Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective
Knowledge about the healing properties of plant substances is probably as old as humankind, and this can be demonstrated by botanical finds in archaeological contexts. Southern Scandinavia has a long tradition of supplying deceased persons with vegetal material for use in their afterlife, as shown...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Editorial Board of DJA
2014-05-01
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| Series: | Danish Journal of Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/124914 |
| _version_ | 1797600516231921664 |
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| author | Sabine Karg Ulla Lund Hansen Anne Margrethe Walldén Jens Glastrup Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen |
| author_facet | Sabine Karg Ulla Lund Hansen Anne Margrethe Walldén Jens Glastrup Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen |
| author_sort | Sabine Karg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Knowledge about the healing properties of plant substances is probably as old as humankind, and this can be demonstrated by botanical finds in archaeological contexts. Southern Scandinavia has a long tradition of supplying deceased persons with vegetal material for use in their afterlife, as shown by single seeds or processed plants in the form of foods, drinks or medicines. A wellknown example is the small container made of birch bark most probably filled with a kind of mead produced from honey, in the Egtved girl’s coffin a find which has been dated to the Early Bronze Age.Another fascinating plant discovery derives fromthe grave of the Fyrkat woman dated to the Viking Age: a handful seeds of the poisonous plant henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) was found in a small pocket fixed to the woman’s belt. Plant materials enclosed in small amulet boxes are quite common and are frequently attached to necklaces that the deceased had certainly worn during their lives. In this article, we discuss the organic finds from a newly excavated amulet box which was discovered in a woman’s grave at the Late Roman Iron Age site of Vellensby, on the island of Bornholm. The box contained two ‘chewing gum-like objects’ with dental impressions and three vegetal objects. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis was applied to one of the ‘chewing gums’ and the results show that it consists of a mixture of birch tar and plant oil. Based on their morphological characteristics, the three uncharred plant parts could be identified as cloves from a wild species of Allium, probably A. scorodoprasum (sand leek). The traditional medicinal application of sand leek is presented and the symbolic and possible principal meaning of amulet boxes is discussed within a comparative study of related discoveries from female burials throughout Europe.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:49:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f890ff8cb522450faf4a9d004b28a0e2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2166-2290 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:49:13Z |
| publishDate | 2014-05-01 |
| publisher | Editorial Board of DJA |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Danish Journal of Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f890ff8cb522450faf4a9d004b28a0e22023-11-18T01:03:48ZengEditorial Board of DJADanish Journal of Archaeology2166-22902014-05-01310.1080/21662282.2014.994280Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspectiveSabine KargUlla Lund HansenAnne Margrethe WalldénJens GlastrupFinn Ole Sonne Nielsen Knowledge about the healing properties of plant substances is probably as old as humankind, and this can be demonstrated by botanical finds in archaeological contexts. Southern Scandinavia has a long tradition of supplying deceased persons with vegetal material for use in their afterlife, as shown by single seeds or processed plants in the form of foods, drinks or medicines. A wellknown example is the small container made of birch bark most probably filled with a kind of mead produced from honey, in the Egtved girl’s coffin a find which has been dated to the Early Bronze Age.Another fascinating plant discovery derives fromthe grave of the Fyrkat woman dated to the Viking Age: a handful seeds of the poisonous plant henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) was found in a small pocket fixed to the woman’s belt. Plant materials enclosed in small amulet boxes are quite common and are frequently attached to necklaces that the deceased had certainly worn during their lives. In this article, we discuss the organic finds from a newly excavated amulet box which was discovered in a woman’s grave at the Late Roman Iron Age site of Vellensby, on the island of Bornholm. The box contained two ‘chewing gum-like objects’ with dental impressions and three vegetal objects. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis was applied to one of the ‘chewing gums’ and the results show that it consists of a mixture of birch tar and plant oil. Based on their morphological characteristics, the three uncharred plant parts could be identified as cloves from a wild species of Allium, probably A. scorodoprasum (sand leek). The traditional medicinal application of sand leek is presented and the symbolic and possible principal meaning of amulet boxes is discussed within a comparative study of related discoveries from female burials throughout Europe. https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/124914vegetal grave goodsScandinaviaLate Roman Iron AgeAllium clovesbirch tar |
| spellingShingle | Sabine Karg Ulla Lund Hansen Anne Margrethe Walldén Jens Glastrup Finn Ole Sonne Nielsen Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective Danish Journal of Archaeology vegetal grave goods Scandinavia Late Roman Iron Age Allium cloves birch tar |
| title | Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective |
| title_full | Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective |
| title_fullStr | Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective |
| title_short | Vegetal grave goods in a female burial on Bornholm (Denmark) from the Late Roman Iron Age period interpreted in a comparative European perspective |
| title_sort | vegetal grave goods in a female burial on bornholm denmark from the late roman iron age period interpreted in a comparative european perspective |
| topic | vegetal grave goods Scandinavia Late Roman Iron Age Allium cloves birch tar |
| url | https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/124914 |
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