Ejsbøl Bog

Facts

Weapons in the bog

By Xenia Pauli Jensen, cand.phil., ph.d. i forhistorisk arkæologi (7 stories)

Ejsbøl Bog is near Haderslev in South Jutland. Boat rivets, weapons, belts and other personal belongings were especially popular sacrifices. The bog was used for sacrificial offerings from about the year 0 until the 5th century. The bog has been excavated during two campaigns, once in 1955-1964 and once in 1997-99, and almost 3,000 objects were found. Today, Ejsbøl Bog is a cultivated meadow with a re-established lake of about the same size as the lake that was there during the Iron Age. To the East, a rolling promontory sticks out into the low basin. This was once the site of a late medieval castle.

Public place

Selected entry

Officer's belt: Something borrowed, something blue

Story written by Xenia Pauli Jensen

Time / Periode 1 500

1 comment 1 recommendations

One of the most impressive finds made at the bog was an officer's belt from about 300 A.D. with a silver buckle, gold-plated tin and blue glass beads. The gold-plated tin has animals such as squirrels with bushy tails and lions with large manes – probably inspired by Roman military belts. An almost identical belt was found in a grave 100 km south of Ejsbøl in Neudorf-Bornstein in Germany. New research shows that the two belts were made at the same workshop, perhaps even by the same craftsman. But the differences in the details show that the silversmith took pains to make sure each piece should have its own unique design. At that time, customers were choosy connoisseurs, but so indeed were the craftsmen.