A skull of an Iron Age warrior discovered in a bog in Denmark shows signs of battle. Credit: Ejvind Hertz, Skanderborg Museum
Four pelvises strung on a stick were found at Alken Enge in Denmark. Credit: Peter Jensen, Aarhus Universitet
Posted on 08/01/2014 1:05:34 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The bones of dozens of Iron Age warriors found in Denmark were collected and ritually mutilated after spending months on the battlefield, archaeologists say.
At least six months after the soldiers died, their bones were collected, scraped of remaining flesh, sorted and dumped in a lake. Some were handled in a truly bizarre manner; for instance, four pelvises were found strung on a stick.
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The site of the boneyard is in East Jutland, in a wetland area known as Alken Enge. Drainage work and peat digging have been turning up ancient human remains in this bog for decades, Holst told Live Science.
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Most of the bones are found disarticulated from one another, and many bear the marks of the battlefield: trauma from swords, spears and axes. Spearheads, an ax, the tip of a sword and shields have also been found at the site, Holst said. All of the bodies are male.
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First, many have been gnawed by animals, including large predators such as wolves, dogs and badgers, Holst said. The species present and amount of scavenging suggest the bodies stayed out in the open for at least six months to a year, he said.
After this time, someone collected the corpses and sorted at least some of the bones by type. Marks of cutting and scraping suggest the bones were separated deliberately, and that they had any remaining flesh removed. Animal sacrifices and ceramic pots mixed in with the remains suggest some sort of religious ritual, Holst said. Along with the pelvises strung like beads on a stick, there is evidence that leg bones and thighbones were sorted, too, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
pinnnnn
woops, dannnnng keyboard bounnnnnce
:-)
After the first couple of days without refrigeration, that would be a job no one wanted, win or lose.
Four pelvises strung on a stick were found at Alken Enge in Denmark. Credit: Peter Jensen, Aarhus Universitet
yeah but if they waited a year, be ok to have that job.
I suppose their hands would show the effects from constant or improper dunking ...
Bodies of Sweds I should think.
Easier to carry to the lake for dumping...
Report: Ancient Roman graveyard found in suburban Copenhagen
IHT | October 10, 2007 | Associated Press / Roskilde Dagblad
Posted on 10/11/2007 2:55:59 PM by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1909864/posts
Thanks SteveH.
Sounds to me like these were the losers, and not the winners
***
That was my thought, as well.
Mrs. Bronze Age warrior was overheard to say, "I know it's a strange hobby but at least he's not out carousing."
It seems it would be easier to carry a bunch of pelvises on a stick than in a stack, so why not? Leg bones would be easier to carry with other leg bones, and so forth. (Then you could stop tripping over some corpse when you went out to take a leak at night).
I wish tiamat (”Just a Bronze-Age Gal, Trapped in a Techno-World!”) were here to ‘splain this...
My grandfather arrive in the Philippines shortly after fighting ended there in WWII. His job was to collect bodies that washed up on shore.
My mother said it changed him forever.
Might also have been a whacko with OCD (the arranged bones) just moved into that area and had to follow his twitch to clean up.
Yup.
A “shaman” or “sorcerer” perhaps.
Fascinating. The Danes must have had a lively commerce with Rome for there to be a big enough community to support their own cemetery.
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