Vasagård Archaeological Project: A Causewayed Enclosure and Timber Circles in the Island of Bornholm, Denmark

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Vasagård site is located on the southern side of the island of Bornholm, Denmark. Vasagård is separated by the 100m Læså valley from two nearly identical Neolithic sites and consists of a tomb system where a dolmen and a passage grave can be found close to the settlement. The grave system and causewayed enclosures are dated from 3500 BC., and constitute the most north-eastern occurrence of this complex type in Europe. Contemporary to the palisade enclosures timber circles have been found, as well as three hundred small and flat, engraved stones, (broken and complete) and large quantities of animal and carbonized seeds placed as offering. The engraved stones were marked with patterns of radiating straight lines and have been named "sun stones" or "solar stones" by the local archaeologist. Archaeologists from the Bornholm Museum have proposed that these artifacts were likely part of the rituals carried out by Neolithic sun-worshipping societies about 5,000 years ago. Analysis of these materials that has been discovered will present us with a clearer view of the first communities that settled in the island and the origins of agriculture, farming and rituality in Bornholm.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24285