Germanic Iron Age

Germanic Iron Age is the name modern scholars give to the period 400–800 in Northern Europe, and is part of the continental Age of Migrations. The Germanic Iron Age begins with the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of the Celtic and Germanic kingdoms in Western Europe. During the decline of the Roman empire, an abundance of gold flowed into Scandinavia; there are excellent works in gold from this period. Gold was used to make scabbard mountings and bracteates.

After the Roman empire fell, gold became scarce and Scandinavians began to make objects of gilded bronze, with decorative figures of interlacing animals. In the early phase, the decorations tended to be representational—the animal figures are rather faithful anatomically Later they tended to be more abstract or symbolic—intricate interlaced shapes and limbs like those characteristic of the Viking Age that followed.

Some of the best-known remains from the period in Denmark include the "peat bog corpses", among them the well-preserved bodies of two people deliberately strangled: Tollund Man and Haraldskær Woman. You can also visit Scandinavia’s largest centre of wealth at Gudme, where hoards of gold treasure totalling 10 kg have been found.

References: Wikipedia, National Museum of Denmark

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