Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD: The Evidence of the Stray-finds in East Denmark

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Abstract

Late Germanic Iron Age weapon burials from Bornholm, Denmark, have been used to suggest the presence of a Merovingian inspired organization of warriors including conscripts. This article compares these burials’ inventory, focusing on the first part of the Late Germanic Iron Age (AD 520-630), to the distribution of similar types of metal stray-finds. Mapping the stray-finds from Bornholm indicates the whereabouts of the warriors and it is discussed whether this can contribute to a plausible representation of warriors and a geographically
rooted organization of warriors. This evidence is tested on equivalent stray-find material from Sjælland and adjacent islands where weapon burials are almost absent. The study shows a difference between the burial inventory and the stray-finds regarding relative numbers of specific object types, and it is clear that the standardized set of weapons originally assumed to picture the conscripted warrior cannot be found.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftDanish Journal of Archaeology
Vol/bind14
Sider (fra-til)1-33
Antal sider33
ISSN2166-2282
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 30 jan. 2025

Emneord

  • Late Germanic Iron Age Denmark
  • Military organization
  • weaponry
  • metal objects
  • stray-finds
  • metal detecting

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