Skelhøj is a

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

from the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, situated near the Kongeå River in southern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It was archaeologically excavated between 2002 and 2004.

History

Skelhøj is an individual

that is part of a broader series of 26 along the Kongeå River in

Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions. ...

. It was likely built in one singular effort over the span of a few months. Other well preserved burial mounds from the area include , , , and Storehøj at Tobøl. Many such mounds were built across Denmark, predominantly during the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(1500 to 1100 cal. BC); scholar Jørgen Jensen estimated the number at 85,000. The mound was dated to the 15th century BC using

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

. Archeologists estimate that it was originally tall, though this had decreased to by the time excavations were undertaken, and in a broadly circular form with a diameter.

Construction

Archeologists suggest that the area where the mound was constructed was first burned to clear it, then the oak coffin was placed down and covered by a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

, at which point the barrow itself was built. It was likely built in one singular effort over the span of a few months, with eight different sections being constructed by different groups of workers. The mound was divided into eight sections, evocative of an eight-spoked wheel, each of which were constructed independently, and the groups involved in construction may have brought turf from the area they lived in. The mound was robbed, likely shortly after construction, and another time in the 19th century.

Excavation

It was completely excavated from 2002 to 2004. Archeologists sought to study how the burial mound's oak coffin was preserved along with what was within it, how the barrow was constructed, and what the landscape around the mound looked like when the mound was constructed. They concluded that the coffin had been covered in large amounts of water shortly after burial, which created what they described as an "iron capsule" around the coffin through a chemical

reduction reaction Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelhoj Tumuli in Denmark Vejen Municipality