Archaeology of Denmark

The prehistory of Denmark (Jutland) reveals that (following earlier Clactonian relics)[citation needed] many different cultures were to settle there and leave archaeological footprints since the end of the last ice age.

Their discovery parallels the ongoing evolution of Danish archaeology itself, which began in the early nineteenth century with the establishment of the National Museum of Denmark, organised by Christian Thomsen.

[1] Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae, one of Thomsen's early assistants, set out in 1850 to investigate an interesting find of flint tools linked to a heap of ancient oyster shells at Meilgaard in Northern Djursland.

[15] Runes based on the Latin alphabet began to appear, and Roman imports among grave goods also show the increasing influence of the nearby empire by the first centuries AD.

[16] For subsequent periods, Danish archaeology has worked alongside, instead of independently of, the historical record, exploring for example the conflicts of the Jutes and the Danes echoed in Beowulf, or the roads, buildings, and runic inscriptions behind the later Viking kingdom.