A HIDDEN TREASURE FROM DENMARK THE HJORTSPRING FINDS

A long time ago, ca. 400 BC, something extraordinary happened on the Danish island of Als. People sank a 20-paddled war boat and the equipment of 60–80 warriors in a bog. Nobody in the North had done anything like this for hundreds of years, and nobody would do it again until hundreds of years later. What was going on?

By Sean Manning

In 1920, the Danish National Museum became interested in stories that planks and spearheads had been found in a bog on Als. Because the landowner wanted to drain the bog for pasture, it was possible to carry out a very thorough and careful excavation. A long boat was discovered complete with its equipment. The boat had been crushed by the weight of the peat, but large sections of timber were still intact and in position. There were 138 iron and 31 bone spearheads. A number of broken ash spear shafts, many deliberately so, were also found. Eight complete and three fragmentary war knives were found too; some with short tangs with rivets, others with long spike tangs. Four were still in wooden sheaths. At least 64 wooden shields with wooden handles…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.1

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