Scandinavian Iron Age

By Peter N. Peregrine and Sarah Berry

Roman Iron Age, Migration Period.

circa 2500 B.P.-1500 B.P.

Follows the Scandinavian Bronze Age, precedes the historic Viking period.

Scandinavia

Iron tools such as arrow points, swords, and plowshares; elaborate gold and silver objects.

The climate during the Scandinavian Iron Age was apparently cooler and wetter than today. Cooler temperatures made both agriculture and stock raising more difficult, and may have led farmers to keep their livestock indoors during the winter and consequently focus some effort on raising hay and other animal feeds.

The typical farmstead of the Scandinavian Iron Age consisted of one or more structures surrounded by a low stone wall. The primary, and sometimes only, structure was a longhouse built with a stone foundation, thick walls, and timber-frame roof. These were usually some 7 meters wide and 20 or more meters long. They had an internal division which is thought to have separated the family's living space, usually at the western end of the house, from the space where animals were kept in cold weather. Farmsteads were often solitary, but were also built in small hamlets of some three to five farmsteads. Both farmsteads and hamlets were located with access to good agricultural soils and forest lands. Hill forts appeared late in the Iron Age. These were walled and fortified strongholds located at the tops of easily-defendable hills (thus the name "hill fort"). Within the defensive fortifications were a dozen or more houses, arranged along planned causeways that allowed easy movement within the fort.

The peoples of the Scandinavian Iron Age had mixed agricultural economy. They raised barley, rye, wheat, and other grains. They also kept sheep, pigs, goats, horses, and cattle. Cooler temperatures during the Iron Age apparently led to cattle and other livestock being kept indoors during at least part of the year, and this, in turn, forced people to raise and collect feed for their animals.

Hunting and fishing remained important parts of the Iron Age economy, and it may have been that some individuals became specialists in these activities. A lively trade in animal furs, particularly reindeer, was ongoing with peoples to the south and, ultimately, with the Roman Empire. Who hunted these animals and prepared their furs, and how those furs were collected and marketed is not well understood; however, it seems likely that some specialists were involved, and scholars have identified several apparent trade centers.

Specialists in metalwork were certainly present among the peoples of the Scandinavian Iron Age; indeed, some of the finest examples of European gold and silver work come from this tradition. Iron working is also advanced, and many excellent weapons and tools were produced.

Despite the wealth of archaeological data, we have only an imperfect understanding of Scandinavian Iron Age sociopolitical organization. It seems clear from burials that there were both powerful warriors and chieftains, and that the two, indeed, went hand-in-hand; thus we can envision a warrior-led political system. How this political system integrated the majority of the population, living in small and relatively autonomous farmsteads, is unclear; however, the presence of hill forts suggests that war, or the threat of war, was present, and that the warrior-leaders may have exercised authority only when war threatened. It has also been suggested that trade with polities to the south was controlled by these warrior-leaders, and that this control formed an additional basis for their authority. Within farmsteads themselves, the family was clearly the basis of sociopolitical organization. Families appear to have been largely independent, even maintaining their own cemeteries within the walls of their farmsteads.

Hoards of weapons and wealth items were deposited in bogs, streams, lakes, or in the ground. The reasons are not entirely clear, and may be as simple as hiding wealth in times of war. However, historical accounts suggest that at least some hoards were offerings to the gods following success in war. Similar sacrifices of wealth, animals, and humans were made to the gods to both encourage their action and to offer thanks for actions performed. The wealth items given to the gods often were the products of artisans who, by late in the Scandinavian Iron Age tradition, produced some of the finest gold objects ever known. Among the more common gold items were large ornamental "collars" made from long gold tubes set parallel to one another and covered with filigree and human and animal figures, medallions with stamped designs and usually with a human profile in the center, and sword pommels decorated in a variety of styles and often incorporating semi-precious stones.

There was tremendous variation in burial rites during the Scandinavian Iron Age. Both cremation and inhumation were practiced, and variation in both forms existed. Within this variation two recurrent types are clear. One is the burial of a "warrior" with sword, spear, shield, and often other items (sometimes quite luxurious, and frequently imported from the Roman world). The other is the burial of a "chieftain," often in a monumental grave with a large volume of grave goods. Chieftains' grave goods were often luxurious imports from the south, such as Roman glass, bronze caldrons and vessels from Italy and Gaul, and even Roman coins and medallions.

Documents referred to in this section are included in the eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.

The Scandinavian Iron Age consists of nineteen documents, all in English. The documents discuss Iron Age cultures in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The collection covers the time period from mostly 2800 B.P. to 1000 B.P. which is outside the absolute time period of 2500 B.P. to 1500 B.P. This is due to various radiocarbon dates from different Iron Age sites. The documents that are outside the absolute time range are discussed below. No document provides an overview of this collection.

Hedeager (1992, no. 1) discusses the economic and political growth in Denmark during the Iron Age. Hedeager incorporates the Germanic Iron Age (1600 B.P. to 1300 B.P.) in this discussion. Särlvik (1982, no. 4) uses the archaeological record in southwest Sweden to examine the social formations of that time. Sjövold (1962, no. 17) also uses the archaeological record, as found in the Trondheim and Tromsö museums, to research the history of Iron Age occupation in northern Norway from the Roman Period to the Viking Period (to 1400 B.P.). Ramqvist (1983, no. 2) wrote a dissertation on the site of Genesmon or Gene in Northern Sweden, an Early Iron Age settlement (2000 B.P. to 1400 B.P.). In addition, Hulthén (1983, no. 3) conducted a ceramic analysis of Gene ceramics. A very diverse, three volume, interdisciplinary study was conducted on the settlement of Gårdlösa in Scania, Sweden. This is the topic of documents numbered 5-6, 8-16, and 18-20. The settlement was occupied from the Br onze Age into the Viking Age, but the Iron Age settlement mostly dates from 2500 B.P. to 1300 B.P. as do most of the following documents. Stjernquist (1981, no. 5) presents the research design for the study. Helmfrid (1981, no. 6) used historical land tenure records (from 250 B.P. to 175 B.P. or 1750 A.D. to 1825 A.D.) in hopes of elucidating the land system during the Iron Age. Mikaelsson (1981, no. 8) conducted a geological survey of the area. Bartholin (1981, no. 9) looks at the vegetation record from 6000 B.P. to 1300 B.P. to try to reconstruct the local vegetation and how the people affected it. Hjelmqvist (1981, no. 10) studied the grain imprints found on the ceramics. 2500 to 1300 B.P. grain imprints on ceramics. Gejvall (1981, no. 11) studied the human and faunal remains from the site and they date from 2500 B.P. to 1000 B.P. A petrographic clay analysis can be found in Nordström (1981, no. 12). The radiocarbon dates (from 2650 B.P. to 1110 B.P.) are found in Olsson (1981, no. 13). Additional radiocarbon dates are presented in Olsson (1981, no. 15) also with a time range of 2650 B.P. to 1110 B.P. Re-analysis of those dates at a different lab are presented in Olsson (1981, no. 16). This time the dates range from 2800 B.P. to 1060 B.P. Stjernquist (1981, no. 14) presents the roundtable discussions from a conference in 1979. The dates from that discussion range from 2000 B.P. to 1300 B.P. A detailed study of the archaeological excavations can be found in Stjernquist (1981-1993, no. 18). Stjernquist (1981-1993, no. 19) further analyzes the archaeology from the settlement. Bergström (1981-1993, no. 20) presents a petrographic analysis of the lithic material used at the site to 1000 B.P.

For further information on individual works in this collection, see the abstracts in the citations preceding each document.

The major tradition summary is from the article, "Scandinavian Iron Age," by Peter N. Peregrine in the Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Peter N. Peregrine and Melvin Ember, eds. New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation, 2001-2002. We thank Peter N. Peregrine for bibliographic suggestions. Sarah Berry wrote the synopsis in 2001.

Hagen, Andes. Norway. London: Thames and Hudson, 1967.

Hedeager, Lotte. Iron Age Societies. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.

Kivikoski, Ella. Finland. New York: Praeger, 1967.

Settlement and Economy in Later Scandinavian Prehistory, edited by Kristian Kristiansen. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Number 211, 1984.

Prescott, Christopher. From Stone Age to Iron Age: A Study from Sogn, Western Norway. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Number 603, 1995.

Ramqvist, Per H. Gene: On the Origin, Function, and Development of Sedentary Iron Age Settlement in Northern Sweden. Umea: University of Umea, Dept. of Archaeology, 1983.

Ramqvist, Per H. Hogom: Excavations 1949-1984. Umea: University of Umea, Dept. of Archaeology, 1992.

Sarlvik, Ingegerd. Paths Towards a Stratified Society: A Study of Economic, Cultural, and Social Formations in Southwest Sweden During the Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period. Stockholm: University of Stockholm, Institute of Archaeology, Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, Number 3, 1982.

Sjovold, Thorleif. The Iron Age Settlement of Arctic Norway. Tromso: Norwegian Universities Press, 1967.

Stenberger, Marten. Vallhagar: A Migration Period Settlement on Gotland, Sweden. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1955.

Stenberger, Marten. Sweden. New York: Praeger, 1962.

Gardlosa: An Iron Age Community in its Natural and Social Setting, edited by Berta Stjernquist. Lund: Gleerup, 1981.