Danish Archaeology in the 1980's

Shows how different social groups employed archaeology and history to consolidate their newgained positions during the last 200 years. The epilogue summarize the sad return of neo-nationalism during the last 20 years and its impact on archaeology and heritage.

Experimental archaeology is subfield in archaeological research that is increasing in popularity in the academic community as it allows the investigators to recreate an element of the past as accurately as they can to investigate archaeological questions through creation and experience. This paper gives an in-depth look into what experimental archaeology is, as well as surveying several case studies into various parts of Denmark’s prehistory and the experimental archaeological projects done. This paper also asked about the representation of religion and ritual in experimental archaeology to few results with the hope that the future will allow more experimental work to be done in this area of social life. It was ultimately found that there are few “rules” to experimental archaeology, allowing freedom and artistry to come forward, as long as the tests remained based in the archaeological evidence and contexts and were as accurate and authentic as possible.

The purpose of this annotated analytical bibliography is to explore and analyze the recent archaeological endeavors in northern Europe, specifically regarding the Scandinavian Vikings and their expansions from mainland Denmark, Sweden and Norway into Scotland, Iceland and other places in the North Atlantic. It will examine both peer reviewed articles and books which detail general studies conducted over the entirety of the area and more specific works that explain the importance and informational value of certain elements of Viking influence. By connecting all of these together, an overarching view of the current state of the field will be revealed. This research project will attempt to analyze what we know about life during the Viking Age including political reform and mortuary practices while also going into deep detail concerning the many negative environmental effects of Viking expansionism on the various islands of the North Atlantic.

Arkæologisk Forum, 2019

Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 2006

The Danish PhD School in Archaeology was set up in September 2002 with a threeyear grant, as one of several new 'Research Schools' that are dependent on government funding. The purpose of the School was to strengthen PhD studies and education in archaeology by developing systematic courses, wider scopes of study, networking, internationalisation and by joining forces among the five Danish archaeological university departments (Classical, Medieval and Prehistoric archaeology at Aarhus University, and Near Oriental and Prehistoric and Classical archaeology at Copenhagen University) and the Danish National Museum. The School is run by a chairman and board with one member from each participating department and the National Museum.

2009

Although considerations and experiments on the ase of computers have a relatively long tradition in Danish archaeology, no comprehensive scientific project has yet been carried through. The use of computers in archaeological science is reduced to storing and retrieval purposes (besides text-processing) and, until now, leaving the analytical potentials as almost unexploited. The level of Danish theoretical archaeology is the main reason for this situation. Generations of archaeologists educated before about 1970 were dominated by the cultural-history tradition, and their humanistic approach was by definition in contradiction to a 'hard science' like mathematics. So, computers were thought to be 'incompatible' with the archaeological theory of that time. Between World War II and about 1970 the introduction of precise definitions and measurements in archaeology, due to a strong positivistic influence, was supposed to change archaeology to a 'scientific' state, &...

2021

During the past two decades Scandinavian archaeologists have increasingly participated in projects abroad. Only a few of the projects are based on past cultural-historical links, while the majority are based on comparative and collaborative perspectives, often on other continents. The reason for this development is partly the theoretical development within the discipline, and partly also changes in funding policies. This new situation presents Scandinavian rcsearchers with many practical, ethical and political challenges, but if we take them seriously we may often be rewarded.

Reeves Flores, J. & R.P. Paardekooper (eds) 2014: Experiments Past. Histories of Experimental Archaeology. Leiden: Sidestone Press.

Director Bülow and engineer Thornberg were both very eager to try to produce iron like they did in the Iron Age. I was not interested in archaeology at all in these days but the furnaces seemed reliable enough and I thought that it would be possible to produce iron in them. Though, it would require more sophisticated measuring equipment than the primitive instruments Voss had at his disposal. On the way home Bülow and Thornberg talked for a long time about building a furnace at the steelworks site. I said nothing. I knew that it was me who would be the one to carry out the hard work.

Since the early 1980s, metal detector surveying conducted by amateur archaeologists has contributed significantly to archaeological research and heritage practice in Denmark. Here, metal detecting has always been legal, and official stakeholders pursue a liberal model, focusing on cooperation and inclusion rather than confrontation and criminalization. Like no other surveying method since the invention of the shovel, the metal detector has contributed to increasing enormously the amount of data and sites from metal-rich periods. Virtually all of the spectacular and ground-breaking discoveries of the past decades are owed to metal detectors in the hands of amateur archaeologists. And it is these finds and sites that today constitute one of the very foci of archaeological research. This article provides an overview of the current status of liberal metal detector archaeology in Denmark 30 years after its inception, and attempts to identify the reasons why this popular hobby never developed into the problem it has become in other parts of the world. It concludes that the success of the liberal model in Denmark is the result of a very complex interplay of legislative, historical, cultural, and social factors. On this basis, it is discussed whether the Danish experience can be used as a source of inspiration in the necessary progression towards a new legal agenda for responsible metal detector archaeology.