Archaeology of Northern Europe
The Chalcolithic is marked by the arrival of the Corded Ware culture, possibly the first influence in the region of Indo-European expansion.
Northern Europe enters the protohistorical period in the early centuries AD, with the adoption of writing and ethnographic accounts by Roman authors.
A recent study from researchers from the Kiel University showed, however, that the first urnfields were established in the 7th century BCE already and thus, in the very late Bronze Age.
Bronze, which was an imported alloy, suddenly became very scarce; and iron, which was a local natural resource, slowly became more abundant, as the techniques for extracting, smelting and smithing it were acquired from their Central European Celtic neighbours.
The rise of iron use in Scandinavia was slow: bog ore was only abundant in southwestern Jutland and it was not until 200–100 BC that iron-working techniques were generally mastered and a productive smithing industry had evolved in the larger settlements.
[7] Funerary practices continued the Bronze Age tradition of burning corpses and placing the remains in urns, a characteristic of the Urnfield culture.
Archaeologists have found swords, shield bosses, spearheads, scissors, sickles, pincers, knives, needles, buckles, kettles, etc.
It is debated why cultural innovation spread geographically during this time: whether the new material culture reflects a possibly warlike movement of Germanic peoples ("demic diffusion") southwards or whether innovations found at the Pre-Roman Iron Age sites represent a more peaceful trans-cultural diffusion.
Fortified settlements from this period include Tönsberg, Erdenburg and Grotenburg in Germany, Borremose in Denmark and Atuatuca in Belgium.
In Scandinavia, there was a great import of goods, such as coins, vessels, bronze images, glass beakers, enameled buckles, weapons, etc.
[12] The Gudme Hall complex, a ruling elite residence and cult site, was built in Denmark in the 3rd century.
[16][17] A wooden temple was built at Uppåkra in the 3rd century and continued to be used and rebuilt over 600 years, into the early Viking Age.
[18] Gamla Uppsala in Sweden developed into an important religious, economic and political centre from the 3rd century onwards.
After the Western Roman Empire fell, gold became scarce and Scandinavians began to make objects of gilded bronze, with decorative figures of interlacing animals.
In the LGIA, artistic styles became more abstract, symbolic, and intricate, including figures with interlaced shapes and limbs.
Important royal or elite centres from this period include Gamla Uppsala in Sweden, Lejre and Tissø in Denmark,[26] and Avaldsnes and Borg (Lofotr) in Norway.
