A temple and fortified settlement were found in Denmark's Central region during research being conducted by Museum Midtjylland. The discovery sheds light on early European societies and provides significant insights about their religious practices as well as the international trade network spanning Europe's northern reaches to the Mediterranean.
Notably, Hedegard has Scandinavia's largest burial ground. It is also Denmark's largest settlement from the century around Christ's birth. It is located on a prominent hill on the north side of Skjern A (Skjern River). Surrounded by a strong fence, the village area covers nearly 4 hectares at its largest.
The site offered rare insight into religion and long-distance connections, with archaeologists describing it as one of the most spectacular Iron Age findings in recent decades.
At the center of the discovery is the temple that dates to "around 0 AD," according to the Indian Defence Review. It is situated in the southeast corner of the fortification. It is 15 by 16 meters in size and almost rectangular. On the outside, there is a deep ditch that remains buried almost 2 meters below the surface. In this, they discovered round wooden posts that have been placed at 30 cm intervals.
The inner structure has a southern entrance and walls built from split planks and clay. Inside it, the archaeologists saw a raised 2 x 2 meter central hearth, which was well decorated with stamped and linear ornaments. This indicates the building's primary function was religious rather than domestic.
“Everything at Hedegård is bigger and wilder than usual... When we talk about this site, nothing is ordinary," said museum inspector Martin Winther Olesen.
Talking about the temple, Olesen said this provides people with the "first real picture of what a religious building from this period looked like”.
"Until now, we only had examples that were several hundred years younger," Olesen added.
The Iron Age burial ground at Hedegard was discovered by archaeologist Orla Madsen in 1986. Excavations continued until 1993 but were later paused due to changing priorities, reported arkeonews.net.
Museum Midtjylland began its investigations in 2016 and got its breakthrough in the summer of 2023.
The timing of Hedegård's construction and fortifications remains
Archaeologists have suggested that the palisade and fortifications that surround the temple could have been a response to Roman military pressure.
“Suddenly, Roman expansion became a very real threat right on the doorstep. How do you respond to that kind of pressure? Fortification may have been the answer,” Olesen said.
