» Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:02 pm Reports tell of an archeological find out of a bog in ancient Jutland (Denmark). A defeated army is being uncovered, 200 individual so far and there are likely more. It dates from the Roman period, but they weren't Roman and is 180+ miles beyond the furthest expansion of the Roman frontier in the First Century. Bones show serious damage from edged and blunt weapons.
Interesting (to me I suppose) is the late iron age, early dark age "kit." Here as in other finds, germano-scandinavian warriors generally carried javelin-spears, shield, war axe and knife. They also found "clubs" in this find but I have not found a detailed description so far.
Notably missing are armor, helmets, swords. Not really surprising if you are familiar with the era. Iron was hard to come by, mostly dug out of bogs actually, and thus swords and metal armor were rare. In fact most iron-age/dark-age warriors of the northern countries went into battle wearing linen tunics. More than likely anyway. Ancient depictions show it that way and archeological data seems to support it. Chainmail and such was used on the Roman side but not so much in Germania. Of course chainmail was standard military garb later by, say, the 10th century.
The axes, like typical dark age axes, look a lot more like modern day wood axes than anything you see in Skyrim. Here is one very well preserved, haft and all, by the bog: [img]http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef01774429a964970d-800wi[/img]. Skyrim axes look more like gothic war axes from the high middle ages.
As for this particular find, some media is calling it a mass sacrifice, but you have to take that with a grain of salt. It is just speculation.
Other media stories have suggested the army is in fact a draugr army and warn that if the archeologists keep poking and prodding at the bog bodies, they will rise up once again and rampage with murderous rage taking northern Europe into a new dark age. But, if you ask my opinion, I think that's a bit alarmist. Besides, most of the bodies are skeletal so if anything it will be a skeleton army, not a draugr army. Wish people would get their facts right.
