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Roman Reflections uses a series of detailed and deeply researched case studies to explore how Roman society connected with and influenced Northern Europe during the Iron and Viking Ages. In an original way, the book brings late prehistoric Denmark - best known for its so-called ''bog bodies'' - into a world dominated by textual histories, principally that of Tacitus.The studies include a new examination of the bog-bodies of the late first millennium BC, a classical archaeological puzzle: men, women and children murdered yet respected in death and adorned with items of fine clothing. A second essay challenges traditionally held ideas about the Cimbri by exploring the textual and archaeological evidence, including the startling and famous European artefact, the Gundestrup silver cauldron. The other studies comprise an archaeologically founded modernist discussion of the ethnography of Tacitus'' Germania, in particular considering the character of ancient Germanic Bronze and Iron Age societies; a linguistic exploration of the Latin inheritance in northern European names and places, much of which seems to have been invented by the Romans; and an analysis of the origins of the Danes.Throughout, traditional sources and history are presented in conjunction with new archaeological observations and interpretations. In an accessible way, Roman Reflections assesses Denmark''s part on a larger stage, showing how foundations were laid for its zenith in Viking times.>
Sommario
Preface
1. Hostages and Bog Bodies. New Interpretations
2. The Cimbri. Death • Resurrection • Death
3. Nations & Alliances. The Ethnography of Tacitus’ Germania
4. Romans in the North. Deconstruction of Names and Identities
5. Origins of the Danes. From Tacitus to King Harald
6. Epilogue. The First Millennium AD in Denmark. Words & Things
Info autore
Klavs Randsborg is Professor of World Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research covers the Scandinavian, European and Mediterranean Neolithic, the Bronze and Iron Ages, Classical and Near Eastern Antiquity, the Roman Period, the Migration Period, the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages as well as African archaeology and Global topics. He is a member of the permanent council of UNESCO.
Riassunto
Roman Reflections uses a series of detailed and deeply researched case studies to explore how Roman society connected with and influenced Northern Europe during the Iron and Viking Ages. In an original way, the book brings late prehistoric Denmark – best known for its so-called ‘bog bodies’ – into a world dominated by textual histories, principally that of Tacitus.
The studies include a new examination of the bog-bodies of the late first millennium BC, a classical archaeological puzzle: men, women and children murdered yet respected in death and adorned with items of fine clothing. A second essay challenges traditionally held ideas about the Cimbri by exploring the textual and archaeological evidence, including the startling and famous European artefact, the Gundestrup silver cauldron. The other studies comprise an archaeologically founded modernist discussion of the ethnography of Tacitus’ Germania, in particular considering the character of ancient Germanic Bronze and Iron Age societies; a linguistic exploration of the Latin inheritance in northern European names and places, much of which seems to have been invented by the Romans; and an analysis of the origins of the Danes.
Throughout, traditional sources and history are presented in conjunction with new archaeological observations and interpretations. In an accessible way, Roman Reflections assesses Denmark's part on a larger stage, showing how foundations were laid for its zenith in Viking times.
