his analysis of Africa that exchange
between traders actually creates a relationship between the people involved in the
exchange. As Gregory (1996: 197) stated, “cowries, gold, and dollars are mere objects;
but if the invisible chains that bind them together are comprehended, then the symbolic
meaning is revealed, if not then they are mere objects.” Imports could show areas where
chiefs lived and ruled and where they interacted with Romans.
I analyzed burials in order to identify differentiation between residents within a
settlement and to other settlements’ inhabitants. Carneiro (1981:53) explained that
political complexity is visible in the archaeological record when there occur
“differentiated burials in which the differences in the quantity and quality of the grave
goods points to a categorical distinction in status among a few individuals, presumably
chiefs and the general populace.” In many instances, exclusively studying burials is
problematic since they do not always exhibit the actual daily life of the interred. In the
Free German society, the weapon and high NAT burials seem to display the deceased’s
role in society. Therefore, researchers can use burials as long as they remember that it is
the living relatives and friends who bury the dead, and they can choose to emphasize
certain attributes for personal gain (Binford 1971).
Burials are also a good measure of differences in economic and political power
between settlements since they can usually be associated with a specific community. The
Free German cemeteries were often outside of the village fence, but the villagers never
placed the cemeteries in one specific place. The men in some of the burials may not have
44
belonged to the region with their burial, but died in battle here and were not carried
home. Without further testing, specifically isotope analyses, it is difficult to determine
the home of many of the men buried in the graves. Because isotope analyses were
beyond the scope of my thesis, I assume that if these graves were within eight kilometers
of a settlement, they belonged to men that came from that settlement or region.
In the present study, I am measuring the distance between graves and settlements
and I have to assume that people could see many of the high NAT graves or full weapon
sets on the landscape. High NAT graves sometimes occurred in cemeteries that had men
and women with far fewer grave gifts, but they also existed on their own outside of
cemeteries. So far, no archaeological evidence denotes architecture above ground that
exhibits the existence of elite graves. Presumably, a funeral pyre marked the grave and
acted as a warning to outsiders that the territory with the grave belonged to the
community (Renfrew 1976).
To examine the possibility of environmental causations, I analyzed soil types and
in some instances pollen counts. Knowing the areas that lacked trees helps to identify
those regions where people could not use timber in house construction. As an underlying
layer, a map that demonstrates different soil types in comparison to other variables
illustrates if the number of items (imports, deposits with higher NAT scores, burials)
varied by soil type.
Basic Mapping Techniques
To evaluate the different arguments, I used ArcGIS to make a variety of maps that
exhibit the distribution of different variables. With ArcGIS, I overlaid an assortment of
point and polygon layers that included soil types, imports, settlements, graves, and high
NAT deposits.
Because Denmark is a relatively large area and because it was necessary to know
what was occurring in specific places, I divided Jutland, Fyn, and Sjælland into four
quarters (Figure 20 and Table 4). In order to focus on specific areas, I kept some regions,
like Thy, separate. Although the mainland may have influenced the islands, these
remained separate since water made them isolated.
45
To understand the diachronic nature of the Free German culture, I examined all
the variables divided among four periods. These include the LpRIA, the ERIA, the
LRIA, and when possible, the EGIA. While a more precise date may have helped in
tracking the movement of burial types and deposits, for most of the data it was only
possible to obtain dates that corresponded with a particular period. Therefore, I compare
burials and deposits from one period (a 200-year time span) as if they were
contemporaneous.
Figure 20. My division of Jutland, Fyn, and Sjælland. I divided each area (Jutland, Fyn,
and Sjælland) into four quadrants that I labeled as northeast, northwest, southeast,
southwest.
Data source: ESRI
Table 4. Division of Denmark
Area in Denmark
Thy
Mors
Northwestern Jutland
Southeastern Jutland
Samsø
Northeastern Fyn
Southeastern Fyn
Southwestern Fyn
Ærø
Langeland
Falster
Møns
Northwestern Sjælland
Southeastern Sjælland
46
Northeastern Jutland
Southwestern Jutland
Northwestern Fyn
Als
Lolland
Northeastern Sjælland
Southwestern Sjælland
Soil Analyses
I used two specific maps to determine the distribution of arable and non-arable
soil. One was from the Danish Geological Society (1954, found in Hedeager 1992:211,
Figure 4.12) and illustrated different types of soil. The other displayed various levels of
arability and served as an underlying raster map against the many point layers. With
certain pollen analyses (Aaby 1986; Andersen 1995; Kelertas 1997; Odgaard 1985), I
ascertained whether the locations of the two types of settlements were due to the arability
of the soil or a lack of trees. If the Free Germans located their settlement on infertile
land, good soil may have grown sparse quickly causing the people within the settlement
to relocate. Since the members of the settlements did not move far from their original
location, the people within the settlements may have moved to acquire land that was
more fertile. Since agriculture, specifically cereals, provided food for the Free Germans,
infertile land may have limited the quantity of food that the Free Germans could produce.
Settlements
Settlement location is one of the main variables used throughout my analysis.
While information on many settlements came from a variety of sources, the majority
were from Hvass’ (1985b, Figure 25) illustration of settlements throughout the Iron Age
(Table 5).
One goal for the project was to determine the number of settlements on each of
the different types of soil. In order to accomplish the settlement analysis, I converted the
Danish Geological Society map into a vector layer and used it as the base map under the
settlement point layer. These two layers enabled me to determine whether there were a
certain number of settlements on one type of soil, supporting Thurston’s infertile land
hypothesis.
47
Table 5. Sources for settlement distribution
Area in Denmark
Entirety of Denmark
Jutland
Fyn
Lolland
Sjælland, Møns, and Falster
Sources
Hvass 1985b, Figure 25
Andersen 1995, Bech 1985, 1999; Becker
1971, 1980; Ethelberg 1995, Hatt 1957,
Hvass 1975, 1978, 1985, Kaul 1985, 1999;
Knudson 1999, Mikkelsen 1988, 1990; Ole
Rindel 1999, Rieck et al. 1993, Schmid
1978
Andersen 1984, Mikkelsen 1988, Nielsen
1989
Adamsen 1992
Adamsen 1992, Jensen and Watt 1993,
Kaul 1985, Liversage 1980, Stummann
Hansen 1999, Åge Tornbjerg 1985
Weapon Grave Analysis
Weapon graves illustrate political complexity since they are evidence of members
of the Free German community participating in war to gain political and economic
success. As Saxe (1970) argued, the person interred may have had many roles in life, but
the one most structurally significant to the society determined which grave goods people
placed with the body. The warriors buried in weapon graves had a significant role in the
Free German society since the culture engaged in warfare both symbolically (as seen in
weapon deposits) and literally. While the number of weapon graves exceeded the
number of full weapon sets, the weapon graves lacked the number of weapons that were
in the full weapon sets. The difference in the number and composition of graves
reaffirms that there was competition and warfare during the Roman period in Free
Germany. Their distribution also may call into question Kaul’s (1999) proposal that
northwest Thy was outside the arena of political warfare. Political differentiation is
evident since there were more graves with just one weapon than those with a full weapon
set. The distance between weapon graves and full weapon sets could demonstrate the
locations of prestigious (in monetary or political power) burials.
I combined the soil and weapon grave maps and counted the number of weapon
graves and full weapon sets that fell on each of the different soils (Table 6). I also
determined whether there was a tendency for these burials to occur on one type of soil
and near one settlement form. I put the number of burials on various soil types into chart
48
form and compared the four different time periods to determine whether there were any
specific traits common to periods or areas throughout Denmark. The next step was to
count and chart the number of weapon graves and total number of graves that were close
to full weapon sets. Finally, I counted the number and distance of settlements to full
weapon sets. The distribution of full weapon sets relative to settlements helped to
investigate whether more political and economic differentiation occurred at a particular
type of village. Because the Free Germans frequently used bog deposits in their belief
system, the last part of the analysis examined the distribution of weapons in bogs and
their proximity to mound and relocating settlements.
Table 6. Analysis of weapon graves
Time Period
Variables
LpRIA (200 BC-1 AD)
Distribution of weapon graves (Hedeager 1992:122, Figure
3.19)
Distribution of weapon graves with full weapon set (sword,
shield, javelin/lance) (Hedeager 1992:125, Figure 3.22)
Total number of graves (Hedeager 1992:97. Figure 3.1)
ERIA (1-200 AD)
Distribution of weapon graves (Hedeager 1992:123, Figure
3.20)
Distribution of weapon graves with full weapon sets (sword,
shield, javelin/lance) (Hedeager 1992:126, Figure 3.23)
Total number of graves (Hedeager 1992:98, Figure 3.2)
LRIA (200-400 AD)
Distribution of weapon graves (Hedeager 1992:124, Figure
3.21)
Distribution of weapon graves with full weapon sets (sword,
shield, javelin, lance) (Hedeager 1992:127, Figure 3.24)
Total number of graves (Hedeager 1992:100, Figure 3.3)
ERIA, LRIA, EGIA
Bog finds containing weapons of horse gear (Hedeager
1992:163, Figure 3.41)
Analyses of Imports
Imports are an important variable because they illustrate the distribution of elite
individuals. Those who could trade for imports were also usually people with more
political and economic power. Like the weapon grave analysis, the import study
attempted to count the number of imports from different periods in various soils, which
proved helpful in determining the proportion of imports on a specific soil type. I also
counted the number and distance of settlements to imports among the different periods
49
and areas. Table 7 illustrates the different import layers and periods used in the import
analyses.
Analyses of High NAT Deposits
Deposits with a high NAT include those burials or hoards with a number of
different artifact types higher than five. Because the term rich or wealthy carries certain
connotations, I use Hedeager’s (1992) measuring of NAT (number of artifacts) to test the
possible location of people with a higher level of economic power. The analysis for the
distribution of high NAT deposits was similar to the distribution of the imports and
weapon graves. I combined a vector map exhibiting the location of high NAT deposits
with a soil base map to determine differences between the frequencies of deposits on
soils. I calculated the number and location of high NAT deposits for each of the periods
(ERIA, LRIA, and EGIA) that data were available (Table 8). Like the other variables, I
also examined the number and distance of the high NAT deposits from settlements.
Table 7. Variables for the location and number of imports and sources
Time period
Variables and sources
ERIA (1-200
Coin distribution before 250 AD (Brogan 1936, Figure 8)
AD)
Map of terra sigilata finds (Brogan 1936, Figure 17)
Distribution of Roman imports from the Early Roman Period
(Hedeager 1978:220, Figure 6)
Etruscan and Celtic Prunk Vessel (Eggers 1951, Figure 9)
Graves with Roman bronzes and gold finger rings (Hedeager
1992:48, Figure 2.6)
Imports of the Late La Téne time (bog find, individual find, grave
find) (Eggers 1951, Figure 63)
Coin distribution after 250 AD (Brogan 1936, Figure 9)
Bronze vessel or vessel fragment (Brogan 1936, Figure 12; Eggers
1951, Figure 60)
LRIA (200-400
Graves with the combination of Roman bronzes, glass and gold finger
AD
rings (Hedeager 1992:49, Figure 2.7)
Hemmoor Pails (Ceramic vessels from northern Germany) (Brogan
1936, Figure 10)
Distribution of Roman imports from the Late Roman Period
(Hedeager 1978:221, Figure 8)
Imports of
Complete map of Roman weapons (helm, sword-fire position,
unknown date
Ringbrünne/coat of arms) (Eggers 1951, Figure 64)
Summary of the imports in hoards and bogs (bronze vessel, silver
vessel, other import in hoard/treasure, weapons in hoard/treasure,
other imports and weapons in hoard/treasure, statues, other imports
(Eggers 1951, Figures 5 and 7)
50
Table 8. Variables and sources for high NAT deposits
Period
Variable and source
ERIA
Princely graves (Steuer 1982, p. 211)
Distribution of high NAT graves (Hedeager 1992:144, Figure 3.34)
Distribution of closed finds with various NAT scores of the ERP (Hedeager
1978:220, Figure 5)
Brooches and small ornaments (Brogan 1936, Figure 14)
LRIA
Princely graves (Steuer 1982, p. 221)
Gold neck and arm rings (Hedeager 1992:51, Figure 2.9)
Distribution of high NAT graves (Hedeager 1992:147, Figure 3.36)
Distribution of closed finds with various NAT scores of the LRP (Hedeager
1978:221, Figure 7)
EGIA
Distribution of bracteates (gold coin-like pendants) with glass beads and gold
spiral rings (EGIA) (Hedeager 1992:57, Figure 2.13)
Gold caches of the EGIA (Hedeager 1992:65, Figure 2.19)
Distribution of cruciform brooches (Hedeager 1992:54, Figure 2.11)
Gold neckrings from EGIA (Hedeager 1992: 63, Figure 2.17)
Chapter Summary
Beginning in the LpRIA, there was a dramatic increase in evidence for social and
political hierarchies in the form of grave goods and different houses. I set out to
determine the level of hierarchical differentiation among areas of Denmark. If different
levels existed, they may illustrate an outside influence on the growing political
differentiation. To reach a conclusion, I ran a variety of analyses that investigated the
number of goods in different soils and their proximity to various kinds of settlements.
While past analyses have tested political or economic differentiation, many of these
studies were either not applicable to the available evidence or the theories were
problematic. Therefore, I used specific variables characteristic of the Free German
culture that best reflect the differing levels of political and economic power found in
settlements.
51
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
Introduction
This result Chapter will examine numerous dimensions that are critical for
understanding settlement site location: settlement location on different soils and the
distribution of deposits with high NAT scores, weapon graves, and imports. Each section
of the chapter describes different variables in terms of their distribution among the
various regions of Denmark based on my division of the country.
Settlements
Many hypotheses (Kaul’s [1999] treeless theory, Gerritsen’s [1999] and
Thurston’s [2001] infertile land theory) describe the relationship between soil types and
house construction to explain the mound settlements. The location of villages and houses
on particular types of soil could illustrate whether houses in Denmark had to constantly
relocate because of infertile soil or if especially fertile soil occurred on Thy. If fertile soil
existed in Thy, it could have been possible for settlements to remain in the same spot for
hundreds of years.
As demonstrated in Figure 10, I used seven different soil types in my analysis.
The two that contained the most settlements were the glacial and moraine sand and the
primarily boulder clay (Figure 21). Of the 1056 settlements, 478 (45%) were on
primarily boulder clay and 363 (34%) were on glacial and moraine sand. Denmark is
characterized by a mixture of glacial and moraine deposits, which could have clay,
gravel, or limestone. As Figure 11 illustrates, the most arable soil is the primarily
boulder clay, which contains both suitable agricultural land as well as forests. Both of
these landscapes predominate in Sjælland and Fyn, as well as in eastern Jutland,
Vendsyssel, Mors, and southeastern Thy.
The majority of settlements occurred in northeastern Jutland, where the most
diverse types of soil also existed. Nearly all of the settlements in northeastern Jutland
were on primarily boulder clay or glacial and moraine sand, but there were still many on
the glacial plains and river valleys (10 villages), blown sand (3), and the raised sea bed
from the Neolithic (39) and Ice Age (48). While there were many settlements on
52
different types of soil in Vendsyssel, only the relocating villages occurred in that region.
Even if some ephemeral settlements in Vendsyssel relocated because of infertile soil, the
existence of relocating villages in fertile soil in Vendsyssel suggests that communities
were moving for a reason other than poor soil.
Particularly unattractive soils seem to have been the heath and marsh zones that
the Free Germans rarely settled. In total, there were 11 (1%) settlements in the marshy
areas of Denmark and seven of these were in the infertile land of southwestern Jutland.
Even in southwestern Jutland, villages within a marsh zone only made up 8 percent of all
the settlements.
Figure 21. Distribution of different soil types and the location of settlements
Data source: ESRI; Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager
1992:211, Figure 4.12); Adamsen 1992; Andersen 1984, 1995, Bech 1985, 1999; Becker
1971, 1980; Ethelberg 1995: 111, Figure 1 and 25; Hatt 1957; Hvass 1985a, 1985b,
Figure 25; Kaul 1985, 1999:64, Figure 12; Knudson 1999; Jensen and Watt 1993;
Liversage 1980; Mikkelsen 1988, 1990; Nielsen 1989; Odgard 1985: 121, Figure 1; Ole
Rindel 1999, Rieck et al. 1993, Schmid 1978; Stummann Hansen 1999; Åge Tornbjerg
1985: 147, Figure 1
53
The mound villages of Thy were mostly on the same type of soil as the relocating
settlements in northeastern Jutland. In Thy, settlements occurred on primarily boulder
clay (36 settlements, 65%), glacial and moraine sand (9 settlements, 16%), and blown
sand (10 settlements, 18%). The relatively high number of houses on blown sand is
surprising since blown sand is not suitable for agriculture. Andersen (1995) explained
that even though the blown sand appeared in the Neolithic, it was not as widespread as it
is today. Possibly, the glacial and moraine sand that borders the area to the east would
have extended farther west and encompassed the settlements in that region. Mors, which
also had mound settlements, lacks the primarily boulder clay and glacial and moraine
sand found throughout Denmark. Instead, it is comprised of soil made up of a raised sea
bed from the Neolithic (49 settlements). Since the Free Germans had mound villages on
the same soil as the relocating settlements, the answer cannot pertain to different soils.
Drennan and Quattrin (1995) came to the same conclusion and explained that site
location and clustering is due to political and social factors and not explicitly to the
environment and agriculture.
As illustrated in Chapter two, many areas in Denmark lacked trees, but Thy was
one of the few regions in which forests were completely absent. Andersen (1988)
explained that ca. 1000 BC inhabitants of sites like the one at a small hollow on Sjælland
would occasionally clear an area in order to expand their agricultural fields. Trees
remained in those areas that the Free Germans decided not to cultivate. The Free
Germans probably used the field until ca. AD 200 when the clay and sand in the sediment
decreased and the AP (arboreal, shrubby, and climbing plant pollen) increased leaving
few nutrients in the soil. When the nutrient depletion occurred, a pastoral zone replaced
the nutrient poor fields. Conversely, in Thy, the natural woodland completely disappeared
in the last century BC (Andersen 1995). Because trees were not completely absent in
areas where people clear cut parts of the forests, there was available timber for houses.
Furthermore, those areas that the Free Germans did not clear-cut could serve as another
place to relocate. Because there were no forests in Thy, the inhabitants had to remain in
one location.
The absence of trees in Thy made it impossible to construct houses purely out of
timber. Inhabitants of Thy quickly learned that humic soil kept the wood from rotting as
54
long as the wood remained stationary and they did not move the house. Therefore,
because of a lack of wood, people in the region failed to relocate as often as the
wandering villages. Kaul (1999) also suggested that there was no available land for
expansion of Thy’s inhabitants. However, for those people who rely on land, one of the
most important aspects of their life is obtaining fertile soil or adapting technologically in
order to farm infertile ground. Land is the supreme good since everything, including
food, animals, and production, relies on it (Gregory 1996).
The Distribution of LpRIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon sets
As previously mentioned, weapon graves were a mark of the Free German warrior
elite because they illustrated the diverse levels of political complexity. I began with the
LpRIA, which had a total of 10 full weapon sets and 36 weapon graves.
The location of full weapon sets on different soil types is similar to the
distribution of settlements. In every instance but one, there was a full weapon set in
glacial and moraine sand or primarily boulder clay. Figure 22 demonstrates that one
grave in southwestern Jutland was even in a marshy area. Since the settlement and the
full weapon set in the marsh were on the very edge of glacial and moraine sand, the
settlement may have simply relocated from one soil type to the other. Figure 22 and 23
both show the distribution of settlements to the full weapon sets. Figure 23 is the spatial
map that illustrates that the dispersions of the full weapon sets in the LpRIA were
restricted to the southern portion of Jutland.
Distance of LpRIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon Sets to Settlements
Southern Jutland appears to have the greatest number of settlements that lie within
eight kilometers of a full weapon set (Figure 24). Only two settlements, one in
southeastern Jutland and one in Langeland, were within two kilometers of a full weapon
set. Because the majority of the full weapon sets were within 2-5 km of a settlement, a
warrior leader could control many villages at once.
55
0
1
2
3
Area in Denmark
56
s
y
d
n
d
d
n
d
d
d
n
n
d
d
ø
d
d
ø
rs
er
Fy Ær lan llan lst
Th Mo tlan tlan tlan tlan ms
F y Fy F y
øn llan llan llan llan
e
a
M
a
E
E
o
u
u
u
u
W SW S
æ
æ jæ jæ
F
S
J
L
J
J
J
N
ng
N
Sj
Sj
S
S
E
E
La
E
E
N NW S W S
W
W
S
N
S
N
LpRIA weapon graves in different soils
Figure 22. Soil type and LpRIA full weapon sets
Number of graves
s
Al
Glacial and moraine
Primarily boulder clay
Blown sand
Raised sea bed Neolithic
Raised sea bed Ice Age
Glacial plains and river valleys
Marsh
Figure 23. Distribution of full weapon sets, different types of soil, and the location of
settlements (small dots)
Data source: ESRI; Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager
1992:211, Figure 4.12); Adamsen 1992; Andersen 1984, 1995, Bech 1985, 1999; Becker
1971, 1980; Ethelberg 1995: 111, Figure 1 and 25; Hatt 1957; Hedeager 1992: 125,
Figure 3.22; Hvass 1985a, 1985b, Figure 25; Kaul 1985, 1999:64, Figure 12; Knudson
1999; Jensen and Watt 1993; Liversage 1980; Mikkelsen 1988, 1990; Nielsen 1989;
Odgard 1985: 121, Figure 1; Ole Rindel 1999, Rieck et al. 1993, Schmid 1978;
Stummann Hansen 1999; Åge Tornbjerg 1985: 147, Figure 1
57
Number and distance of settlements to LpRIA full weapon sets
5
Number of Settlements
4
3
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement between 2-5 km
Settlements between 5-8 km
2
1
Al
s
Th
y
M
N
E or s
J
N ut la
W
n
Ju d
SW tl a
n
Ju d
SE tlan
Ju d
tla
n
Sa d
m
s
N ø
E
Fy
n
N
W
Fy
SW n
Fy
SE n
Fy
n
Æ
La
r
ø
ng
el
an
Lo d
lla
n
Fa d
lst
er
M
N
øn
E
S
s
SW jæll
an
S
d
N jæl
la
W
Sj nd
æ
SE lla
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 24. Distance from settlement to LpRIA full weapon set
Comparison between LpRIA Full Weapon Sets to Weapon Graves and all other
Graves
The distribution of full weapon sets to weapon graves and all other graves in the
LpRIA illustrates evidence of political differentiation in certain areas. As Figures 25, 26,
and 27 reveal, there were many more graves and weapon graves than full weapon sets.
The Free Germans had fewer weapon graves and full weapon sets because only wealthy
and noble men (a smaller portion of the population) could reach warrior status. For
example, in southwestern Jutland there was one full weapon set near 1508 graves. The
instance in southwestern Jutland demonstrates a difference in grave wealth. Conversely,
in southeastern Fyn there were very few other graves in comparison to weapon graves
and full weapon sets. Either there is a lack of data for southeastern Fyn or there was a
high level of leadership over a very small group of people. Furthermore, the distribution
of weapon graves in Figure 25 illustrates that there were many more weapon graves than
full weapon sets in northeastern Jutland, Sjælland, Lolland, and Falster. The pattern of
weapon graves suggests that the warriors of the full weapon sets controlled a larger area
58
than those in the weapon graves. It is also probable that the regions without full weapon
sets did not have the same level of political differentiation as those locations with a full
weapon set and weapon graves.
Figure 25. Distribution of LpRIA full Weapon sets and weapon graves
Data source: ESRI; Hedeager 1992: 122, Figure 3.19, p. 125, Figure 3.22
Figure 26. Distribution of LpRIA full weapon sets and the location of non weapon graves
Data source: ESRI, Hedeager 1992: 97, Figure 3.1, p. 125, Figure 3.22
59
Number of graves near full weapon sets of the LpRIA (minus 1507 total graves in SW Jutland)
16
14
Number of Graves
12
10
Number of weapon graves less than 16 km
Total number of graves within 8 km
8
6
4
2
0
SE Jutland
SE Fyn
Langeland
Area in Denmark
Figure 27. Distance of LpRIA weapon graves and other graves to full weapon sets
Although LpRIA weapon graves were in Himmerland, no full weapon sets or
weapon graves occurred in Thy. The lack of warrior graves near some mound villages
supports Kaul’s suggestion that mound villages were possibly outside of those areas that
were undergoing political and economic changes. Interestingly, in later periods, weapon
graves occurred in the mound regions. During the ERIA, full weapon sets extended into
the north, including Thy, Mors, Salling, and Djursland. As Figures 28 and 29
demonstrate, in most areas of Denmark there were less than five graves within eight
kilometers of a full weapon set. Conversely, northeastern, southwestern, and
southeastern Jutland, and northwestern Fyn have a higher number of graves near full
weapon sets. Like the rest of Denmark, none of the mound villages had many graves
near full weapon sets. For example, only three graves within eight kilometers of the full
weapon set occurred in Thy, presumably because it was less populated.
60
Number of ERIA graves, high NAT graves, and weapon graves near full weapon sets
35
30
Number of Graves
25
20
Total number of graves within 8 km
Number of high NAT graves within 8 km
Number of weapon Graves Less than 16 km
15
10
5
Al
s
Th
y
N M
E or
Ju s
N
W t lan
J
d
SW utl
a
Ju nd
SE tla
Ju nd
tla
Sa nd
m
NE sø
N Fyn
W
F
SW yn
F
SE yn
Fy
n
La Æ
ng rø
el
a
Lo nd
lla
n
Fa d
ls
te
r
N
E Mø
S
SW jæ ns
l
S la
N jæ nd
W lla
S n
SE jæl d
l
Sj and
æ
lla
nd
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 28. Distance between ERIA full weapon sets and the total number of graves, high
NAT scored deposits, and weapon graves
Figure 29. Distance between ERIA full weapon sets and non-weapon graves (smaller
dots).
Data source: ESRI; Hedeager: 123, Figure 3.20, p. 126, Figure 3.23
61
Location of ERIA Weapon Graves and Full Weapon Sets
The distribution and number of weapon graves in Denmark is similar to the
location of ERIA full weapon sets (Figure 30). Many weapon graves follow the eastern
edge of Jutland and the entire southern portion of the peninsula. The majority of full
weapon sets clustered in the same areas, presumably because of warrior leaders in those
regions over successive generations. Furthermore, most of the weapon graves from the
ERIA were in northeastern Jutland, but only 21% of these were in Himmerland and even
fewer were in Thy and Mors (Table 9).
Like the LpRIA, during the ERIA many areas had weapon graves but no full
weapon sets. While Himmerland and Vendsyssel had many weapon graves but few full
weapon sets, Mors and Thy both had a full weapon set and at least one weapon grave.
The existence of full weapon sets and weapon graves is in direct contradiction to Kaul’s
(1999) cultural hinterland argument. Apparently, there was more political differentiation
in Mors and Thy than northeastern Jutland.
Figure 30. Distance between ERIA full weapon sets and weapon graves
Data source: ESRI; Hedeager 1992: 123, Figure 3.20, p. 126, Figure 3.23
62
Table 9. Distribution of ERIA weapon graves
Area in Denmark
Number of ERIA weapon graves
Thy
1
Mors
1
Northwestern Jutland
10
Southwestern Jutland
26
Southeastern Jutland
29
Northeastern Jutland
61
Northwestern Fyn
11
Southwestern Fyn
1
Southeastern Fyn
5
Northeastern Fyn
1
Langeland
4
Lolland
5
Southwestern Sjælland
1
Southeastern Sjælland
1
Northeastern Sjælland
1
Distribution and Distance of ERIA Full Weapon Sets to High NAT Graves
The distribution map and chart of high NAT graves and full weapon sets (Figure
31 and Table 10) demonstrates that high NAT graves were primarily in eastern and
southern Denmark. Comparing locations of high NAT graves and full weapon sets
illustrates not only politically diverse war zones, but also those regions with economic
differentiation. Where a full weapon set existed, there was usually also a cluster of high
NAT graves, especially in Fyn, Lolland, and Southern Jutland. Tacitus (Germania 7
[Birley 1999]) explained that peace and warrior leaders led the Free Germans and high
NAT graves may be an indication of these elite peace leaders. Figure 31 demonstrates
that most regions, except for Thy and northwestern Fyn, had at least some high NAT
graves. Usually only five graves were near these high NAT burials. For most of
Denmark, the Free Germans buried the wealthy and warrior elite outside of the poorer
(fewer NAT burials) inhabitants’ cemetery. While Himmerland had two high NAT
graves and Thy had one full weapon set, only Mors had both a full weapon set and a high
NAT grave, which raises questions about Kaul’s cultural and political hinterland
argument. The different number of full weapon sets in the mound villages illustrates
diverse levels of political complexity among Thy, Mors, and Himmerland.
63
Figure 31. Distribution of ERIA full weapon sets and high NAT graves
Data source: ESRI; Hedeager 1992: 126, Figure 3.23; Hedeager 1978: 220, Figures 5 and
6, p. 221, Figures 7 and 8
Table 10. Number of high NAT graves within eight kilometers of an ERIA full weapon
set
Area in Denmark
Amount of high NAT graves within eight
kilometers of an ERIA full weapon set
Mors
1
Northeast Jutland
1
Northwest Jutland 1
Southwest Jutland 2
Southeast Jutland
4
Southwest Fyn
1
Southeast Fyn
5
Langeland
1
Lolland
4
Number and Distance of Settlements to ERIA Full Weapon Sets
Each area in Denmark had at least three settlements near a full weapon set. Some
regions, such as southeastern and northwestern Jutland had many more (Figure 32). In
most areas, the Free Germans located their settlements 5-8 km from a full weapon set
(Figure 33). In total, there were 26 settlements within 5-8 km and 24 settlements 2-5 km
of a full weapon set. The distribution of settlements 2-8 km of a full weapon set is
64
different from the one settlement less than two kilometers and seventeen settlements 8-16
km from a full weapon set. The location of settlements to full weapon sets implies that
the Free Germans never buried the leaders of a village near the community nor more than
eight kilometers from the village. Similarly, in the LpRIA there were nine settlements
within 2-5 km, four settlements between 5-8 km, and two settlements within two
kilometers of a full weapon set. Therefore, unlike the ERIA, the majority of the LpRIA
settlements were within 2-5 km of a full weapon set.
Figure 32. Distribution of settlements and ERIA full weapon sets. Full weapon sets are
the larger dots while settlements are the smaller dots.
Data source: ESRI; Adamsen 1992; Andersen 1984, 1995, Bech 1985, 1999; Becker
1971, 1980; Ethelberg 1995: 111, Figure 1 and 25; Hatt 1957; Hedeager 1992: 126,
Figure 3.23; Hvass 1985a, 1985b, Figure 25; Kaul 1985, 1999:64, Figure 12; Knudson
1999; Jensen and Watt 1993; Liversage 1980; Mikkelsen 1988, 1990; Nielsen 1989;
Odgard 1985: 121, Figure 1; Ole Rindel 1999, Rieck et al. 1993, Schmid 1978;
Stummann Hansen 1999; Åge Tornbjerg 1985: 147, Figure 1
65
Number and distance of settlements to ERIA full weapon sets
14
12
Number of Settlements
10
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement within 2-5 km
Settlements within 5-8 km
Settlements 8-16 km
8
6
Settlement over 16 km
4
2
Al
s
Th
y
M
NE o
rs
Ju
NW t la
n
Ju d
SW tl an
Ju d
SE tlan
Ju d
tla
n
Sa d
m
s
N ø
E
Fy
n
N
W
Fy
SW n
Fy
SE n
Fy
n
Æ
La
ng rø
el
an
Lo d
lla
nd
Fa
lst
er
NE Mø
n
S
s
SW jæll
a
Sj nd
NW æll
a
Sj nd
æ
SE lla
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 33. Number of settlements at different distances to ERIA full weapon sets
A Comparison of LpRIA and ERIA Full Weapon Sets on Different Soils
There was usually a similar distribution of ERIA and LpRIA full weapon sets.
The differences between the two periods include an ERIA full weapon set in a raised sea
bed in Mors but none in marshes (Figures 34 and 35). Typically, like the LpRIA, the
majority of the full weapon sets were on primarily boulder clay and glacial and moraine
sand. Conversely, southeastern Fyn consisted of three graves in glacial and moraine sand
in the ERIA versus two in the LpRIA located on primarily boulder clay. Throughout
Denmark, there was also a higher percentage of full weapon sets on glacial and moraine
sand in the ERIA (16%) than in the LpRIA (10%). The percentage of settlements in
primarily boulder clay in both the ERIA and LpRIA was 79% and 80%, respectively.
The higher percentage of ERIA full weapon sets on glacial and moraine sand may be a
result of the inhabitants locating their villages in primarily boulder clay in the LpRIA and
expanding outwards to other soil types in the ERIA.
66
Soil Types with ERIA full weapon sets
7
6
Number of graves
5
Glacial and moraine
Primarily boulder clay
Blown sand
Raised sea bed Neolithic
Raised sea bed Ice Age
4
3
Glacial plains and river valleys
Marsh
2
1
Al
s
Th
y
M
N
E or s
J
N ut la
W
n
Ju d
SW tl a
n
Ju d
SE tlan
Ju d
tla
n
Sa d
m
s
NE ø
Fy
NW n
F
SW yn
Fy
SE n
Fy
n
Æ
La
r
ng ø
el
an
Lo d
lla
n
Fa d
lst
er
M
N
øn
E
S
s
SW jæll
an
S
d
NW jæl
la
Sj nd
æ
SE lla
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 34. Number of ERIA full weapon sets in different soils
Figure 35. ERIA full weapon sets in different soils
Data source: ESRI; Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager
1992: 211, Figure 4.12); Hedeager 1992: 126, Figure 3.23
67
Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets
In the LRIA, full weapon sets were mostly in northern Fyn, Mors, and Vendsyssel
(Figure 36). The pattern in Fyn, Mors, and Vendsyssel contrasts to the earlier periods
when the majority of full weapon sets were in the southern portions of Jutland and Fyn.
While Hedeager (1992) correctly assumed that the warrior burials were no longer
necessary in the LRIA, this was not the case in the north. Instead, the inhabitants in the
north relied on these burials to mark out different levels of political leadership in the
community.
Number and Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets on Different Soils
Hedeager’s (1992) analysis demonstrates that the number of LRIA full weapon
sets dramatically decreased in the LRIA. While it is somewhat difficult to determine the
differences between the three periods for soil analysis, there is still evidence of
discrepancies. First, Figures 36 and 37 illustrate that the majority of the full weapon sets
in the LRIA were on glacial and moraine sand. Three full weapon sets were located on
glacial and moraine sand, two on primarily boulder clay, and one on Mors was on the
raised sea bed from the Neolithic. While the total number of full weapon sets on glacial
and moraine sand is about the same as in other periods, there were far fewer full weapon
sets in primarily boulder clay. Again, the lack of full weapon sets in primarily boulder
clay suggests that there were far fewer weapon sets for the entire period. Because a full
weapon set was on the raised sea bed in Mors for the ERIA and LRIA, political
differentiation marked by warfare occurred in even those areas that did not have the best
soil.
Number and Distance of Settlements to LRIA Full Weapon Sets
Figure 38 illustrates the differences in the location of settlements to full weapon
sets between the LRIA, ERIA, and LpRIA. Unlike the LpRIA and ERIA, the LRIA
grave distribution included a full weapon set 8-16 km away from a settlement. Other
occurrences included four settlements 2-5 km from a full weapon set and five settlements
5-8 km from a full weapon set. While the majority (n = 9) of settlements were between
2-8 km of a full weapon set, there was still a greater percentage between 8-16 km. This
occurred on Mors, where two settlements were 2-5 km away from a full weapon set.
68
Mors also had one settlement that was 8-16 km from a full weapon set, meaning that over
time, more settlements were beginning to be under the control of fewer people.
Soil types of LRIA full weapon sets
2.5
Nu mberr of Graves
2
Glacial and moraine
Primarily boulder clay
Blown sand
1.5
Raised sea bed Neolithic
Raised sea bed Ice Age
Glacial plains and river valleys
Marsh
1
0.5
Th
y
NE M o
r
Ju s
N W tla
nd
J
S W ut l a
nd
Ju
SE tlan
Ju d
tla
n
Sa d
m
s
NE ø
F
N W yn
F
SW y n
Fy
SE n
Fy
n
La Æ r
ng ø
el a
Lo nd
lla
n
Fa d
ls t
er
NE M ø
S j ns
SW æ l
l
S an
N W jæ d
lla
S nd
SE jæ ll
a
Sj n d
æ
lla
nd
Al
s
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 36. Soil types of LRIA full weapon sets
Figure 37. LRIA full weapon sets in different soils
Data source: Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager 1992: 211,
Figure 4.12); Hedeager 1992: 127, Figure 3.24
69
Settlement Distance from LRIA full weapon graves
2.5
Number of Graves
2
1.5
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement between 2-5 km
Settlements between 5-8 km
Settlements 8-16 km
Settlement over 16 km
1
0.5
Al
s
Th
y
N Mo
E
rs
J
N ut la
W
n
Ju d
SW tl a
n
Ju d
SE tlan
Ju d
tla
n
Sa d
m
s
N ø
E
Fy
n
N
W
Fy
n
SW
Fy
SE n
Fy
n
L a Ær
ng ø
el
an
Lo d
lla
n
Fa d
lst
er
NE Mø
ns
S
SW jæl
la
n
S
d
N jæl
W
la
Sj nd
æ
SE lla
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 38. Comparison of settlement location to LRIA full weapon sets
Number and Distance of LRIA Full Weapon Sets to Weapon Graves
As Table 11 illustrates, the region of southeastern Fyn consistently had evidence
of political and economic differentiation in graves or deposits. In the LpRIA and ERIA,
there were a relatively high number of weapon graves near a full weapon set. For
example, the LpRIA had 10 weapon graves and the ERIA had 15 weapon graves near a
full weapon set. Conversely, in the LRIA this decreased to four weapon graves,
illustrating the changing dynamic of burial rites.
Table 11. Number of weapon graves, high NAT graves, and all other graves near a LRIA
full weapon set
Area
Weapon graves less Total number of
Amount of high
than 16 km
graves within 8 km
NAT graves within
8 km
Mors
3
1
0
Northeast Jutland
1
8
0
Northeast Fyn
9
164
4
Southeast Fyn
4
100
4
70
Location of LRIA Full Weapon Sets to LRIA High NAT Graves
In the LRIA, there were no high NAT graves near a full weapon set except for
eastern Fyn. The lack of high NAT graves is in direct contrast to the ERIA when many
of the areas had multiple high NAT graves near a full weapon set. During the LRIA,
southeastern and northeastern Fyn had four high NAT graves near a full weapon set.
Since eastern Fyn imported the most goods in the LRIA, there must have been people in
Fyn with enough economic and political power to maintain the elite trade for an extended
period. In eastern Fyn, there were also multiple weapon graves near full weapon sets and
high NAT deposits. The many weapon graves in Fyn imply that this region still
prescribed to the warrior elite status. This meant that one of the wealthiest regions in
Denmark during the LRIA was comprised of relocating settlements far away from those
areas with mound villages.
Distribution of Weapons in Bogs
Weaponry and horse gear, symbols of the warrior status, were important to the
Free Germans. Men who deposited weapons and horse gear in areas like bogs or graves
were attempting to send the message that they could afford never to see these goods
again. While Headeager (1992:72) questioned the attribution of bog deposits to religion,
Wells (1999a:37-38) explained that a sanctuary could be any deposit that contained coins,
fibulae, weapons, or other valuable goods. Even though the deposits might not have a
religious connotation, the mere act of placing a large number of goods in one location
denotes a ceremony of some kind. Figure 39 demonstrates the location of many weapons
in bogs throughout the ERIA, LRIA, and EGIA and shows that the vast majority of bog
deposits were along the east coast of Jutland. For the most part, these were all on
primarily boulder clay except for the one odd find in north-central Jutland that was on
glacial plains and river valleys. The distribution of military goods in bogs, except for the
bog find at Fuglsang, is similar to the location of many ERIA full weapon sets. The bog
find at Fuglsang coincides with the LRIA full weapon set distribution.
71
Figure 39. ERIA, LRIA, and EGIA bog finds or hoards with weapons or horse gear
Data source: ESRI; Hedeager 1992: 163, Figure 3.41
Summary of the Distribution of LpRIA, ERIA, and LRIA Full Weapon Sets
The different weapon graves, full weapon sets, and high NAT graves in Denmark
show a pattern in which the number of full weapon sets increases in the ERIA and
decreases in the LRIA. While there were no instances of full weapon sets in Thy, Mors,
or Himmerland in the LpRIA there were a few in Thy and Mors in the ERIA. Of all the
regions with mound villages, only Mors had a full weapon set in the LRIA. The location
of these full weapon sets through the Iron Age illustrate that there was a northern
movement for the deletion of a warrior status from graves. In all three periods the full
weapon sets were usually in primarily boulder clay or glacial and moraine sand, though
there were three instances of full weapon sets in either a marsh or a raised sea bed from
the Neolithic. Like the settlement distribution, the data from the full weapon set analysis
suggest that soil had very little to do with the placement of these graves.
72
Location of NAT Deposits
While Hedeager (1978) assigned a high NAT score to those deposits with more
than ten items, I decided to attribute a high NAT score to those deposits with more than
five artifact types since they occur less often. There are three periods (ERIA, LRIA, and
EGIA) with evidence of deposits (graves, bog deposits, or hoards) with a high NAT.
First, ERIA high NAT graves and princely graves were in almost every area. The only
two regions that lacked high NAT deposits were Thy and Als. Like the weapon graves
from the ERIA, the majority of the high NAT graves were in southern and eastern Jutland
as well as eastern Fyn and Sjælland.
Location of ERIA NAT Deposits in Comparison to Settlements
Of the 309 total settlements, the majority (n=113, 37%) were over 16 km from a
high NAT grave (Figures 40 and 41). Many of the other settlements were between either
8-16 km (99 settlements) or 5-8 km (60 settlements). Likewise, in Mors and Himmerland
there was very little difference in the number of deposits between 8-16 km and those over
16 kilometers. Throughout Denmark, there were only 15 (5%) settlements within two
kilometers of a high NAT grave. While the majority of these were in Fyn, Jutland and
Lolland, there was also one in Himmerland. The large distance between high NAT
deposits and settlements may have resulted from an economically powerful individual
illustrating his control over an entire area.
Distribution of ERIA High NAT Deposits on Different Soil Types
As Figures 42 and 43 illustrate, the majority of high NAT graves were on
primarily boulder clay and glacial and moraine sand. Of the 49 high NAT graves, 31
(63%) were on primarily boulder clay, and 16 (33%) were in glacial and moraine sand.
The princely grave distribution is relatively the same as the overall high NAT graves’
distribution. One princely grave in central Jutland dating to the first century AD occurred
on glacial plains and river valleys. Of the six other princely graves, four were on
primarily boulder clay and the two in western Fyn were on glacial and moraine sand.
Such a high percentage of princely graves on primarily boulder clay is much different
from the distribution of settlements and weapon graves. Of the three high NAT graves in
mound villages, the one in Mors was on the raised sea bed from the Neolithic. In the
mound village of Himmerland, one high NAT deposit was on primarily boulder clay and
73
the other was on glacial and moraine sand. Unlike the overall distribution of high NAT
graves on primarily boulder clay, the location of the few high NAT deposits in mound
areas on a variety of soils is more similar to the placement of settlements and weapon
graves also on a number of different soils. While the location of settlements and weapon
graves had very little to do with soil types, for high NAT deposits in most of Denmark,
placement on arable land was necessary. Distribution on arable land would restrict the
high NAT graves to most regions that lacked mound villages.
Number and Distance of settlements from ERIA high NAT graves
20
18
16
N u m b er of S e ttle m e n ts
14
12
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement within 2-5 km
Settlements within 5-8 km
Settlements 8-16 km
Settlement over 16 km
10
8
6
4
2
Ju
SW t l a
n
Ju d
N W tla
n
Ju d
SE t l an
Ju d
tla
nd
Th
SE y
F
N W yn
Fy
SW n
Fy
NE n
Fy
n
M
or
s
d
øn
M
NE
s
Al
el
an
ng
La
SE
Sj
N E æl l a
S nd
SW jæ ll
a
S nd
N W j æl l
a
S j nd
æ
lla
n
Lo d
lla
n
Fa d
ls t
er
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 40. The distance of settlements to ERIA high NAT graves and princely graves
74
Figure 41. Location of ERIA high NAT scored graves in comparison to settlements
Data source: ESRI, Hedeager 1978: 220, Figures 5 and 6
Number of ERIA high NAT deposits in different soils
18
16
Number of high NAT deposits
14
12
Marsh
Glacial plains and river valleys
Raised sea bed Ice Age
10
Raised sea bed Neolithic
Blown sand
Primarily boulder clay
Glacial and moraine
8
6
4
2
Fy
n
M
or
s
Fy
n
E
SW
N
n
n
Fy
Fy
W
N
Th
y
SE
A
La
n g ls
el
an
d
M
N
øn
E
Ju
SW tla
n
Ju d
tl
N
W and
Ju
t
SE lan
d
Ju
tla
nd
N
E
SE
Sj
æ
lla
Sj nd
æ
SW ll
a
Sj nd
N æ ll
W
a
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
Lo
lla
nd
Fa
ls
te
r
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 42. The distribution of ERIA deposits with high NAT in different soil types
75
Figure 43. Location of ERIA high NAT and princely graves in different soils
Data source: ESRI; Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager
1992: 211, Figure 4.12); Hedeager 1978: 220, Figures 5 and 6; Steuer 1982: 211 and 221
Number and Distribution of LRIA High NAT Graves and Deposits
High NAT deposits in each region decreased from the ERIA to the LRIA. The
only exceptions were in Sjælland, Thy, and southeastern Fyn, but each of these areas only
slightly increased. For example, in Sjælland there were 34 deposits in the ERIA and 40
deposits in the LRIA. In Sjælland, Thy, and southeastern Fyn, high NAT graves occurred
more frequently than any other grave. The increase in high NAT graves in southeastern
Fyn is similar to the weapon grave increase in the same area in the LRIA. In Thy and
Sjælland mounting wealth in regions that lacked a warrior elite in burials explains the
increase in high NAT graves.
Location of LRIA High NAT Graves and Deposits on Different Soils
The distribution of high NAT deposits on different soil types was predominately
the same in the LRIA as it was in the ERIA. Of 56 LRIA high NAT grave deposits, 42
(75%) were on primarily boulder clay and 13 (23%) were on glacial and moraine sand
(Figure 44). There was only one high NAT deposit in northeastern Jutland found in a
raised sea bed from the Neolithic. Once again, unlike the settlement and weapon grave
distribution, the LRIA high NAT deposits were normally on primarily boulder clay.
76
Because other soils predominate in northern Jutland, most high NAT graves in Thy,
Mors, Himmerland, and Vendsyssel occurred on other types of soil.
LRIA high NAT graves in different soils
30
Number of high NAT deposits
25
20
Marsh
Glacial plains and river valleys
Raised sea bed Ice Age
Raised sea bed Neolithic
15
Blown sand
Primarily boulder clay
Glacial and moraine
10
5
Th
SE y
F
N yn
W
Fy
SW n
Fy
N n
E
Fy
n
M
or
s
øn
SW tl an
Ju d
tl
N
W and
Ju
t
SE lan
d
Ju
tla
nd
M
Ju
s
d
Al
an
el
ng
E
N
SW
La
æ
Sj
NE
SE
Sj
æ
lla
nd
ll a
n
Sj
d
æ
N
W llan
Sj
d
æ
lla
nd
Lo
lla
nd
Fa
ls
te
r
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 44. Number of LRIA high NAT graves in different soils
Number and Distance of LRIA High NAT Deposits and Graves to Settlements
Like the ERIA settlement distribution, the majority of settlements in the LRIA
were within 8-16 km of high NAT deposit. Figure 45 illustrates that 75 settlements were
within 8-16 km, 43 settlements 5-8 km, and 80 settlements more than sixteen kilometers
away from a high NAT deposit. In the area of Thy, which is the only mound village with
a high NAT deposit, there were three settlements within eight kilometers and three
settlements more than eight kilometers away from a high NAT deposit. Similarly, the
ERIA arrangement of high NAT deposits was not like the pattern in the remainder of
Denmark.
77
Number and distance of settlements to LRIA high NAT deposits
30
25
Number of Settlements
20
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement between 2-5 km
Settlements between 5-8 km
Settlements 8-16 km
15
Settlement over 16 km
10
5
Fy
n
Fy
SW n
Fy
N n
E
Fy
n
M
or
s
N
W
Th
y
SE
A
La
ng l s
el
an
d
M
NE
øn
Ju
SW t lan
Ju d
tl
N
W and
Ju
t
SE l an
d
Ju
tla
nd
E
N
SE
Sj
æ
lla
Sj nd
SW æll
a
Sj nd
N æll
W
a
Sj nd
æ
lla
nd
Lo
lla
nd
Fa
lst
er
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 45. Number of settlements and their distances from a LRIA high NAT deposit
Number and Distance of EGIA High NAT Deposits and Graves to Settlements
As expected, the EGIA with its fully developed chiefdoms and a society on the
verge of statehood had many more high NAT graves than the two other periods
combined. The distribution of settlements to high NAT deposits in the EGIA was similar
to the two previous periods. Figure 46 demonstrates that more (n = 380, 31%)
settlements lay within 8-16 km from a high NAT deposit, while 286 (24%) settlements
were over 16 km and 254 (21%) settlements were 5-8 km from a high NAT deposit. The
percentages of all three areas in the ERIA and EGIA were very close, even though both
were acquiring different levels of political development (Table 12). A likely reason for
the similar pattern is that both were undergoing political and economic shifts in trade
patterns, leadership statuses, and individual rights.
Unlike the other periods where mound villages had a slightly different pattern,
the distribution in the EGIA was similar to the rest of Denmark. In Thy, of the 33
settlements near a high NAT deposit, nine (27%) were between 8-16 km, eight (24%)
were over sixteen kilometers, and seven (21%) were 5-8 km of a high NAT deposit.
78
Contrasting to the rest of Denmark, there were a relatively high number of settlements (n
= 5, 15%) within 2 km of a high NAT deposit, which is similar to previous periods. Mors
has a slightly different pattern than Thy, since the majority (4 settlements) of settlements
were over 16 km from a high NAT deposit. There was also one settlement between 8-16
km, one settlement 2-5 km, and two settlements 5-8 km from a high NAT deposit. Not
only is this settlement pattern similar to earlier periods, it also demonstrates a distinct
difference in political complexity between two mound village regions. While Mors has
characteristics from previous periods, Thy was more like the rest of Denmark, which
leads me to question Kaul’s cultural hinterland argument.
Table 12. Percentage of settlements to ERIA and EGIA high NAT graves
Period
Settlements Settlements Settlements Settlements
within 2 km 2-5 km
5-8 km
8-16 km
ERIA
5%
7%
19%
32%
LRIA
8%
13%
17%
30%
EGIA
9%
15%
21%
31%
Settlements
over 16 km
37%
32%
24%
Number and distance of settlements to EGIA high NAT deposits
170
160
150
140
130
Number of Settlements
120
110
Settlements within 2 km
Settlement between 2-5 km
Settlements between 5-8 km
Settlements 8-16 km
100
90
80
70
Settlement over 16 km
60
50
40
30
20
10
F
N yn
W
Fy
SW n
Fy
NE n
Fy
n
Is
le Mor
s
S
of
Fy
n
Th
y
SE
La
A
ng l s
el
an
d
NE Mø
n
Ju
SW t la
n
Ju d
NW tla
n
Ju d
SE tl an
Ju d
tla
nd
SE
Sj
NE ælla
Sj nd
SW æll
an
S
d
NW jæll
an
Sj
d
æ
lla
nd
Lo
lla
n
Fa d
ls
te
r
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 46. Distance and number of settlements from EGIA high NAT deposits
79
Number of EGIA High NAT Deposits in Different Soil Types
The distribution of the EGIA high NAT deposits illustrate that primarily boulder
clay is again favored over other soil types. Fifty-two percent of the high NAT deposits
were on primarily boulder clay while 34% were in glacial and moraine sand. The only
difference between the EGIA and the ERIA and LRIA is the number of deposits found in
other soils. For example, 6% of deposits were in a raised sea bed from the Neolithic and
4% were in glacial plains and river valleys. In the EGIA, all types of soil had high NAT
deposits (Figure 47).
Figure 47. Location of EGIA high NAT deposits on different soil types
Data source: Danemarks Geologiske Undersøgelser 1954 (found in Hedeager 1992: 211,
Figure 4.12); Hedeager 1992: 54, Figure 2.11, p. 57, Figure 2.13, p. 186, Figure 4.2
Location of LRIA and ERIA Imports
The distribution of imports in certain soils, their number, and their distance from
particular settlements may help to demonstrate the level of involvement that outside
influences had in shaping the growing political complexity in Free Germany. Figure 48
illustrates that there were three times as many imports in the LRIA as there were in the
ERIA in Denmark. Sjælland had the highest number of imports (425 of the 925 imports),
80
but both the ERIA and LRIA had roughly the same percentage of the total number of
imports in Denmark. For example, in the ERIA, the imports in Sjælland made up 43% of
all the imports of the period while in the LRIA they made up 44%. Because the majority
of imports were in Sjælland during these periods, it appears that this area was
concentrating in importing goods from outside Denmark. The number of imports in Thy,
like other areas in Denmark, remained the same between both periods. Conversely, in
Mors there was an increase in imports in the LRIA, suggesting that the inhabitants of one
mound area increased their involvement in trade. Even though trade occurred between
the elite class in Mors and outside leaders, it was not on the scale of southern and
northeastern Jutland and Sjælland. The numerous imports in northeastern Jutland
illustrates that imports could get to the northern areas of Denmark. These imports may
have reached this area by passing up the eastern side of Denmark where imports, high
NAT deposits, and weapon graves were all prevalent.
Number of imports in the ERIA and LRIA
110
100
90
Number of Imports
80
70
60
ERIA
LRIA
50
40
30
20
10
Area in Denmark
Figure 48. Number of ERIA and LRIA imports
81
Al
s
Æ
rø
ge
la
nd
Lo
lla
nd
Fa
ls
te
r
M
øn
N
E
s
Sj
æ
SW lla
nd
Sj
æ
lla
N
W
nd
Sj
æ
SE llan
d
Sj
æ
lla
nd
La
n
or
s
Ju
tla
N
nd
W
Ju
tla
SW
nd
Ju
tla
nd
SE
Ju
tla
nd
Sa
m
sø
N
E
Fy
n
N
W
Fy
n
SW
Fy
n
SE
Fy
n
N
E
M
Th
y
0
Types of Imports
Imports in Thy and Mors included three bronze vessel/vessel fragments, a Roman
weapon deposit, a coat of arms, Roman weapons, and an ERIA bronze container. While
the find circumstance of the bronze vessel/vessel fragment is unclear, six of 132 bronze
vessel/vessel fragments were in Thy, Mors, and Himmerland. Even though imported
coins occurred in most of Denmark, there were very few in the mound villages. In the
ERIA, one group of scattered coins in Himmerland was one of only two instances of
scattered coins in northeastern Jutland. In both the ERIA and LRIA, the majority of
coins were in Fyn and Sjælland. Interestingly, there were no coins in northern Jutland in
the LRIA. The lack of coins in mound villages shows that a monetary system may not
have controlled trade. The mound areas also lacked gold items, meaning that the most
valuable imports were not in the northern regions of Jutland.
Distance of LpRIA, ERIA, and LRIA imports to settlements
300
Number of Settlements
250
200
Settlements within 2 km
Settlements within 2-5 km
Settlements within 5-8 km
Settlements within 8-16 km
Settlements more than 16 km
150
100
50
M
øn
Ju
SW tla
n
Ju d
NW tla
n
Ju d
SE tla n
Ju d
tla
nd
Th
SE y
F
N W yn
Fy
SW n
Fy
NE n
Fy
n
M
or
s
NE
A
La
ng ls
el
an
d
NE
SE
Sj
æ
lla
S nd
SW jæll
an
S
d
NW jæll
an
Sj
d
æ
lla
n
Lo d
lla
nd
Fa
ls
te
r
0
Area in Denmark
Figure 49. Distance of settlements from pRIA, ERIA, and LRIA imports
82
Number and Distance of Settlements to ERIA and LRIA Imports
Settlements that lay 8-16 km away from an import made up 42% of all settlement
distributions (Figure 49). Those settlements 5-8 km made up 26% and those 3-5 km
made up 20% of all distributions. The latter statistic was different from the high NAT
grave results since those settlements that were farther than 16 km from a high NAT grave
usually occurred more frequently than settlements that were within eight kilometers.
Since there were a greater number of imports and settlements closer to import deposits,
imports may have not marked the highest level of wealth.
Number of Imports in Different Soil Types
The location of imports on certain types of soil was similar to the distribution of
high NAT deposits. Primarily boulder clay had the most (71%) imports, while glacial
and moraine sand had 22% of all the imports (Figures 50 and 51). Unlike all other grave
and deposit analyses, there were imports on every kind of soil. Many imports also
occurred in bog areas (Figure 52), which served as a place for ceremonies associated with
the elite class. The distribution of bog deposits was similar to the location of ERIA and
LRIA imports on soils in northeastern Jutland.
Figure 50. Distribution of grave, bog, and individual finds
Data source: ESRI, Eggers 1951, Map 3
83
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
Area in Denmark
y
n
n
d
d
d
d
n
n
ø
d
d
ø
rs
er
Th Mo tlan tlan tlan tlan ms Fy Fy Fy Fy Ær lan llan lst
e
a
a
E
E
Lo F
Ju Ju Ju Ju S
N NW SW S
ng
E
E
La
N NW SW S
84
s
d
d
d
d
øn an an an an
M jæll æll æll jæll
j
j
S
S
S
S
E
E
N SW NW S
Soils of ERIA and LRIA imports
Figure 51. Number of imports on different soils
Number of imports
s
Al
Glacial and moraine sand
Primarily boulder clay
Blown sand
Raised sea bed from Neolithic
Raised sea bed from the Ice Age
Glacial plains and river valleys
Marsh
Figure 52. Location of ERIA and LRIA imports on different soils. Imports shown
include a summary of imports in hoards and bogs, Roman ceramics, imported glass and
gold finger rings, Roman bronzes, silver containers, bronze containers, Roman weapons,
glass containers, Hemmoor pails, graves with Roman bronzes, glass and gold finger rings
of both the ERIA and LRIA, Etruscan and Celtic varieties of vessels, terra sigilata ware,
statues in bogs, settlements, or individual finds, and coins.
Data source: ESRI; Brogan (1936), Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18; Eggers
(1951), Figures 5, 8, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64; Hedeager 1978: 220, Figure 6, p. 221, Figure 8;
Hedeager 1987, Figure 11.4; Hedeager 1992: 48, Figure 2.6, p. 49, Figure 2.7, p. 50,
Figure 2.8;
Chapter Summary
The distribution of the diverse types of settlements in different soils, and their
proximity to Roman imports, high NAT deposits, or weapon graves, demonstrates a
striking pattern that leads me to question many of the proposed models. Although
relocation may have been a result of the existence of ghosts or built up waste, I cannot
analyze either hypothesis and I leave them for future research.
85
The distances of settlements from almost all deposits were 8-16 km away, but
usually there was also a high percentage within 5-8 km. Thy, Mors, and Himmerland, the
three main locations for mound villages, had the same pattern. The analyses also
illustrate that the majority of deposits were on primarily boulder clay. Because the
mound settlements were on the same soils as the relocating villages, a hypothesis that
relied on soil type is probably not the only answer.
From the soil results, I can conclude that Thurston’s (2001:43) hypothesis (based
on Van Odgaard’s description) regarding the relocation of villages because of infertile
soil may not be completely accurate. From my results, it does not appear that the soil
used by the inhabitants of the relocating village was any less fertile than the soil used by
the mound village occupants.
The results from my analyses also lead me to question Jensen’s (1976) mound
specialization and available land theories and Kaul’s (1999) cultural hinterland
hypothesis. While Jensen (1976) believed that mounds continued in the Thy area because
each mound had a production specialty, finds, such as fishing hooks on a mound that was
not supposed to be a fishing village, raises concerns about the validity of Jensen’s
argument (Kaul 1999). Kaul (1999) suggested that the mounds remained in Thy because
the region was a cultural hinterland. While Kaul’s argument is certainly possible since
Thy lacked the number of full weapon sets, imports, and high NAT deposits found in
other regions, there was still evidence (in the form of a small number of full weapon sets,
weapon graves, high NAT deposits, imports) of political and economic differentiation in
Thy. The presence of cultural materials linked to the elite suggests that Thy’s inhabitants
had access to outside trading sources. The evidence demonstrates that there was not a
difference between the mound villages and the relocating settlements in either soil types
or cultural deposits. Therefore, neither exclusively influenced the inhabitants’ decision in
which type of settlement to construct.
From my analyses it appears that the most plausible explanations is Kaul’s (1999)
suggestion that the mound villages remained in Thy because the region lacked trees. The
absence of trees may have rendered the construction of the byre impossible since they
were the main building component. Since the Free Germans living in mound villages
used timber as roof supports in Thy, the inhabitants realized that the wood remained
86
intact as long as the house was stationary. In comparison to Thy, relocating villages had
forests near them. While these villages usually clear-cut a portion of the woods, there
was still plenty of timber with which to construct houses. While Kaul’s cultural
hinterland argument (1999) was partially correct since Thy lacked the number of
imported goods, the shortage of Roman goods did not make Thy’s inhabitants stationary.
87
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION
Introduction
The analyses in chapter four illustrated a number of economic and political
differences between the various settlement types. The location of weapon graves
illustrates different levels of reliance on warrior elite. The distribution of imports, and to
some extent, that of high NAT graves, demonstrates contact with the Romans, Celtics,
and other outside groups. As world systems theory (Wallerstein 1974) describes,
different levels of interactions occur between powerful core communities and peripheral
zones. In his analysis of the modern world system, Wallerstein (1974) explained that the
core zones usually exploited the peripheral zones for its raw materials. Like other
authors (Kardulias 1999, Wells 1999) who used Wallerstein’s theory for ancient trade
and economies, I slightly modify Wallerstein’s original definition of periphery. Although
most other aspects of the Free German trade and the economy fit the definition of
periphery, the Romans (core) never exploited the Free Germans. While Kardulias (1999)
focuses primarily on just the different levels of trade occurring in the Aegean Bronze
Age, I wish to use world systems theory to help me examine the relationships that emerge
between two hierarchically different societies. In Wallerstein’s terms, the Romans
should have exploited the weaker state of the Free Germans or they should have at least
influenced the production of Roman goods or ideas. While in some cases Celtic groups
built Roman style temples or used Roman coins, the Free Germans adopted very little of
the Roman culture. Instead, the Free Germans developed elite that demonstrated their
status through the accumulation of Roman goods. If the Romans influenced the
emergence of the Free German elite (those people in weapon and high NAT graves), they
needed to manipulate all aspects of the culture. In a non-capitalist society, the political,
ideological, and economic portions of certain societies are all interrelated in exchange
spheres (Polanyi 1957). Therefore, they must be studied together in order to understand
cultural aspects of a non-capitalist society. I argue that, although there was a large
number of imports and high NAT graves associated with the highly political and
economically differentiated relocating villages, the amount that the Romans influenced
the emerging elite was not significant since the Free Germans did not change every
88
aspect of their society. The Free Germans may have created relationships with the
Romans through interacting with them, but the Romans never consciously (or
unconsciously) exploited the Free Germans (Kardulias 1999, Wells 1999).
This chapter begins with an explanation of the diverse levels of political
differentiation between Thy and the rest of Denmark based on material culture. The next
section details the kind of trade that occurred and the trade’s effect on power relations
between two hierarchically different societies. Because in non-capitalist communities
economic, political, and ideological spheres are interrelated, a change in all three usually
implies a shift in the society. Since this thesis has already extensively commented on the
political and economic spheres of the Free Germans, the third section of this chapter
underlines the ideological changes that occurred in the Iron Age in Denmark. The final
section uses evidence from all three spheres of Free German daily life to explain whether
an outside influence had a great level of impact on the Free German society.
Political Differentiation throughout Denmark
While the archaeological evidence demonstrates different levels of political and
economic differentiation throughout Free Germany, it appears that the Free Germans
acted together as a culture and a society to accept only certain Roman traits. The
simplest explanation for cohesiveness is elite communication throughout Free Germany.
Interconnectedness is evident in the similar deposits and occurrences found in both the
highly differentiated relocating villages and in the mound communities. While the results
described in chapter four illustrated that the mound villages had the least number of
deposits, they still had the same types of deposits as the relocating villages. Furthermore,
when the rest of Free Germany began to increase its economic intake, Thy and other
mound villages did as well. Evidence of growing wealth consists of increased goods and
the beginning of imported lumber and new technological devices into Thy in the LRIA.
The lack of hoards that the inhabitants of Thy and other mound villages deposited
may have resulted from the lack of economic output of these communities. In most
relocating villages, a small number of families increased the size of their byre, which
enabled them to house more cattle. The production of more cattle ultimately led to the
exportation of more hides and thus the importation of prestigious Roman goods. Since
89
Thy and other mound regions did not increase the size of their byres, they had less
available goods to export. Therefore, the mound village elite class may have wanted to
be on the same economic level as their relocating village counterparts, but could not
because they lacked the number of goods to do so. Because the same goods were present
in the mound and relocating villages, both groups valued the same items. Through the
communication network of elite, the Free German society accepted the same classes of
Roman goods and the level of Roman contact did not change the established pattern.
Instead, the Free Germans acted together to maintain their cultural and social identity.
Trade Patterns and Relationships
The Romans and Free Germans used their trading not only to obtain needed items,
but also to keep existing relationships. While the Romans needed foodstuffs and
particularly cattle to feed and clothe their army, the Free Germans used Roman goods to
create prestige for their elite. Kardulias (1999:184) demonstrated that the periphery
increased their economy (cattle in this case) in order to supply raw materials to the core.
The economic upswing resulting from the increase in livestock production for Roman
provinces led to illustrating status differentiation through the display of Roman luxury
imports (Wells 1999b: 95). In trading with the Romans, the Free Germans not only
increased the production of cattle, but also expanded into new land in order to raise more
cattle. Even though Free Germanic exports increased at roughly the same time that the
Romans entered central Europe, the Romans did not control the peoples beyond the
frontier. If the Romans had exploited the Free Germans, they presumably would have
forcefully entered Denmark and demanded more cattle (Kardulias 1999: 196). Instead,
both the core and periphery obtained what they needed but neither society controlled
(culturally or physically) the other group.
Although the Romans produced the luxury items, the Free Germans made the
imports a part of their culture by using and depositing the goods differently than the
Roman treatment of the same type of goods. For the most part, the Free Germans limited
themselves to importing luxury items that they could theoretically exchange for other
goods. Often the status of these items as prestige goods made them un-tradable. The
Free Germans made the prestige goods and imports un-tradable by quickly depositing
90
them in burials or bogs. Therefore, the number of imports in regions remained low and
rare. Gregory (1996: 497-498) described these same type of processes for the Tiv in
Africa. They used imported brass rods from a core region and made them into a good
limited to the elite by rarely using them as general-purpose currency.
Ideological Beliefs during Political and Economic Upheavals
Because the ideology of a group is central to the cultural thinking, usually the
members of a group are reluctant to change core beliefs, ideological institutions, and
rituals. Kardulias (1999: 183) noted that in the interactions of world systems it is “not
only trade, but also factors such as shifts in ideologies inspired by the introduction of
foreign information [that] can generate social change.” In the case of the Free Germans,
they accepted very little Roman religion. Conversely, other groups adopted and prayed
to Roman gods or like the community of Rijswik, built Roman styled temples (Wells
1999a). In most of these instances, the Celtics or other groups only adopted parts of the
Roman religion. For example, the Free Germans may have prayed to particular Roman
gods, but they also worshiped their own gods.
While no textual information exists for what gods the Free Germans prayed to and
whether it changed with Roman contact, it does not appear that the Free German religion
altered. From the EpRIA to the LRIA, there was always a reliance on foreign goods.
Although the EpRIA rituals used bronze goods not from Rome, there was still pressure
for a foreign luxury good to be a gift to the gods. A shift in the ritual occurred when a
small number of men’s burials contained the same goods that the Free Germans usually
gave to their deities. Although the Free Germans slightly changed the way in which they
deposited goods in burials, they kept their ideological identity throughout the entire Iron
Age and did not accept Roman religion.
Roman Influence on House Size, Property Rights, and the Monetary System
Even though Wallerstien (1974) studied capitalist societies in his modern world
systems theory, authors can still use his theory (with some tweaking) to explain noncapitalist cultures. For example, Wells (1999b) examined the core and peripheral
interactions with Rome as the core and the Celts and Free Germans as peripheral areas.
91
His analysis illustrated the possible effect and exploitation a dominating core (Rome) had
on smaller, less influential semi-peripheral zones (southern Germany).
In some instances of core and periphery interactions, the periphery began to use
the currency and monetary system of the core. Gregory (1996:252) suggested that money
is a standard of value created by a state and that it is an instrument of power of the
imperial state and of a king over his subjects. He explained that monetary standards of
value are thus political standards of value: they express the values of the dominate
powers. While currency from a core region may enter a peripheral zone, the use of it
within a monetary system does not necessarily mean that the periphery is under control of
the core. Rather, it is up to the periphery to decide how and when they want to use the
currency. Like the Romans, the Free Germans used coins to pay their military. In the
EGIA, the Free Germans worked gold into currency (Bracteates) that resembled Roman
coins (Hedeager 1992). As in other core-periphery relationships, the periphery accepted
a cultural trait but adapted it to fit their own needs.
Although groups interact, trade, and borrow ideas and parts of the culture, a group
rarely changes its house form since through the house the inhabitants reveal their cultural
identity (Wells 1999b). For example, at Rijswik in the Netherlands, the community
members built a Roman temple, but they did not change their houses even after they
encountered the Romans (Wells 1999b). In both the villages that constantly relocated
and the mound villages, the overall pattern of the house did not change. Although the
houses elongated, the basic shape and form of the byre remained the same, they had the
same function, and they continued to house approximately the same number of people.
By retaining their cultural identity, the Free Germans distinguished themselves as a
separate group from the Romans.
Chapter Summary
As a non-capitalist society, the Free Germans intertwined the political, economic,
and religious spheres of their society. Because the Romans had a powerful empire, they
affected other cultures differently. As the Romans were expanding their empire, the Free
Germans were undergoing a change in political and economic differentiation. With the
help of world systems theory, it is evident that these were not mutually exclusive
92
phenomena. Although mound areas lacked the large number of imports and high NAT
goods found in other regions, there was still evidence of increasing economic wealth in
Thy. The increase in wealth presumably acknowledges the existence of an elite group
within mound settlements. In conclusion, although a large sum of imports and high NAT
graves were associated with the highly politically and economically differentiated
relocating villages, the influence that the Romans had on the emergence of the elite class
was very small. Because the Free German society did not change its underlying
structure, as evident by the same house form, economic backbone (cattle), and
ideological parameters, an outside influence did not encourage the increasing political
differentiation. What caused the emergence of the elite class is still unknown.
93
CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY
I examined the differences in settlements and their affiliated deposits (burials,
hoards) by studying and analyzing previous anthropological theories. In the past, many
explanations have studied either cultural or environmental factors, but not both. In
anthropological analyses, only studying one variable tends to be problematic since it
automatically negates the other without even examining it. By looking at both cultural
and environmental constraints, I analyzed the question of why people place settlements in
specific areas. Connected to the central theme of my settlement study is how people
organize their settlement space to demonstrate political or economic control.
Authors in the past have examined settlement locations and organizations in a
variety of ways. In Parsons (1972) history of settlement studies, he noted the usefulness
of regional analyses similar to Willey’s examination of the Viru Valley. In my research,
I incorporated many of the environmental and cultural variables, associated with a
settlement. Although I did not study the activity area, I examined the house and
household cluster of villages (Flannery 1976).
Like Willey’s analysis of the Viru Valley, I examined many aspects of a region in
order to determine differences in political and economic power between the inhabitants of
different settlements. I investigated environmental factors such as soil types and pollen,
to determine the role the environment played on settlement type. The social variables for
my analysis included the number of imports, weapon graves, and high NAT deposits.
These specific cultural attributes seem to best represent social differentiation with the
data that is available from the archaeological record. Many of the goods in this particular
study were in graves, which normally illustrate the structure of the living society (Saxe
1970). The living community’s members bury the dead with goods related to their elite
social personae or items that reaffirm their relation to the dead person in order to
illustrate their status. Other ways in which past authors have studied political or
economic differentiation have been to measure the difference in trading and networking
patterns (Flannery 1995), to compare the different sizes of settlements in an area
(Carneiro 1981), to investigate the location of monumental architecture (Renfrew 1976),
94
to study ceremonial centers (Carneiro 1981), and to consider craft specialization (Clark
and Parry 1990).
I investigated the Free German people who inhabited Denmark during the Iron
Age. Their culture made the most of the land by either relocating their settlements to
better land or by breeding cows. Based on the emergence of weapon graves and Roman
imports, political differentiation increased in the Early Iron Age. Since the Free Germans
only imported prestigious items, an elite class must have been present. During the same
period, there was also evidence of fortifications, implying warfare and the need for
protection.
During the Early Iron Age, the culturally similar Free Germans built two types of
settlements: relocating and mound villages. In Thy, Mors, and Himmerland, inhabitants
formed villages in the first century BC and remained in the same location for two to three
hundred years. In the remainder of Denmark, people settled in one location for 20-50
years and then relocated to another site not far from the original settlement. Hypotheses
attempting to explain the reason for these differences ranged from purely environmental
explanations (Kaul’s [1999] timber explanation) to cultural (Jensen’s [1976] mound
specialization theory, Kaul’s [1999] cultural backlog hypothesis), or a combination of the
two (Hammerow’s [2002] ghost hypothesis; Thurston [2001] infertile land hypothesis).
By using GIS, I determined the distribution of environmental and social factors in order
to ascertain the most likely hypothesis. Since it appears that the mound and relocating
villages were on arable soil, a simple environmental explanation is not sufficient.
Although the mound regions lacked the number of imports, high NAT goods, and
weapon graves found at relocating settlements, the existence of a small number of these
goods at the mound villages questions Kaul’s (1999) cultural hinterland argument.
Instead, Kaul’s (1999) timber suggestion accurately fits the data. While relocating
villages had plenty of timber to rebuild their houses, the absence of trees in mound
villages forced the inhabitants to keep their byres stationary.
I examined not only settlement differences, but also how much influence and
exploitation the Romans had on the emerging Free German elite. Since the number of
imports increased with the rising political differentiation, the two may be interconnected.
By examining the political, economic, and ideological spheres, a transformation in one
95
may mean that the Romans had some control over the political and economic changes in
Free Germany. Using world systems theory as a model, the Romans (core) do not appear
to have exploited Free Germany (periphery) for its raw materials. While I cannot
specifically say why the Free German elite emerged when it did, the Romans do not
appear to have controlled the elite’s emergence. For both the Free Germans and the
Romans, the trade and interactions between the two groups occurred to form relationships
and to provide needed or wanted goods without coming under control of the other group.
Within my thesis, I examined settlement types by analyzing both environmental
and cultural attributes. Usually, such studies research one variable or the other, but
hardly ever combine the two. Both factors play a part in settlement organization, which
can relay information such as political or economic complexity. By analyzing the
components within and around the settlement, archaeologists can determine a group’s
organization, reason for settlement, and other contacts. In the past, outside influence was
a popular answer in explaining societal change, but transformations in a society may also
result from internal occurrences. By analyzing both cultural and environmental variables,
I propose that the Romans did not exploit the Free Germans and thus did not cause the
emerging elite even though the elite’s prestige is displayed through the accumulation of
Roman imports. Furthermore, although cultural variables may still explain differences in
settlement patterns, my analyses demonstrate that mound villages remained stationary
because of a lack of timber needed for house construction.
Future Research
Although there are other hypotheses about settlement types (Hammerow 2002)
and political differentiation, I only focused on those hypotheses that I could analyze.
Many other cultural and environmental possibilities that attempt to explain the
differences between mound and relocating villages require further research that I cannot
provide at this time, but that I hope may garner future attention. My findings may also
help those authors using a diachronic perspective understand levels of political
centralization over a long period in Denmark.
96
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Education
MA Anthropology, Florida State University, April 2008
BA Archaeology, University of Evansville, May 2005
National University of Ireland, Galway, Fall 2003
Research Experience
2006-2008
Museum Technician, National Park Service, Southeastern Archaeological
Center, Tallahassee, FL
2007-2008
ASC Incorporated, field tech for Rex East Project, Phases II & III
excavation (33CN433, 33CN428, 33CN430, 33CN431), Wilmington, OH
2007
Field Crew Member, Southeastern Archaeological Center (SEAC), Survey
of Brickhill Bluff and Phase II excavation of Fort St. Andrews,
Cumberland Island National Park. Phase II excavation and GPR research
of Fort Rosalie, Natchez National Historic Park
2007
Graduate Assistant, Hernando de Soto/Martin Site (8LE853B) Florida
State University and the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research Field
School, Tallahassee, FL
2006
Field Technician, R.C. Goodwin and Associates CRM firm, Phases I & II
investigations within Ft. Benning military base, Columbus, GA.
Preliminary report for CR30 in Cape San Blas, FL
2005
Field Crew Leader, Phase III, Sunwatch Indian Village (33MY57), Dayton
Society of Natural History, Dayton, OH
2005
Field Crew Member, Midwestern Archaeological Center (MWAC),
Phases I & II, Indiana Dunes National Park, Portage, IN
2004
Field Crew Member, University of Evansville Field Methods Class, Phase
III, Excavation of “Tin City”, Evansville, IN
2003-2004
Field Crew Member, Sunwatch Indian Village, Phase III, Dayton Society
of Natural History (33MY127 & 33MY57), Dayton, OH
Technical Skills
- ArcGIS knowledge
-Some Total Station experience
-Rediscovery Cataloguing Software
Languages
German-Novice textual and conversational translations
Latin-Introductory textual translations
112
Teaching Experience
World Prehistory
Florida State University
-Teaching assistant for Dr. Rochelle Marrinan
Spring 2006
Fundamentals of Archaeology
Florida State University Spring 2006
-Teaching assistant for Dr. Rochelle Marrinan
Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Florida State University
Fall 2005
-Teaching assistant for lecture and two introductory labs under the direction of Dr. Dean Falk
Archaeology Tutor
University of Evansville
Jan 2003-May 2003
-Explained Roman archaeology slides to a visually impaired student
Cultural Resource Management Reports
Mahoney, M. and L. Wack
2006 Preliminary report and literature review for Cape San Blas and CR30 (with L. Wack).
Report for R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates.
113