CHAPTER IX.

THE BRONZE AGE.

Abundance of gold—Stone occasionally used for arrow-heads—Pottery—Graves—Commencement of cremation—Objects of this period—Proficiency in the art of casting—Weapons—Ornaments more varied than in the stone age—The Kivik grave—Oak coffins—Clothing of the bronze age—Sewing implements—Burnt and unburnt bodies sometimes found in the same grave—Gold vessels and ornaments—Bronze vessels—Battle-horns—Bronze knives.

While the three ages to some extent overlap, while we find stone articles running into the bronze age, and bronze and even stone into the iron age, still the distinction between the three periods is too clearly marked to be overlooked. Thus in the bronze age, characterised by the use of that metal and of gold, the weapons were almost entirely of bronze; amber still continued to be used for ornaments, and towards the close of this epoch glass, in the shape of beads, and iron appeared, but silver seems to have been unknown. Sometimes stone continued to be used for arrow-heads and spear-points.

The pottery shows a distinct improvement on that of the stone age.

The graves of the bronze age, as in the preceding stone age, are covered by a mound of earth, or a cairn, and contain several burial places. During the latter part of the bronze age the custom of burning the dead was introduced, but in the earlier part the bodies were unburnt. When the custom of cremation commenced and how long it lasted it is utterly impossible to tell, but from the numerous finds it is evident that it must have been in use long before iron became known. The graves of this period also generally lie on the top of some high hill, or the cairns are placed on the summit of some promontory having an unobstructed view of the sea or some large sheet of water. These graves prove that the shores of the Baltic and of the Cattegat were once thickly inhabited by a people having the same customs and religion; and from the situations of the graves, as well as from the objects, etc., in them, we learn that they were a seafaring people. North of the great lakes on the large Scandinavian peninsula these antiquities become more rare, thus showing that country not to have been so thickly settled.

From the finds of beautiful and often costly antiquities belonging to the bronze age,[113] and from their great numbers, the fact is brought vividly to our mind, that even before iron was discovered there existed in those regions a remarkable culture.

The people had attained very great proficiency in the art of casting, most of the objects are cast, and some of the weapons have still the mark of the clay upon them; the model was sometimes made of wax and clay put round it, the bronze was cast into the mould thus made, and the wax melted into the mould which afterwards was broken in order to take out the sword or object manufactured. Some of the small daggers especially are marvels of casting, which could not be surpassed to-day. The largest swords are cast in one piece. In the collection at Copenhagen nine of these are perfect, the size of the longest being from 35 to 38 inches. The swords, daggers, poniards often have their hilts ornamented or twisted with threads of gold.

The weapons of the bronze epoch are the same as those of the stone age; poniards, axes, spears, bows and arrows. The sword and the shield seem to have been in common use; one of these now in Copenhagen was found covered with thin gold.

The simple ornaments of the stone age are replaced by more varied and beautiful ones. Gold jewels and vases become common and testify to the wealth of the people. In this age as in the preceding age of stone, the people of the North attained a greater degree of proficiency, and seem to have possessed a higher degree of civilisation than the people of Central and Northern Europe belonging to the same period.

The graves containing unburnt bones which belong to the early period of the bronze age are very similar to those of the preceding period of the stone age, they contain several skeletons then finally decrease in size until they become about 7 feet long, or just large enough to contain one body.

The bodies were often not buried in stone chambers but in coffins made of the trunks of oak trees. It may be that at a later period the customs of burning bodies and burying bodies unburnt co-existed, as will be seen in the account of the iron age. The warrior was buried with his weapons just as in the stone age.

One of the most interesting graves which I have seen, belonging, probably, to the bronze age, is the Kivik cairn (see p. 88), near the sea on a beautiful bay near the town of Cimbrisham. This monument is the only one of its kind known in the North. It shows perfect resemblance to others of the bronze age, and differs only from the cairns found on the hilltops of Bohuslän in its larger size. We have looked with great care at the tracings, which are not so deep as those of the rock-tracings situated in the neighbourhood. The signs carved on the stones are evidently symbolical, and were so made as to look upon the great chief that had been buried there.

The Kivik grave, like many others belonging to the bronze age situated by the sea, is about 700 feet in circumference. The coffin, of flat upright slabs, was discovered in 1750; its length is fourteen feet; width, three feet. It is formed by four slabs on each side, and one at the north end. These were nearly four feet high, three feet wide, and eight to nine inches thick, and placed side by side. The inner surfaces were more or less smooth, though neither cut nor polished, and on these were the tracings. Two of these stones were lost about seventy years ago. The grave was covered with three slabs, and pointed north and south.

In a mound at Havdrup in Ribe amt, Jutland, there were found in 1861 three well-preserved oak coffins. The contents of two had been taken out before the discovery was notified to the authorities, but the third was found in the state shown in the illustration. Near this mound was that of Kongshöi, containing four well-preserved oaken coffins. The contents of these were however not as well preserved as those in the coffins of Treenhöi. At the top of this mound there were discovered clay urns with burnt bones.

In some of these oaken coffins are found wooden bowls with handles, and ornamented with inserted pins of tin.

The articles of dress, found in a most extraordinary state of preservation in the oak coffin, kept from decay no doubt by the tannin in the oak, show how the people of the North dressed well before iron had come into use among them. These are the earliest perfect garments known, and even the latest period to which they belong cannot be far from three thousand years ago, and they may be of a much earlier date.

Among the most interesting graves which have given remarkable results in regard to dress are the mounds of Treenhöi by Vandrup, near Kolding, in Jutland.

In a man’s grave was a small cap covering the head of the body, which was wrapped in a deer-skin, composed of several sewn pieces of woven material, and ornamented outside with woollen threads, which had been inserted, and terminating with knots.

On the left side under the cloak lay a bronze sword in a wooden sheath, of lath lined with deer-skin, the hair being inside. The hilt was ornamented by an oval bronze button at its top. There were no traces of leggings or other protection for the legs, but the feet seem to have been protected by strips of wool, and to have had leather shoes or sandals on.

The graves of women contain daggers, which may possibly imply that the women had been warriors; also large spiral rings, various ornaments, finger-rings, bracelets, glass beads, &c.

Women’s dress of the bronze age seems to have consisted of the skirt and bodice as at the present time, but the men’s clothes were quite different from those of the iron age; in the earlier time trousers were not worn, while we see them in use in the latter.

Many sewing implements of bronze have been found in the graves, the needles like those of the stone age are sometimes made of bone, but many are of bronze; awls were used to pierce the holes in garments that were made of skins, and some peculiar shaped knives have been found which were probably used in the making of skin clothing, or in cutting leather.

In a grave-mound near Aarhus, in North Jutland, a coffin made of two oak logs was found. The bottom of the coffin was covered with an untanned ox or deer-hide. On this lay a large cloak, made of coarse wool and cattle-hair. In the cloak, which was partly destroyed, was wrapped the skeleton of a woman dressed. The hair was long and dark, and a net covered the head, tied under the chin.

Burnt and unburnt bodies are sometimes found in the same mound; the latter generally at the bottom of the graves, the former at the top, this shows that the graves with unburnt bodies are considerably the older of the two. A mound with several graves may possibly have been the burial place of one family. The graves of the later bronze age are more numerous on the shores of the Baltic than in other parts of Europe. Sometimes the burnt remains have been found wrapped in clothing, and placed in an ordinary sized coffin, but more generally these burnt bones are preserved in urns of clay enclosed in a small stone cist.

These stone cists of about the length of an average man are interesting as indicating the transition to the small ones containing burnt bones; some of these of a size large enough for an unburnt body have contained only a small heap of burnt bones, and evidently belonged to the period when the cremation of the dead began to prevail. Many of these little cists are only large enough to enclose a clay pot, in which the bones were collected; sometimes no coffins were found, but only clay pots containing ashes, a small bronze knife, a bit of bronze saw, or something of that kind. In some cases the bones were put simply into a hole in the mound and the whole covered with a stone slab.

Vessels of bronze are uncommon in the graves; some by their form seem to be of Greek origin, while others appear to be of Northern make. Some beautifully cast, and of peculiar shape, seem to have been made to be suspended. Some are ornamented with the svastica[115] and other symbolic signs, and may have been used to carry offerings to the gods.

The bogs[116] of Denmark contain large horns or trumpets, made entirely of bronze, with pendant chains (see p. 104). Nothing exactly corresponding to them has yet been discovered in other countries. They have been cast in several pieces, and with surprising skill, and are carefully fastened together by rivets which interlace each other. Sometimes they have been buried in the bogs in a broken state, but generally have been so well preserved that they can still be blown. They produce a dull and not very loud sound. On one occasion they have been found with a shield of bronze and a few bronze swords, hence their use in battle may be inferred. But generally several of them are found together, rarely less than two, and sometimes as many as six on the same spot.

A perfectly unique find belonging to the bronze age is that discovered at Nors parish, Northern Jutland, in 1885. In an urn, greatly damaged, were about 100 small boats of bronze canoe-shaped, about four to five inches in length, placed one into another, all covered inside and outside with a thin sheet of gold; some have been found to be ornamented with concentric rings on the side. What was the meaning of the offering or find will always remain a mystery.

The curiously-shaped knives, which are found in very great numbers, seem to be peculiar to the North, and the North of Germany. What they were used for is hard to tell, possibly as sacrificial knives. It can hardly be doubted that the signs upon them are symbolical; some may be representations of the sun-ship, others are somewhat like minute representations of the rock-tracings, or designs upon Greek coins, while the heads of horses remind us of the gold vases represented in this chapter.