Himlingøje

Facts

Was this where Denmark's cradle stood?

By Dorte Veien Christiansen, Souschef (3 stories)

The burial site at Himlingøje from about 200 AD is one of the richest prehistoric burial grounds in Denmark. It contains at least 14 graves, the oldest of which have been covered by a large burial mound of grass turf. Burying the dead in mounds or barrows was very unusual in the Iron Age and shows that the grave site belonged to an especially prominent family. The graves contained exclusive, Roman objects, such as sets of glass, bronze and gold cups and plates, etc., which supports this theory. Today, four preserved burial mounds are the last visible evidence of the chieftain's dynasty that in about 200 AD dominated Eastern Denmark, and that probably carried the seeds of a united Danish realm.

Partly a public place

Selected entry

Warrior rests in pieces

Story written by Dorte Veien Christiansen

Time / Periode 200

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One of the burial mounds had a particularly grisly story to tell: Under a now lost mound the remains of a young man of about 20 years old had been laid to rest in a hollowed out tree trunk together with a wealthy hoard of fine Roman objects. So far, so good. But during the excavation, archaeologists discovered that the bones were not in the correct order – the body must have been cut up and almost dissolved when it was laid to rest. The rich equipment suggests the young man was a chieftain's son. Perhaps while serving as a soldier in the Roman army he fell in battle in a foreign country and was brought home to rest in pieces.