Silke Eisenschmidt. Grabfunde des 8. bis 11. Jahrhunderts zwischen Kongea und Eider. Zur Bestattungssitte der Wikingerzeit im sudlichen Altdanemark.
Pedersen, Anne
SILKE EISENSCHMIDT. Grabfunde des 8. bis 11. Jahrhunderts zwischen
Kongea und Eider. Zur Bestattungssitte der Wikingerzeit im sudlichen
Altdanemark (Studien zur Siedlungsgeschichte und Archaologie der
Ostseegebiete 5.1 & 5.2). 2 vol., 821 pages, 224 illustrations.
2004. Neumunster: Wachholtz; 3-529-01394-3 hardback 70 [euro].
Viking Age settlement and landscape archaeology have long been in
focus in Denmark, almost overshadowing the study of contemporary burial
customs. Nevertheless, well-known finds such as the burials from Mammen
in Jutland uncovered in 1868 and the Ladby ship burial excavated in Fyn
in the 1930s have been re-evaluated, just as new finds continue to add
details and nuances to the existing burial data. Following a study of
chamber burials in Viking Age Denmark (Eisenschmidt 1994), Silke
Eisenschmidt's new work presents a comparative analysis of burials
centred on the former duchy of Schleswig, an area defined by the river
Eider at the base of the Jutland peninsula and by the river Kongea to
the north. This choice is in keeping with current awareness of the need
to look beyond modern political borders in the study of the past, a
distinction also reflected in the German term Altdanemark used in the
title. In addition, the regional approach offers the opportunity to
study geographical and chronological diversity in a local perspective.
Volume 1 comprises three sections, a summary in Danish and a
comprehensive bibliography. Section I provides background information,
commencing with a description of a landscape dominated by tidal marsh and geest to the west and hilly moraine (till) to the east. The
traditional time-frame for the Viking Age is extended to include its
early beginnings in the eighth century and the transitional early
medieval period of the eleventh century. A brief presentation of find
categories and relevant written sources is followed by an overview of
cultural and environmental processes that have contributed to the
formation of the archaeological data. A history of research from the
seventeenth century to the present day concludes this section: the duchy
of Schleswig's turbulent history and past political controversies
are mirrored on a small scale in collections and museums. As is often
the case, preservation of any discoveries in the early years was mainly
in the hands of private individuals. Professionals came later, among
them the renowned Johanna Mestorf working in Kid.
Section II presents the archaeological finds. Based on the
treatment of the dead, cremation versus inhumation, and the form of the
grave, six basic types of burial with various subtypes are
distinguished. Urn cremations are by far the most common and in all
probability overrepresented, being easy to locate and relatively easy to
date. Likewise, richly furnished inhumation burials are most likely
overrepresented when compared with simple, poorly furnished burials.
Artefacts have been recorded from more than 50 per cent of the graves,
and the typological, chronological and chorological analysis of this
material is one of the most significant parts of the study. Each
individual artefact category is discussed in detail with reference to
Scandinavian and Continental parallels, location in the grave, and the
age/sex of the deceased.
Cemeteries and their topographical situation follow. As might be
expected, given the environmental conditions of different landscape
types, cemeteries and indeed other find categories show an uneven
distribution from west to east, avoiding the sandy soils typical of
central Jutland. Prominent locations, often close to a minor water
course, were apparently preferred, indicating an emphasis on visibility
and proximity to the settlement.
The dating of the burials as a precondition for an analysis of the
chronological development of burial practices is discussed in the final
chapter of section II. Although the statistical method, or rather the
use of a graphical summation of date ranges, can be questioned, the
general tendency is doubtless correct: cremation was gradually replaced
by inhumation, albeit not necessarily at the same time. Burial customs
are summarised in an introduction to section III, an interpretation of
the ethnic, cultural and political context of the burials. Rather than
random choice between numerous options, the variety of burial types
reflects regional and chronological diversity, in other words distinct
ritual practices. Whereas the population to the south-west had close
cultural and ethnic affinity with the Frisian area, a mainly Danish
population dominated the east and north-west. The social structure of
the community is less apparent, although there appears to be a certain
correlation between the contents of a grave and the effort invested in
its construction. Similarly, changing religious beliefs can be traced.
Burial rituals are however not determined by religion alone and it is
argued that the need for ostentatious burial may well be linked to
concurrent political and social developments.
Volume 2 contains, besides maps, plans and plates, a principal
catalogue (1) charting all recorded burial sites and individual graves;
this impressive corpus approaches a primary publication. Other finds in
Schleswig, among them settlements, hoards, fortifications, runestones,
wrecks and single finds, are listed in catalogue 2, while find lists
1-57 cover sites, burials and artefact categories, providing a general
overview of Viking Age material in southern Jutland. Details are open to
discussion but suffice it to say in conclusion that this vast material
will doubtless prove highly valuable for future studies in a national as
well as international perspective.
Reference
EISENSCHMIDT, S. 1994. Kammergraber der Wikingerzeit in
Altdanemark. Universitatsforschungen zur prahistorischen Archaologie aus
dem Institut fur Ur- und Fruhgeschichte der Universitat Kiel, Band 25.
Bonn: R. Habelt.
ANNE PEDERSEN
The National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
