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Archaeologists in Denmark have bring out a hoard of more than 100 weapon bury under the house of an Iron Age chieftain . The 1,500 - twelvemonth - old compendium — which is big enough to equip a small U. S. Army and includes the onlyRomanhelmet ever found in Denmark — may have been a " ritual killing " or offer .
" The sheer routine of weapons is staggering , but what fascinates me most is the glimpse they supply into the societal structure and daily life sentence of the Iron Age , " Elias Witte Thomasen , an archeologist at Vejle Museums who led the digging , say in astatementin November 2024 . " We suddenly feel very closemouthed to the people who live here 1,500 years ago . "
X-ray images of the neck and cheek pieces from a Roman helmet found in Denmark
Between the first and fourth centuries A.D. , Denmark was on the periphery of theRoman Empireas part of nifty Germania . Most people in this country were unproblematic granger , but Romans such as Julius Caesarwroteabout violent Germanic warriors . Some scholarsthink that the Romans may even have provide the tribes in Denmark with weapons , possibly to keep the serenity at the border with Scandinavia .
archaeologist found the memory cache during a highway expansion project in August at a site call Løsning Søndermark . The metallic element weapons lie beneath two early fifth - century houses that probably belonged to someone powerful enough to raise an ground forces . Because the weapon system were purposefully sink during a house demolition , researchers retrieve that they were sacrificed after succeeder in war . The cache of alloy objects included 119 lances and fishgig , eight swords , five tongue , one axe and a rare hardening of chainmail .
Very few example of Iron Age chainmail have been found in southerly Scandinavia , and the Løsning chainmail is the first to be recovered from a settlement internet site rather than a burying , according to the command . This luxuriant piece of armour was expensive and clip - consuming to grow , so it probably belonged to the headman himself , grant to the archaeologists .
A set of Iron Age chainmail was recovered from an excavation in Denmark.
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A couple of calendar month later , the researchers discover fragment of an " exceptionally rare " papistic helmet — the first of its kind in Denmark , according to a Feb. 3 , 2025,statement . Although the helmet was passing rusted , researchers were able to use decade - ray imaging to see the neck plateful and adorn cheek denture underneath the rust . These fragment come from a top helmet , which was often used in the Roman Empire in the fourth century .
" The helmet may have belonged to a Germanic warlord who served in the Roman auxiliaries , " Thomasen allege in the late statement . " or else , it could have been looted from a Roman legionnaire [ soldier ] in battles closer to the Empire ’s Teutonic frontier . "
Two large fragments of the Roman helmet covered in rust
In gain to the weapons , archaeologists found sherd of two bronze neck anchor ring know as " oath rings . " These accouterment were symbols of power in the Iron Age , further evidence to the chieftain ’s influence . The squad also discover fragment of a buck bridle and a bugleweed , as well as a number of branding iron and bronze object that have yet to be study .
Although the arm cache has been clearly linked to an Iron Age chief ’s house , archaeologists are shy whether the objects belonged to local warriors or were amassed as the spoils of war . However , asimilar Iron Age hoardfound in the township of Vindelev , just 10 mile ( 16 kilometers ) west of Løsning , points to the presence of numerous knock-down chieftains in the area .
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The researcher will continue their depth psychology of the site and its weapons forfeit to better realise Iron Age warriors and society .
Many of the artifacts found in this mining will go on presentation at the Cultural Museum in Vejle starting Feb. 8 , according to the financial statement .
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