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Researchers have discovered that an ancient gold disc found in southern Denmark includes the earliest written reference to the Norse god Odin, revealing that he was worshiped up to 150 years earlier than previously thought, according to a report. The piece of jewelry — which dates to the 400s AD — was uncovered in Vindelev in central Denmark in 2020 amidst a treasure trove that included Roman coins. For years it was publicly displayed at a museum near the site before academics had the opportunity to study it, according to NBC News. A runic inscription with a reference to Odin,...

A new study, published in the journal Numismatic Chronicle, suggests that the village of Vindelev in Jelling, Denmark, likely had connections to a network of European elite.In 2020, one of the largest gold hoards ever found in Denmark was discovered at Vindelev by a metal detectorist.The hoard consists of 23 gold objects dating to the Migration Period during the Germanic Iron Age (a period seen by some researchers as a prelude to the actual Viking Age), which includes: 13 gold bracteates from the 5th century AD, a granulated gold fitting from a sword or knife, and four mounted Roman medallions...

An engraving on an almost 2,000-year-old knife believed to be the oldest runes ever found in Denmark has been discovered by archaeologists.The runic inscription – the alphabet of Denmark's earliest written language – was etched into an 8cm iron knife found in a grave below an urn near the city of Odense on the island of Funen. The five characters, each about 0.5cm tall, followed by three grooves, spell out hirila, which means "little sword" in Old Norse.Along with an inscribed bone comb found nearby in 1865, they are the oldest runes ever found in Denmark. Jakob Bonde, the city's...

Archaeologists From Södertörn University Have Discovered Two Roman Coins During a Research Project on Gotska Sandön, an Uninhabited Island in Gotland County, Sweden.During the Roman Period, Svealand ("land of the Swedes") in central Sweden, was inhabited by a North Germanic tribe. Contact with the Romans was limited, however, archaeological evidence does indicate an emerging trading network in Svealand for the latest Roman fashions.Archaeologists from the Södertörn University have been conducting excavations on Gotska Sandön as part of a joint project with Campus Gotland and the Gotland Museum.Excavations revealed silver denarii from the Roman period, including one that depicts the emperor...

A chance discovery is shedding new light on early Norse history, after two old school-friends, armed only with a metal detector stumbled across a gold treasure trove.More than 20 gold artefacts, weighing almost a kilo, were found buried in a field in the Danish village of Vindelev. Hidden for almost 1,500 years, the treasure includes Roman medallions and ornate pendants called 'bracteates' - some as large as a saucer.There are mysterious inscriptions and never-seen-before runes, which researchers think are some of the earliest references to Norse gods.So could Vindelev have been the seat of power for a previously unknown Iron...

9 March 2007 Crystal amulet poses question on early Christianity An overlooked crystal amulet in the National Museum suggests new understandings about Christianity's origins in Denmark King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland: 'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.' A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that...

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient roman battlefield from the third century near Göttingen that will rewrite history, Lower Saxony's department for preservation of historical monuments said on Thursday. “The find can be dated to the third century and will definitely change the historical perception of that time,” Dr. Henning Haßmann told The Local. The amazing discovery allows an insight in what must have been a dramatic battle between Romans and Germanic tribes. “The find indicates a massive Roman military presence,” Haßmann said. So far historians believed that the battle of the Teutoburg Forest, which took place in 9 AD, resulted...

Oldest Roman body armour found in Germany Archaeologists have discovered the oldest and most complete Roman body armour at the site of the  Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in Kalkriese, Germany. Before this find, the earliest known examples of Roman lorica segmentata — iron plate sections tied together — were found in Corbridge, UK, and date to the 2nd century. Those were fragments. The Kalkriese armor is a complete set, and includes an extremely rare iron collar used to shackle prisoners.More than 7,000 objects have been found at the Kalkriese battlefield site, from weapons to coins to items of everyday...

Rare elongated dice and board game pieces from the Roman Iron Age have been discovered in western Norway. Last month, Norwegian archaeologists chose to excavate the remains of a small Early Iron Age grave cairn in western Norway. Dotted with monuments and grave mounds, the scenic location overlooking Alversund played an important role in Norwegian history. The site at Ytre Fosse turned out to be a cremation patch. Amidst the fragments of pottery and burnt glass, archaeologists found a surprise: rare Roman Iron Age dice and board game pieces... Archaeologists also found the remains of what was likely a powerful...

A farmer has discovered one of the largest hauls of Roman coins to ever be found in Poland. Mariusz Dyl had been looking for abandoned antlers in a field near Cichobórz, south of Hrubieszów, Lublin, when he stumbled upon the 2,000-year-old coins scattered across 100 metres of the field. After calling in experts, the 1,753 coins weighing 5.5kg and which were found in 2019, were taken to the Hrubieszów Museum where they have now been analysed and their authenticity confirmed. Director of the Museum Bartlomiej Bartecki said... all the coins, had been originally placed in a wooden box or leather...

Village from the Roman period, dating from 3rd-4th century AD, has been discovered in Lipnica Dolna near Jasło (Subcarpathia). Among approx. one thousand archaeological objects there is a large pottery kiln, in which ceramics were fired. "The kiln is two meters in length and the same in width. It stands on a small tip in the Wisłoka valley. Its location shows that the wind blowing from the river was used to maintain the temperature during the firing cycle" - said Tomasz Leszczyński, archaeologist from the Subcarpathian Museum in Krosno. He added that "such kilns are extremely rare in the Carpathians"....

Dozens of cremation graves dating to around 400 AD; the start of the Great Migration period, are being studied at Łężany, northeastern Poland, by a team from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw... The burial ground was discovered accidentally in Autumn 2012 during forestry work with the initial excavations starting last year. The necropolis consisted of single graves with exclusively cremated human remains, the ashes were interred directly in the ground in either shallow scoops or in earthenware burial urns. Archaeologists have also located small clusters of human bones deposited in pure sand... Uniquely for this region four cicada...

Triumph of the Polish will Krakow remains a medieval Polish showpiece for all modern visitors to relish and enjoy. By TOM COCKREM Miracles do happen. Most Polish people would attest avidly to this. And for evidence, they need only cite their own backyard. For in the southern part of Poland there exists the town of Krakow. Like its historic sister cities – Warsaw, Wroclaw, Gdansk and others – it dates back a thousand years. But unlike them, its precious centre has survived almost intact, despite numerous attempts to bring it down. It remains a medieval Polish showpiece for all us...

The name of the Roman emperor Maximinus Thrax, who ruled from 235 to 238 CE, was deciphered for the first time on a milestone which was used to mark ancient Roman roads, according to the latest study of the area of ​​ancient Sussita (Hippos) carried out by researchers from the University of Haifa. This is the first inscription that researchers have been able identify on the milestones marking the road from Susita east of the Sea of ​​Galilee to Banias (Panias, named after the god Pan) in the southern Golan Heights. According to Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Institute of...

The unique discovery at the east end of Lake Mossø of a slaughtered army dating to around two thousand years ago, was revealed by Danish archaeologists in 2009. They had found skeletal material from up to 200 warriors, who may have all come from the same battle. Cuts and slashes on the skeletons showed they had died violently but nothing is as yet known about the identity of the killers, or their victims. In February this year it was announced that the Carlsberg Foundation has granted 1.5 million DKK for further research and excavations in Alken Wetlands. Archaeologists and other...

The remains of the oldest public library in Germany, a building erected almost two millennia ago that may have housed up to 20,000 scrolls, have been discovered in the middle of Cologne. The walls were first uncovered in 2017, during an excavation on the grounds of a Protestant church in the centre of the city. Archaeologists knew they were of Roman origins, with Cologne being one of Germany's oldest cities, founded by the Romans in 50 AD under the name Colonia. But the discovery of niches in the walls, measuring approximately 80cm by 50cm, was, initially, mystifying... "But what they...

Thousands of bones from boys and men likely killed in a ferocious battle 2,000 years ago have been unearthed from a bog in Denmark, researchers said Monday. Without local written records to explain, or a battlefield to scour for evidence, experts are nevertheless piecing together a story... Four pelvic bones strung on a stick were among the remains of at least 82 people found during archaeological excavations at Alken Enge in Jutland... The more than 2,300 human bones were contained in peat and lake sediments over 185 acres (75 hectares) of wetland meadows. Radiocarbon-dating put them between 2 BC and...

Roman soldiers were present in the area of Kujawy 2 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by discovered fragments of equestrian gear and legionnaire outfits. Many of them were discovered for the first time outside the borders of the Roman Empire, says Dr. Bartosz Kontny. "Among the many donated metal objects there were also numerous fittings made of copper alloy, which turned out to be decorations for equestrian gear and Roman legionaries` clothing, many of them unique in this part of Europe" -- says Dr. Bartosz Kontny from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, who identified the objects... "This...

The settlement covered nearly 20 acres and had a defensive wall but no military buildings. Its existence shows that the Romans were living next to and trading with German "barbarians" peacefully for years, right up until the Teutoburg defeat, according to lead researcher Gabriele Rasbach of the German Archaeological Institute. Most of the settlement’s buildings were made of wood, and based on tree-ring data, archaeologists say the town was built from scratch beginning in 4 B.C. Behind 10-foot-tall timber walls, Waldgirmes had pottery and woodworking workshops, Roman-style residences, and even traces of lead plumbing. A multistory administrative building sat at...

Aerial Image of the foundation of a Roman stone building. Length of the leveling staff (White) at the upper edge of the Picture: 5 meters. Credit: Dennis Braks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During their first Gernsheim dig last year, Frankfurt University archaeologists suspected that a small Roman settlement must have also existed here in the Hessian Ried. Now they have discovered clear relics of a Roman village, built in part on the foundations of the fort after the soldiers left. This probably occurred around 120 AD. At the time the cohort (about 500 soldiers) was transferred from the Rhine to the Limes, and...