Thearchaeology of Denmark presents an extraordinary rich and varied abundance of archaeological artifacts, exceptionally preserved by the climate and natural conditions in Denmark proper – including boglands, shallow waters, a cold and relatively unvarying climate.
At the same time, archaeologicalstudy in Denmark has continually and fundamentally influenced the young science ofarchaeology from its very beginnings.
The prehistory of Denmark (Jutland) reveals that (following earlierClactonian relics)[citation needed] many different cultures were to settle there and leave archaeological footprints since the end of thelast ice age. Their discovery parallels the ongoing evolution of Danish archaeology itself, which began in the early nineteenth century with the establishment of theNational Museum of Denmark, organised byChristian Thomsen. It was he who introduced thethree-age system – Stone, Bronze and Iron ages - to European archaeology, thus for the first time differentiating pre-history into distinct time-scales.[1]
Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae, one of Thomsen's early assistants, set out in 1850 to investigate an interesting find of flint tools linked to a heap of ancient oyster shells atMeilgaard in NorthernDjursland.[2] Worsaae surmised that perhaps “this had been a sort of eating-place for the people of the neighborhood in the earliest prehistoric times”;[3] and further excavations indeed confirmed that the ancient shell heaps were signs of human prehistoric activity, being kitchen middens - Danish termkøkkenmødding - and leftovers from their meals.[4][5] A later commission initiated in 1893-1895, executed a large scale, thorough and interdisciplinary excavation at theLimfjord. The site is named Ertebølle and so the rich and defining archaeological find coined the now well-known Stone Age culture ofErtebølle.[6] Apart from archaeology, participating scientific disciplines includedbotany,zoology andgeology, and such kitchen middens has since been viewed as important archaeological sites internationally.[7] Due to land-shift after the melting of the ice, many kitchen midden sites, originally on the coast, were later submerged:[8] The first submerged settlement excavated inDenmark was Tybrind Vig in 1977. The site was excavated over the following decade. 300 m from the shore and 3 m below the surface, divers excavated sensationally well-preserved artefacts from theErtebølle Culture.
The kitchen midden culture stretched chronologically from c.5000 BC onward. Its immediate predecessor was theMesolithic culture ofMaglemose, first uncovered in a Zealand bog in 1900; while from c. 2500 BC the midden culture would gradually come under the influence of the newly arrivedneolithic farmer.[9] Later Neolithic arrivals included theCorded Ware culture, whose round barrows scattered the Danish landscape, each including a stone battleaxe: the gradual replacement of these latter by bronze versions over time marked Danish entry into theBronze Age.[10]
A complex web of trading roots now linked Jutland with the remainder of Bronze-Age Europe. An overland route carried Jutland amber toMycenaean Greece,[11] while sea-routes also brought it to England,[12] and the Mediterranean.[13]
TheIron Age came relatively late to Denmark, but again the bogs yielded an exciting and dramatic find,Tollund Man. The well-preserved body of a hanged man created intense interest;[14] it was associated by some with the accounts byTacitus of sacrifices made to the goddessNerthus.[15]Runes based on the Latin alphabet began to appear, and Roman imports among grave goods also show the increasing influence of the nearby empire by the first centuries AD.[16] For subsequent periods, Danish archaeology has worked alongside, instead of independently of, the historical record, exploring for example the conflicts of the Jutes and the Danes echoed inBeowulf, or the roads, buildings, and runic inscriptions behind the laterViking kingdom.[17]
| Name | Born | Died | Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Jürgensen Thomsen | 1788 | 1865 | Introduced the universalthree-age system | |
| Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae | 1821 | 1885 | Played a key role in the foundation of archaeology as a science. Pioneeredpaleobotany andarchaeological stratigraphy (in relation to the three-age system). | |
| Sophus Müller | 1846 | 1934 | ||
| Georg F.L. Sarauw | 1862 | 1928 | Pioneered fossilized pollen studies and discovered theMaglemosian culture. | |
| Peter Glob | 1911 | 1985 | Internationally recognized writer and mediator of archaeology. Internationally known for his excavations and investigations ofbog bodies. Led several large scale archaeological expeditions to theMiddle East. |
Denmark and Danish scientists played an important role in establishing archaeology as a science in the 1800s, and continue to contribute with fundamental methods and discoveries to this science in general. Denmark and Danish archaeologists has a long history of both international collaborations and engagements and public outreach, education and mediation of the results of archaeology. Many Danish museums plays a leading role in public outreach and mediation.
