HEDENSTED, DENMARK—Gizmodo reports that more than 100 items, including lances; spears; swords; knives; arrowheads; an ax; chainmail armor; and fragments of a bugle and a bridle were unearthed in central Denmark during an investigation conducted ahead of a road construction project. The weaponry had been placed in a cache that also contained fragments of two bracteates, or bronze medallions worn around the neck. The bracteates bear similar decorations to the chainmail found in the deposit, and may have been worn as a sign of political or military allegiance. The objects are thought to have been deposited some 1,500 years ago, said archaeologist Elias Witte Thomasen of the Vejle Museums. “The sheer number of weapons is astonishing, but what fascinates me most is the glimpse they provide into the societal structure and daily life of the Iron Age,” he said. Additional analysis may reveal if the weapons belonged to the people who occupied the site, or if they had been captured from an enemy. To read about weapons recovered from the burials of medieval knights, go to “Viking Knights, Polish Days.”

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Source: archaeology.org