The archeaology of the Wadden Sea

Living by the wadden sea - before

The archaeology of the Wadden Sea Marshland peasants, chieftains and seafarers on the brink of the wide world

Starting in the Iron Ages and onward, the salt marshes were densely populated The rich salt marshes are the key to understanding the archaeology of the Wadden Sea. The green, endless expanses were cropped by huge herds of animals and this is the reason why the Wadden Sea marshes were once so densely populated. Starting in the Iron Age, foreign merchants heralding many new trends sailed along the coasts of the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea did not exist in the Stone Ages.

The area of land that we call Denmark today, looked vastly different, but land submergence and sea level elevation have radically changed the ratio between land and sea. The main features in the developments have been that the south western Jutlandic landscape has slowly settled while the sea level has slowly risen.

During the Mesolithic period, the North Sea Basin was connected with the mainland of England, and man hunted aurochs and red deer on the wide floodplains that today lie on the bottom of the sea. From time to time, an antler axe or other ancient tool lost on dry land is caught in the net of someone fishing in the North Sea, now 50 meters deep. It happens, but rarely, that Stone Age tools are washed up along the coasts of the Wadden Sea. The sea rose throughout the Stone Ages, and when we became peasants around 4,000 B.C, the coast

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line was located just west of what today are the ­Danish Wadden Sea Islands, Fanø, Mandø and Rømø. Slowly, the sea rose across the landscape where the first peasants had settled. The tide deposited its fertile silt sediments of clay stone on the flat coastal areas that slowly rose in conjunction with the general submersion of the land and the ocean’s repeated flooding. Today, the Stone Age fields lie hidden beneath the level surface of the salt marshes and are difficult to find.

From time to time, passage tombs and dolmens from the Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture have been ­located in the salt marshes where they were completely overgrown by clay formations. When, precisely, the Stone Age peasants were displaced by the sea is difficult to say, but radiocarbon dating of the sealed surfaces beneath the marshland clay suggests that the formation of the salt marsh landscape we know today increased drastically during the Bronze Ages.

Morten Søvsø, Sydvestjyske Museer & Lene B. Frandsen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation

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Living by the wadden sea - before

The sea slowly drowned the Neolithic farmers landscape, which is evident by Abterps long barrows.

The peasants and their farms Over time, the ocean and its repeated flooding of the coastal areas created the formation of the rich salt marshes. The infinite grazing areas gave rise to large scale husbandry which in turn allowed for feeding many people. Starting in the Iron Ages and onward, the salt marshes were densely populated and there are many archaeological traces of these marshland farms. In the Iron Ages, the peasants living in the Danish Wadden Sea seem to have always settled on the edge of the Geest which is where the marsh meets the drier, somewhat more elevated land.

The peasant’s farms were thatched and timbered with walls made of wattle and daub. Load-bearing posts were dug into the ground. These postholes can be excavated, thus providing information about the state and development of house-building as well as the farm’s economy and the social status of the inhabitants. In rare cases, we have found graves belonging to the first marshland peasants. In the oldest period of the Iron Age, the dwellings were simple longhouses around five meters wide and ten to fifteen meters long. In the eastern part traces of stall partitions where animals were stabled have sometimes been found. These small farms were spread across the landscape some singly and others may have been part of a scattered village structure.

The oldest church in Scandinavia

By Ribe Cathedral, a large cemetery from the Viking Era has been excavated. Here, by the middle of the 9th century, the missionary Ansgar received royal permission to build a church. It is still there and is the oldest church in Scandinavia.

Throughout the Iron Ages, the marshland dwellings became bigger and around 200 A.D. a new building style emerged where the walls and the fences were constructed of timber dug into the ground. The postholes from these farms give precise information about the layout, and a typical design was farms surrounded by oblong ”fence buildings” that may have been hay barns. The main buildings could now be more than fifty meters long and on the village crofts small dug-in work huts called pit houses could be found.

Chieftains and merchants Society in the Iron Ages was class-divided and chieftains ruled over small or large areas of land along the Wadden Sea. By Dankirke, south of Ribe, an excavation revealed a grand Iron Age hall, where the chieftain held banquets. Around the year 500, the hall burned down.

Morten Søvsø, Sydvestjyske Museer & Lene B. Frandsen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation

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Living by the wadden sea - before

By Ballum the peasant moved out into the marshland where they settled on artificial mounds (terps).

The many finds show that foreign merchants sailed the Danish Wadden Sea and the wreck of the originally 20 meters long Gredstedbro-ship found far up in the river, Kongeåen, shows that shipbuilding was quite advanced.

thern area of the Danish Wadden Sea with the settlement, Misthusum by Skærbæk, as the most northern example. On these plain mounds, the peasants lived in the middle of the marsh with the sea as the nearest neighbor.

Around the year 700 A.D., Ribe was established as a marketplace, the first one of its kind in Scandinavia.

The central element of this early town was its marketplace by the river, where skilled artisans made glass pearls, bronze jewelry, combs made from antlers, amber jewelry, weapons and so much more. Most of the visiting merchants were Christians and by the middle of the 9th century, Ansgar, the missionary, received royal permission to build a church in Ribe.

Very recent excavations by Ribe Cathedral suggest that it really here that Ansgar built his church more than 100 years before Denmark officially transitioned to Christianity in the year 965.

The marshland settlement pattern is not indicative of storm floods being an ordinary occurrence before the 14th century. Hereafter, they became regular events that have, throughout the years, cost many lives and lead to many peasant giving up their homes on the terps and the villages. Close to Gl. Hviding south of Ribe, many large farms built in the 11th century and since overgrown by marshland formations have been excavated.

Terps Throughout the Iron Ages and the Viking Era, the marshland areas grew and spread. By Ballum and Tønder, the peasant moved out into the marshland where they settled on artificial mounds made of clay, the so-called terps. These are only found in the sou-

Marshland farms in more modern times

Through the Middle Ages and in more modern ­times, the salt marshes were densely populated.

The farms developed into half-timbered buildings many of which survived in the 20th century marshland villages. From the 17th century, the peasants built homes with solid foundations made from the characteristically dark clay stone that still adorn the brickwork on the oldest preserved marshland farms.

Morten Søvsø, Sydvestjyske Museer & Lene B. Frandsen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation

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Living by the wadden sea - before

Things to do

Learn about archaeology here ...

Long Dolmen in Abterp by Bredebro. Here you can clearly see how the Stone Age landscape sunk into the sea. (Photo from Historic Atlas)

Varde Museum

In Marbæk plantation, a series of sites dating back to the oldest Iron Age have been exposed. The floors are paved with fieldstone and still show the precise contours of the 2000 year old buildings.

In Hjemsted Banke by Skærbæk, a whole village from the period 200 - 400 A.D. have been excavated. In Hjemsted Oldtidspark, you can see a full-scale reconstruction of these farms.

At the Museet Ribes Vikinger, you will find exhibitions of the rich artifacts from Ribe town’s Viking Era and Middle Ages.

Kirkepladsen 1 DK-6800 Varde

T: +45 75 22 08 77 E: vam@vardemuseum.dk W: www.vardemuseum.dk

The Danish Amber Museum Vestergade 25 DK-6840 Oksbøl

T: +45 75 27 07 03 E: vam@vardemuseum.dk W: www.http://vardemuseum.dk/dk.php/museer/ravmuseet

The Fisheries and Maritime Museum Tarphagevej 2-6 DK-6710 Esbjerg V. T: +45 76 12 20 00 E: fimus@fimus.dk W: www.fimus.dk

Esbjerg Museum

Torvegade 45 DK-6700 Esbjerg T: +45 76 16 39 39 E: museum@sydvestjyskemuseer.dk W: www.esbjergmuseum.dk

Museet Ribes Vikinger Odins Plads 1 DK-6760 Ribe

T: +45 76 16 39 60 E: museum@sydvestjyskemuseer.dk W: www.ribesvikinger.dk

Ribe VikingeCenter Lustrupholm Lustrupholmvej 4 DK-6760 Ribe

T: +4575 41 16 11 E: rvc@ribevikingecenter.dk W: www.ribevikingecenter.dk

About Vadehavets Formidlerforum...

Vadehavets Formidlerforum is a partnership of visitor centers that mediate the Wadden Sea’s natural and cultural heritage.

VFF’s main activity is to coordinate projects that highlight the nature and culture heritage of the Wadden Sea..

tips for further reading

...

The Atlantic Wall by the Wadden Sea Buildings and architecture Life on the Wadden Sea Islands The marsh - its use, nature & culture Navigation, ships and trade

Learn more at www.vadehav.dk

Morten Søvsø, Sydvestjyske Museer & Lene B. Frandsen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation

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