Unusual Bronze Age Neck Rings Discovered In Norrköping, Sweden

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Two unusual Bronze Age neck rings have been found in a grave during an archaeological survey in Marby, east of Norrköping, Sweden. The rings, which are over 2,500 years old, were probably deposited as offerings.

Credit: Arkeologerna, SHM

“Finding them in a context like this is unusual, perhaps unique,” says Alf Ericsson of the State Historical Museums. Although the site appears to be an ordinary forest slope, it contains significant traces of past human activity dating back thousands of years.

In recent weeks, archaeologists have examined a large site east of Norrköping, which includes graves, rock carvings, and settlement remains from the Late Bronze Age (around 1100 BC to 500 BC). At that time, the site was located by a bay near the sea. The excavation is taking place in preparation for new housing construction. During this work, archaeologists made an unexpected discovery.

In one grave, a stone setting with a central block contained cremated human bones, some placed in an urn and others in small pits. Additional bones were scattered throughout the earth and stone fill. At the eastern edge, separate from the burials, two bronze neck rings were found between stones.

These neck rings, known as wendel rings, date to the final stage of the Bronze Age. They are made of cast bronze, twisted in either direction. According to Alf Ericsson, the larger ring is thinner, while the smaller is thicker and more strongly profiled.

Credit: Arkeologerna, SHM

The Vendel Period, called Vendeltiden in Swedish, lasted from about 550 to 800 AD. It followed the Migration Period and the volcanic winter of 536 AD.
The period takes its name from the boat-burial cemetery at Vendel in Uppland, Sweden, where archaeologists found elaborate graves of high-status individuals.

“Vendel rings are rare discoveries. They are usually found with other objects in bogs and marshes. For example, a bog deposit in Häradshammar, Östergötland, near our site, contained two Vendel rings. However, finding two neck rings placed together in a stone setting with burials is very rare, and may even be unique.

Almost ten rings have been found in Östergötland before. These neck rings were usually worn by women and showed their status.

We never expected to find something like this and have not fully processed the discovery yet,” says Alf Ericsson.

Credit: Arkeologerna, SHM

Researchers hope that the bone analysis will show how many people were buried in the stone setting.

People living here during the Bronze Age had a complex culture with strong symbolic traditions. Archaeologists also found the remains of houses and examined two piles of burned stones. Cairns were once thought to be mere waste heaps from daily life, but the discovery of human bones and bronze objects suggests they had a more important role.

Credit: Arkeologerna, SHM

During the excavation at Marby, archaeologists found that one cairn had been converted into a Bronze Age funerary monument, a rare occurrence.

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The other cairn contained many fire-affected stones, along with pottery shards and pieces of clay that once sealed a wall in a house damaged by fire. At the bottom of the mound, they found two stone circles, a feature typical of funerary monuments from this period.

Source: Arkeologerna

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer