May Day

 May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half of a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations.

 As Europe became Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, and All Saint's Day. In the twentieth century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival again.

Construction Site in Scotland Yields 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Sword and Golden Spearhead

Ancient Origins

A precious hoard of amazing ancient artifacts, including a bronze sword and a rare gold-decorated spearhead have been found in Scotland. From preliminary examination, archaeologists estimate that the valuable artifacts could be 3,000 years old.

 The “Find of a Lifetime”
GUARD Archaeologists, who led the excavation on behalf of Angus Council, described the discovery as the “find of a lifetime”. The horde of Late Bronze Age weapons, which was unearthed at a Scottish construction site, includes a gold-decorated spearhead, and a bronze sword in extremely good condition.

The Bronze Age hoard as it was first revealed during excavations. Photo credit: GUARD Archaeology

The artifacts were spotted during an archaeological evaluation in a field in Carnoustie ahead of the construction of two football pitches. The valuable artifacts were found in a pit close to a Bronze Age Settlement currently being excavated by the archaeologists, which GUARD Archaeology describes as a “rare and internationally significant discovery.” GUARD Project Officer Alan Hunter Blair, who directed the excavation, said, “It is very unusual to recover such artefacts in a modern archaeological excavation, which can reveal so much about the context of its burial. Owing to the fragile nature of these remains when we first discovered them, our team removed the entire pit, and the surrounding subsoil which it was cut into, as a single 80 kg block of soil,” and adds, “This was then delivered to our Finds Lab where it was assessed by a specialist finds conservator to plan how it could be carefully excavated and the artefacts conserved.”

The Immense Archaeological Significance of the Weapons
Just like Homer’s Iliad, as Alan Hunter Blair rightfully mentions, the earliest Celtic myths often highlight and worship the brilliance of heroic weapons as well. The spearhead was found next to a bronze sword, a pin, and sheath fittings. All objects date to around 1,000 BC to 800 BC, and have delighted archaeologists who consider them to be particularly significant from an archaeological point of view, even though they all agree that the gold-decorated spearhead is the one that stands out the most. “The earliest Celtic myths often highlight the reflectivity and brilliance of heroic weapons,” explained Blair in an interview with the BBC. “Gold decoration was probably added to this bronze spearhead to exalt it both through the material’s rarity and its visual impact.

The gold spearhead found in the Bronze Age hoard. Photo credit: GUARD

Archaeology Rare Organic Remains
Also Found The finds include a leather and wooden sheath – now considered to be the best preserved Late Bronze Age sheath ever found in Britain – that enveloped the sword. The archaeologists also found fur skin wrapped around the spearhead, and textile around the pin and sheath, which makes the finds even more interesting due to the fact that organic items of this kind rarely survive for so long in the ground. “Organic evidence like Bronze Age wooden scabbards rarely survive on dryland sites so this just underlines how extraordinary these finds are,” said GUARD Project Officer, Beth Spence, in a statement as Fox News reports.

 Finds Reveal Information about Local Bronze Age Community
Angus Council communities’ convener Donald Morrison added: “It is clear that Carnoustie was as much a hive of activity in Neolithic times as it is now. The discoveries made on land destined for sporting development have given us a fascinating insight into our Angus forebears and I look forward to learning more about our local prehistory.” In other words, Morrison clearly implies that the hoard is not an isolated find as some might originally thought, but was buried within a Late Bronze Age settlement, which means that it will be possible to examine the archaeological context of the hoard, revealing new information about the local Bronze Age people that buried it. The Carnoustie Bronze Age hoard is now undergoing further examination by a group of experts from across Britain, led by GUARD Archaeology, to unlock more information about the rare artifacts and the context of their burial, which may explain why this hoard was buried here.

Top image: The bronze sword discovered during excavations at Carnoustie. Photo credit: GUARD Archaeology.

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Stunning Celtic Horse Harness Became Treasured Brooch of Norwegian Viking Woman

Ancient Origins

During the summer of 2016, a beautiful bronze brooch was found opportunely at Agdenes farm, at the outermost part of the Trondheim Fjord in mid-Norway, buried as a status symbol in the grave of a Viking woman. An analysis of the precious artifact revealed that it is a 9th century ornament that was originally a Celtic horse harness and was likely stolen during Viking raids in Ireland.

 The Decorations Imply that the Jewelry Was Designed in Ireland
The well-maintained piece of jewelry is an ornament with a bird figure that has fish or dolphin like patterns on both sides. The decorations suggest that it was probably created in a Celtic workshop, probably in Ireland, between the 8th and 9th century. What’s more surprising though, it’s the fact that it was originally used as a fitting for a horse’s harness. The holes at the bottom and traces of rust from a needle on the back, reveal that it had probably been turned into a brooch at a later stage.

Some of you might wonder now how a fitting from an Irish horse’s harness ended up being brooch for a Norwegian Viking but those who are familiar with Vikings, a successful historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the channel History, shouldn’t be surprised. As the show clearly shows, Norwegian Vikings took part in relentless raids of the British Isles.

According to Heritage Daily, Aina Margrethe Heen Pettersen, a doctoral student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Historical Studies, works with finds brought to Norway during the Viking age and verifies what the popular TV series shows, “A housewife in Mid-Norway probably received the fitting as a gift from a family member who took part in one or more Viking raids to Ireland or Great Britain. When she died, the jewelry was given to her as a burial gift. It has stayed underground until it was found by chance this summer.” She also adds that this is not the first time they have found such pieces of jewelry from that era in a woman’s grave, and speculates that this was a way for Vikings to show their love to their women after they returned from their conquests to the British Isles.

Vikings undertook relentless raids of the British Isles. Thorir Hund kills King Olaf at the Battle of Stiklestad (public domain)

The Visual and Cultural Significance of The Symbols
It looks like love and affection weren’t the only reason Vikings handed such objects to their women, or other female family members. The Vikings who participated in the early raids to the British Isles and made it back alive, gave these objects to female family members not just as gifts but also as trophies that gave them a prestigious status within the Viking societies. The fittings were then transformed into pieces of jewelry, and were worn on traditional Norse clothing as brooches, pendants or belt fittings. Heen Pettersen says about this common practice that became a tradition, “As a result, it became clear to everyone that those women had family members who had taken part in successful expeditions far away. There are traces of gold on the surface of the jewelry, so it was originally covered in gold. It therefore appeared to be more valuable than it actually was. In addition, each piece of jewelry was unique, so the owner did not risk having the housewife next door turn up with the same piece of jewelry.”

An example of how a Viking woman would have worn her brooch.

The Grave Has Been Disturbed
Heen Pettersen claims that the impressive jewelry was discovered by a civilian with a metal detector so it can’t be considered a find from an archaeological site that was officially excavated. Additionally, the fact that the bronze brooch was not found in the original grave, clearly shows that the grave was disturbed at some point. Regardless these misfortunes, Heen Pettersen is pretty satisfied with the finding and says to Heritage Daily that its cultural and historical value is undeniable, “The new find from Agdenes farm shows that the area was populated in the first part of the Viking Age. Even though it is a random find, it is a nice reminder that Mid-Norway was involved in the early contact with the British Isles.”

Top image: The Celtic harness found buried with a Viking woman in Norway (Photo: Åge Hojem / NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology)

By Theodoros Karasavvas