Rasmus Birch Iversen

This publication presents a unique study investigating the complex weapon culture of the Iron Age in Northern and Central Europe. The study is based on a comprehensive corpus of 2,000 weapon graves, covering the period from 200 BCE to 400 CE, and sheds light on the development of weaponry, the dynamics of warfare and the exchange of technology across the region. The book contributes a new understanding of the intricate interplay of factors that influenced the development and spread of weapons during a bloody era, which is otherwise only one-sidedly and unreliably illuminated by contemporary Roman sources. It is the first coherent study of Iron Age weapon culture since Martin Jahn's Die Bewaffnung der Germanen (1916), and the first ever analysis of the period's weapon chronology using correspondence analysis for all the regions collectively referred to by the Romans as Germania. The book also presents a new typology and chronology for Roman swords, as well as a new chronology for the Roman imports of bronze objects and glass deposited in graves north of the Roman frontier. Published in cooperation with Museum West.

The collapse of the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries AD plunges Europe into a crisis of unprecedented dimensions. Endless wars, bitter power struggles and wave after wave of desperate refugees devastate the continent and leave the Antique World in ruins. But when the dust settles, a new Europe is born. With great enthusiasm and passion, ten experts share their knowledge and give a compelling insight into an overlooked but absorbing chapter of European history – a time we call the Migration period. The starting point is in the eastern part of the continent, along the banks of the Danube in present-day Romania and Hungary. In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, this area is the setting for events that have given their name to the Migration period. It is here we meet the Huns, the Goths and later the Gepids: Three peoples who battle their way to power and who succeed in establishing new, transient realms and empires, while the influence of the Roman Empire crumbles and the power balance in Europe shifts dramatically. The reader is also initiated into developments in Scandinavian society at this time. New powerful realms are established here, too, under the influence of political developments further south. Out of Chaos is richly illustrated and is aimed at everyone who wants to discover more about the how the foundation stones for modern Europe were laid. The book is published in conjunction with Moesgaard Museum’s exhibition of the same name.

Romerrigets kollaps i 300- og 400-tallet kaster Europa ud i en krise af hidtil uset omfang. Endeløse krige, bitre magtkampe og strømme af desperate flygtninge hærger kontinentet og styrter antikkens verden i grus. Da støvet har lagt sig, er et nyt Europa født. Med ildhu og fortælleglæde kaster ti forskere lys over et overset, men ikke desto mindre fascinerende kapitel i Europas historie – en periode, vi kalder for folkevandringstiden. Ud af kaos begynder i den østlige del af kontinentet langs Donaus bredder i nutidens Rumænien og Ungarn. Området er skueplads for en række begivenheder, der har givet navn til perioden. Det er her vi møder hunnerne, goterne og senere gepiderne – tre folkeslag, der tilkæmper sig magt og lykkes med at danne nye, flygtige riger og imperier, mens Romerrigets indflydelse smuldrer. Bogen giver også læseren et indblik i samfundsudviklingen i Skandinavien, for også her opstod der nye stærke kongedømmer under påvirkning af den politiske udvikling længere sydpå. Ud af kaos er rigt illustreret og henvender sig til alle, der ønsker at blive klogere på, hvordan grundstenene til det Europa, vi kender i dag, blev lagt. Bogen er udgivet i forbindelse med Moesgaard Museums særudstilling af samme navn.

An analysis of the Scandinavian, Roman and Migration Period war booty site, Kragelund, excavated on the Island of Funen, Denmark in the late 19th century. Based on the the evidence from the war booty offerings and a huge number of defensive structures all over Scandinavia, Iversen argues that Iron Age society in this region had an ideology of warfare to a degree such that it was an integral part of the very structure of society. This is a publication from the project The Iron Age of Northern Europe, a colaboration between Moesgaard Museum, The National Museum of Denmark and Archaeologisches Landesmuseum in Schleswig. German text with English summary.