Finnestorp

Finnestorp is an archaeological site in Västergötland, Sweden, where many objects from the Migration Period have been found. The site was discovered in 1902 and excavated in 2000–2004 and 2008–2012. It has been interpreted as a cult site where war booty was sacrificed. The more than 700 finds include weapons, horse gear and horses, mainly from the period 350–550 AD.

The archaeologist Bengt Nordqvist interprets this belt buckle found at Finnestorp as a depiction of Odin and Mímir's Well.

History

The first discoveries at Finnestorp, a location in Västergötland, Sweden, were made in 1902 during a road construction through a wetland area. Minor excavations were made in 1904, 1980 and 1992.[1] More extensive excavations took place in 2000–2004 and 2008–2012.[2]

Description
Excavations at the site in 2009

Finnestorp has been interpreted as a cult site where war booty was sacrificed. It has similarities to the site Skedemosse on Öland[3] and to Migration Period war-booty sites in Denmark and northern Germany. As of 2009, more than 700 artefacts had been found throughout an area in Finnestorp that stretches 400 m × 100 m (1,310 ft × 330 ft).[1] The most common finds are weapons—especially swords and spears—horse equipment and horses.[4] Most metal artefacts are individual pieces that have been cut or chopped and thrown in the water. A few finds consist of complete and intact bridles and sword belt sets that have been placed in pits.[5] There are some skeletal remains from boars, sheep, goats and cattle.[4] Skeletal remains from at least two humans have been found and dated to the site's early period.[6] The central parts of the area have traces of wooden platforms which may have been used to access the wetland and fire pits which may have been for meals.[3] The artefacts and carbon-14-dated fire pits are mainly from 350 to 550 AD,[1] although the area was in use from around 100 to 600 AD.[6]

A sixth-century gilded belt buckle found in 2002 received media attention in 2012 when the archaeologist Bengt Nordqvist interpreted it as a depiction of the god Odin.[7] According to Nordqvist, it corresponds to a scene from the Old Norse poem Völuspá, where Odin places his eye in Mímir's well. If the identification is accepted, it confirms that the myth existed in the Migration Period and impacts discussions about Old Norse religion.[7]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Nordqvist 2009, p. 222.
  2. Nordqvist 2017, p. 26.
  3. Wikström af Edholm 2020, p. 129.
  4. Wikström af Edholm 2020, pp. 128–129.
  5. Nordqvist 2017, p. 38.
  6. Wikström af Edholm 2020, p. 128.
  7. Petersson 2012; TT News Agency 2012.

Sources
  • Nordqvist, Bengt (2009). "Finnestorp: New Excavations at an Important War-Booty Site". Current Swedish Archaeology. 17 (1): 222. doi:10.37718/CSA.2009.18.
  • Nordqvist, Bengt (2017). Offerplats Finnestorp. Grävredogörelse avseende arkeologisk undersökning 1902–2012 [Finnestorp offering site. Excavation report regarding archaeological investigation 1902–2012]. GOTARC. Serie C, Arkeologiska skrifter (in Swedish). Vol. 82. Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg. ISSN 0282-9479.
  • Petersson, Amanda (5 July 2012). "Världsunikt vikingaspänne hittat i Vara" [Unique Viking buckle found in Vara]. sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  • TT News Agency (4 July 2012). "500-talsfynd visar Odens offer" [6th-century find shows Odin's sacrifice]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  • Wikström af Edholm, Klas (2020). Människooffer i myt och minne. En studie av offerpraktiker i fornnordisk religion utifrån källtexter och arkeologiskt material [Human sacrifice in myth and memory. A study of sacrificial practices in Old Norse religion based on source texts and archaeological material] (PDF) (in Swedish). Turku: Åbo Akademis förlag. ISBN 978-951-765-977-2.

Further reading

58°10′00″N 13°14′06″E

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