Borremose Fortification, Himmerland

Was it a Center of the Cimbrers?


In Borremose in Himmerland was in Celtic Iron Age a village surrounded by banks and moat. A 70 m long and 3 m broad paved road led from the moor through the village. The latest examinations have showed that the village and the bank were built in the same period ab. 300 BC. There were about 50 small houses, but only 10-12 were contemporary. This is the same size village, which is known from other places with ab. 100 residents. The village was used in 2-300 years, and during that time the city-plan was changed, the village street is the last phase.


Iron Age House, reconstruction, Moesgård Museum, Århus.

The swamp was first formed after the village was built. The question is, why they built a village out here, quite different from other villages. It has been suggested that the fortification was symbolic (the bank was no more than 1,5 m high) - that the bank might have fenced the central village of the Cimbrers, their administrative and religious center. The village was burnt down, and the moat was filled back. This indicates that this was not an ordinary village. In this connectiont is is interesting that from the same time only 3 km north of the village were found 3 bog mummies and 2 magnificent kettles, the Mosbæk-kettle and the famous Gundestrup-kettle.


Borremose, pretty Jersey cows and apple blossoms

In the moor are found numerous clay-vessel sacrifices and the leather for an oblong shield from Celtic Iron Age. Vesthimmerlands Museum, Års has a fine collection of textiles also from other moors and from a moor between Års and Ålestrup origin the famous Vesteris-leather bag, dated to Celtic Iron Age.


Borremose

The earliest known of the bog mummies is a Bronze Age woman found in Borremose in Himmerland. She was 20-35 years of age and rather fat. She lay flat on her stomach in the moor, naked, but covered with a woolen skirt. Cause of death is not known, but her face had been crushed by a terrible blow from a wooden club. She had died in the 8th century BC.

Blanket from bog mummy in Borremose

Bog mummies (also photo of the Borremose woman)

Source: Ingrid Falktoft Andersen, Vejviser til Danmarks Oldtid, 1994.

photo Borremose: grethe bachmann

Tawny Owl/Natugle

Strix aluco


" - yesterday the bird of night did sit
Even at noonday , upon the marketplace
Hooting and shrieking."
Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar".

The Tawny Owl is commonly found in woodlands across much of Europe and Asia - and it is the most common owl in Europe. It is a night creature and remains well hidden during the day - and it is responsible for the classic sound of owls at night. The nest is typically in a tree hole where it can protect its eggs and young against potential predators. This owl is non-migratory and highly territorial. Many young birds starve if they cannot find a vacant territory once parental care ceases. As with most owls, its flight is silent because of its feathers' soft, furry upper surfaces and a fringe on the leading edge of the outer primaries.

This nocturnal bird of prey hunts mainly rodents, usually by dropping from a perch to seize its prey, which it swallows whole; in more urban areas its diet includes a higher proportion of birds. Vision and hearing adaptations and silent flight aid its night hunting. The Tawny is capable of catching smaller owls, but is itself vulnerable to the Eagle Owl or Northern Goshawk. Red Foxes are an important cause of mortality in newly fledged young.

Although many people believe this owl has exceptional night vision, its retina is no more sensitive than a human's. Rather, it is its asymmetrically placed ears that are key to its hunting because they give the Tawny Owl excellent directional hearing. Its nocturnal habits and eerie, easily imitated call, have led to a mythical association of the Tawny with bad luck and death.

Across the world owls have become birds of folklore and legend, and the tu-whit, to-whoo of a tawny owl is among the most obvious calls of any bird. Many superstitions are associated with owls. Witchcraft, medicine, weather, birth and even death. In the past the owl was thought to be both wise yet foolish, feared but venerated and despised while being admired.

In Aesop's fables and in Greek myths and beliefs the owl represents wisdom and helpfulness and has powers of prophecy. Owls were associated with Blodeuwed, the goddess of betrayal in the ancient Welsh story Maboginion and the Greek Athene was a goddess of wisdom and was represented by a Little Owl to which she gave her name.

In Celtic folklore the owl is a sign of the underworld, the Inuits on Greenland see the owl as a source of guidance and helpfulness, the Tartar shamen of Central Russia could assume owls' shapes and in Scotland it's bad luck to see an owl in daylight.

In medieval Europe the owl had become associated with witches and the inhabitant of dark and lonely places - the owl's appearance at night linked them with the unknown - but superstitions
died out in the 20th century, and the Owl has returned to its position as a symbol of wisdom. In fact the owl has become quite hot with the success of the Harry Potter books, which have reminded adults and kids alike of the mystic nature of these beautiful birds.

photo ⓒ 100208: grethe bachmann, Forsthaven, Århus

Scorzonera hispanica
Scorzonera humilis


Scorzonera humilis/Lav Skorzoner

Scorzonera hispanica, black oyster plant or Viper's Grass or simply Scorzonera is a member of the sunflower family, cultivated as a root vegetable. It has heads of yellow flowers. It is native to Southern Europe and the Near East. It is generally thought to have spread to the rest of Europe from Spain. The name Scorzonera derives from the Old French word scorzon meaning snake. The Celtic and Germanic peoples are believed to have eaten the black salsify which was considered efficaceous against the bubonic plague and snake bites until the 16th century. The plant was being cultivated as a vegetable in Italy and France by 1660, and soon after, the Belgians were growing vast fields of it. The black salsify is considered very nutritious, and it is often eaten together with other vegetables and is popular in white sauce.

photo Torup, Mid Jutland 24. May 2009: grethe bachmann