New research project

The unique discovery at the east end of Lake Mossø, of a sacrificed army from around year 0, was reported in the world press in 2009. Archaeologists had found evidence of the discovery of skeletal material from up to 200 warriors. C-14 dating showed that the sacrificed individuals may have come from the same battle. Archaeologists and other professionals now need to clarify as much as possible about the area and the events that led to the sacrifice of several hundred warriors.

The first jaw from the 2009 Excavation

Press release issued on 15th February 2012:

After a very exciting excavation in the summer of 2009 near Vædebro in Alken Wetlands, the Carlsberg Foundation has granted 1.5 million DKK for further research and excavations in Alken Wetlands. The meadows are located where Illerup River flows into Lake Mossø. The lake area was greater (approx. 600 x 600 m) around year 0 when it was the scene of a great sacrificial event. What archaeologists discover today under approx. 2 meters of peat are human bones lying on the old lake bed as single scattered bones and not as whole skeletons.
The discoveries at Alken Wetlands is unique in an international context. No other discovery has been made of such a great quantity of sacrificed warriors from around year 0. This opens up a unique opportunity to gain an insight into who the people were that were part of an army at this point in time, and the fate they suffered after a defeat.
The grant from the Carlsberg Foundation makes it possible to initiate a new large scale excavation in Alken Wetlands and analyse the finds and the countryside. Together, they will hopefully help to clarify the many questions that we have; Where does the defeated army come from? Why did they just end up in Alken Wetlands? Can the anthropological analysis help to clarify the circumstances of the warriors fate from when they were killed in war till they were sacrificed in Alken Wetlands? Is it possible to find usable DNA in the bones? How did the landscape look at the time and how were the sacrifices conducted? How much do the contemporary Roman sources tell us about Germanic warlords and their ritual practices related to warfare?
The project is a collaboration between Skanderborg Museum and Aarhus University, Department of Prehistoric Archaeology.
The stage is set for a large interdisciplinary collaboration involving both national and international partners. Efforts will be focused on documenting social conditions and bring the research to a point where it can provide the basis for funds applications for further research in the coming years. During the summer of 2012 we will issue another press release in connection with the archaeological investigations.

Mads Holst, Aarhus University, Associate Professor, Archaeology, the Department Of Culture and Society, Project Coordinator

Ejvind Hertz, Skanderborg Museum, Curator and Head of the Alken Enge Excavation

The project participants

Research project: "The army and post-war rituals in the Iron Age - warriors sacrificed in the bog at Alken Enge in Illerup Ådal"

Grant from Carlberg Foundation of 1.5 million DDK to be used in the period of 1st February 2012 to 31st December 2011.

Andersen, Casper Skaaning (Project Participant)
Hertz, Ejvind, Skanderborg Museum, Denmark (Project Participant and Head of the Alken Enge Excavation)
Jensen, Peter (Project Participant)
Kristiansen, Søren Munch (Project Participant)
Mollerup, Lene, Skanderborg Museum, Denmark (Project Participant)
Jørgensen, Anne Nørgård, Cultural Agency, Denmark (Project Participant)
Odgaard, Bent Vad (Project Participant)
Mikkelsen, Peter Hambro (project Participant)
Madsen, Jan Skamby (Project Participant)
Reinholdt, Helle, Skanderborg Museum, Denmark (Project Participant)
Roued-Cunliffe, Henriette (Project Participant)
Søe, Niels Emil, Geoscience, University of Aarhus, Denmark (Project Participant)
Holst Mads Kähler (Project coordinator)

Skanderborg Museum
Institute of Culture and Society - Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Aarhus
Moesgård Museum
Institute of Geoscience, University of Aarhus.