A Late Iron Age Boat-Grave from Petersdal, Denmark

Kastholm, Ole Thirup

doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.2012.00346.x

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Burial B is a secondary burial dated to period II which may present a terminus ante quem for the construction of the boat. However, the boat itself is not dated and could be a much later addition (Kastholm 2012).…”

Section: Boats In Burialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water and the Afterlife – Water-related Resources in the Burial Construction of the Nordic Bronze Age

HORN

2024

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The waterscape, including the sea, rivers, and lakes, was highly important to communities living during the Nordic Early Bronze Age (1800/1700–1100 bc). Waterways acted as highways that facilitated journeys, trade, and warfare, enabling maritime warriors and others to distinguish themselves. This is reflected in the maritime location of rock art and important Early Bronze Age burials, which have been used to reconstruct the Nordic Bronze Age cosmology. This centres on the journey of the sun across the sky during the day, and the underworld during night. This article analyses the use of water-related resources, such as seaweed, petrified organics, beach pebbles, and molluscs, in the construction of burials, which has received little attention despite renewed interest in the maritime seascape. The data demonstrate that local communities used different resources, indicating that a common belief system was realised in local differences. These marine materials were collected from the beach, which can be conceptualised as the liminal zone between the land of the living and the sea of the dead. It is suggested that these materials, in line with other funerary practices, helped to guide the recently deceased into the afterlife in the sea.

show abstract

Section: Boats In Burialsmentioning

confidence: 99%