Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual
From excavation results of a pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age burialground in Västergötland, an example is presented ofhow religious meaning became projected into Viking Age burial ritual through imitation of an already then ancient custom. The burial-ground was abandoned for a period of at least...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet
2005-12-01
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| Series: | Current Swedish Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://193.10.12.85:443/csa/article/view/730 |
| _version_ | 1797861239843454976 |
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| author | Tore Artelius Mats Lindqvist |
| author_facet | Tore Artelius Mats Lindqvist |
| author_sort | Tore Artelius |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
From excavation results of a pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age burialground
in Västergötland, an example is presented ofhow religious meaning became projected into Viking Age burial ritual through imitation of an already then ancient custom. The burial-ground was abandoned for a period of at least 600 hundred years in between the two periods. In the Pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age graves the custom of depositing flakes of firecracked natural stone was documented. From a Viking Age perspective the tradition was imitated and derived from the urnfield burial-grounds ofther late pre-Roman Iron Age. The authors link the Viking Age ritual behaviour to the sagas, where stones are presented as symbolical representations of the human body and as cosmological parts of the skeleton that kept the earth together. In the interpretation it is argued that the very concrete use of older graves was essential in the Viking Age burial custom. In this specific example, the deposition of stones in the Viking Age ritual context is interpreted as a projection and representation of the past and the bodies of the dead.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:58:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb25f5ace1d04a40be216f3d5aee2ed0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1102-7355 2002-3901 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:58:58Z |
| publishDate | 2005-12-01 |
| publisher | Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Swedish Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb25f5ace1d04a40be216f3d5aee2ed02023-03-24T02:26:28ZengSvenska Arkeologiska SamfundetCurrent Swedish Archaeology1102-73552002-39012005-12-0113110.37718/CSA.2005.02Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial RitualTore Artelius0Mats Lindqvist1The Swedish National Heritage BoardThe Swedish National Heritage Board From excavation results of a pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age burialground in Västergötland, an example is presented ofhow religious meaning became projected into Viking Age burial ritual through imitation of an already then ancient custom. The burial-ground was abandoned for a period of at least 600 hundred years in between the two periods. In the Pre-Roman Iron Age and Viking Age graves the custom of depositing flakes of firecracked natural stone was documented. From a Viking Age perspective the tradition was imitated and derived from the urnfield burial-grounds ofther late pre-Roman Iron Age. The authors link the Viking Age ritual behaviour to the sagas, where stones are presented as symbolical representations of the human body and as cosmological parts of the skeleton that kept the earth together. In the interpretation it is argued that the very concrete use of older graves was essential in the Viking Age burial custom. In this specific example, the deposition of stones in the Viking Age ritual context is interpreted as a projection and representation of the past and the bodies of the dead. https://193.10.12.85:443/csa/article/view/730pre-Roman Iron Agestone flakesmythreligious meaningbodyimitation |
| spellingShingle | Tore Artelius Mats Lindqvist Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual Current Swedish Archaeology pre-Roman Iron Age stone flakes myth religious meaning body imitation |
| title | Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual |
| title_full | Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual |
| title_fullStr | Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual |
| title_short | Bones of the Earth: Imitation as Meaning in Viking Age Burial Ritual |
| title_sort | bones of the earth imitation as meaning in viking age burial ritual |
| topic | pre-Roman Iron Age stone flakes myth religious meaning body imitation |
| url | https://193.10.12.85:443/csa/article/view/730 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT toreartelius bonesoftheearthimitationasmeaninginvikingageburialritual AT matslindqvist bonesoftheearthimitationasmeaninginvikingageburialritual |