Early Iron Age

History of Denmark between 500 BC - 400 AD

The Early Iron Age in Denmark covers the period from 500 BC until 400 AD and is divided into three periods: Pre-Roman or Celtic Iron Age (500 - 1 BC), Early Roman Iron Age (1 - 200 AD) and Late Roman Iron Age (200 - 400 AD).

In the time around 500 BC people began to extract iron from local deposits. People were no longer dependant on bronze from distant areas of Europe. In addition, iron was a much stronger and more suitable metal for weapons and tools. The farmers in the Early Iron Age lived together in small, fenced villages. That it was not always peaceful and friendly though is testified by the weapon offering from Hjortspring Mose. You can also read more about the woman from Huldremose, who was laid in the bog dressed in her finest clothes.

A new metal, silver, appeared in the time around the Birth of Christ. The large silver cauldron from Gundestrup is a good example of this. At the same time the Romans invaded large parts of western Europe. The Roman Empire’s proximity led to significant cultural and social changes in Denmark. In the princely graves from Hoby and Himlingøje you can see the result of the meeting with the Roman Empire.

Reference: National Museum of Denmark

Previous historical period: Bronze Age (-1700--501) | Next historical period: Germanic Iron Age (401-792)

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.