[gothic-l] Re: Gothic Religious Ancestry

[keth at ONLINE.NO]

Dear Ingemar,
I got interested in what you write below, and tried to find
information about weapon graves in West Scandinavia.
Well, I didn't find too much specific information,
except the mention of the weapon grave at Avaldsnes
in SW Norway, which I gathered dated from roughly 300 AD.
(will have to check that date  later)

In other books there were some general reamarks about
weapon graves being common in the bronze age, but then
almost disappearing and being replaced by very simple 
graves in the beginning iron age.

There was, I think, also a remark about Scandinavian
Weapon graves beginning in the Roman Age again at Bornholm.
Weapon graves then began to come to West Norway also in the
Roman Age. But apparently it wasn't possible to give a definite
date, since it wasn't a sudden appearance, but rather something
that happened over a certain period of time, so that it can
be called a gradual introduction.

I also saw that in the beginning 19th century, most historians
and archaeologists seemed to be holding various theories
about so-called "invasions". These were then various more
or less definite tribes that invaded Scandinavia at various
times from (say) 100 to 500 AD.

However, after WWII these "invasion theories" have largely been
abandoned, and one now sees the development more as a gradual
or continuous process of various slow adaptions. And this
concerns both technology, as well as art and various other customs.

Even speech can be understood as a spreading or even parallell
development of certain systematic changes and innovations.
A good example is the spread of the "throat r" in countries
as various as France, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Norway,
from the 17the century onward. This change was certainly not
due to any invasions, but only due to a spreading of a certain
fashion of speech.

The books also said that the Migration Age was the graet age
of West Norway, with incredibly rich archaeological finds.
In particular one cannot fail to note the amounts of gold.
The gold that had been sparse, almost absent before that,
now began to appear in large quantities. Archaeologists
working in the field, now see this gold as originating
in the Roman Empire, and it is explained as a result of the
trade between the Roman Empire and West Norway increasing very
much during this period. Perhaps due to great improvements
in ship technology, with the North Sea becoming a kind of
"Northern Mediterranean" during this period. Trade with
both Denmark as well as Frisia and the Franks is suggested.
This also included England. The ships may in fact have largely
followed the coasts. Down to the Antwerp area, and from there
across to England.

Best Regards
Keth



>Dear Dirk,
>
>I am sorry I typed wrong in the last message. You stated actually the
>weapon burial system came from Przeworsk culture and so I say that in
> any case this was not imported to Western Scandinavian area untill
>about the 3rd c.AD (the 200's). Forget about the Okshövde/Ocsyvie
>culture that I wrote in the last message.
>
>Kindly
>Ingemar
>
>
>
>
>
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