A temple of aesirs:

In 2001, the remains of a remarkable house were discovered. It was found on an area south of the church that has thick occupation layers and also very interesting detector finds of high quality. The house has through its unusual structure and exceptional finds been interpreted to have had a ceremonial function, a . It was founded during the Roman Iron Age, probably around 200 AD, and was rebuilt several times until the last stage ended in the early Viking Age. Seven stages of almost identical houses have been documented through excavation. There was a forerunner, a long house, found below the floor layer of the oldest stave house. The long house can probably be dated to have been in use during the Early Roman Iron Age, but there could also be a possible connection to artefacts dated to the Pre-Roman Iron Age that are found in later filling layers. There are traces from a successor too. A younger house was erected when the last stave-constructed house was torn down in the early Viking Age. The long continuity of the building through centuries with no traces of being burnt down can reflect the solid social order and also the importance of the site. It was a monumental high timbered building with a structure that has similarities with a stave church. The fireplace was located in the centre of the building.

The three entrances show a difference compared to ordinary Iron Age houses. The main entrances or the opposite entrances can not be found in the middle of the house. In this house, the north-south entrances are located in the western part of the house. These two entrances seem to have been the most important ones. The south-west entrance has a more prominent structure, and a concentration of finds close to the north-west entrance can indicate that this was an important ceremonial area. Several finds, some of very special character, were found in the house, in the posthole fillings, in the wall trenches, and in the close surroundings. For example: a glass bowl and a beaker were found together deposited below a floor layer, more than hundred gold-foil figures have been found mainly in the filling of the postholes and the wall trenches, ring handles, glass sherds, pottery sherds, nails, Viking Age comb fragments, a ceramic vessel, an Arabic dirhem, gold objects, raw material of gold and deposited weapons. Finds show that noble metal objects probably were produced close to the house. The excavation of the unique house was completed in 2004.

Some of the finds:

The glass bowl and the beaker were found through a metal detector survey, deposited below the surface of a floor south of the central hearth. To prevent from further damage, the whole section of soil with the finds was taken to the laboratory. After the beaker was removed, the curator had a difficult job with the preservation of the bowl for several months. The pressure of the soil had damaged it. The bowl has a rim diameter of about 165mm, a height of 97 mm and has an overlay decoration influenced by plant patterns. A production of glass objects in Scandinavia during the Iron Age is not yet known. These objects reached Scandinavia as imports from the Roman Iron Age onwards. Finds from southern Scandinavia show for example contacts with tribes that were located in the middle of Europe from late Roman Times and some centuries onwards. Glass beakers, glass bowls and other drinking equipment were imports and a way for the Iron Age elite to display their power and wealth. The bowl and the beaker found at Uppåkra are interpreted as high status objects, used by an elite. The origin of the bowl is most probably south-eastern Europe, the Black sea region, and a network of exchange brought it to Uppåkra. It could have been made in the 5^th century.

The beaker has a height of about 165 mm. It has a body made of copper, a foot of silver and it is decorated with embossed gold bands and profiled silver bands. There is a possibility that the body of the beaker because of its shape can be older than the decorated bands. The embossed foils are interpreted to belong to a south Scandinavian stylistic tradition, and are dated to the late 5^th century or around 500 AD. Regarding metallurgy, finds at Uppåkra show that highly skilled craftsmen most probably had permanent workshops at the site from the Migration period onwards. The embossed gold bands on the beaker and the gold-foil figures are made in the same technique. Patrices (dies) for making gold-foil figures have been found showing the presence of the technology and the knowledge that was required for making the embossed bands on the beaker.    

Before the excavation of the ceremonial building, two gold-foil figures and two patrices (dies) were found during metal detector surveys in 1997 and 1998. When the excavation of the house was completed, the result was 120 gold-foil figures and three patrices found mainly in the fill of the postholes and the wall trenches. 115 of the figures are embossed figure foils. The rest are individually made, cut out along the contours of the figures. The majority have motifs with single figures, both male and female, but there are also foils with depicted pairs. They are all very small and very thin. They vary from 9 to 26 mm in height, and all the 122 figures together do not weigh more than 10-20 gram. The research regarding the gold-foil figures found at Uppåkra and other locations in Scandinavia, analyses for example the different features (hairstyle, dress, gesture, etc) and the different attributes (sword, neck ring, collars, belt, drinking horn, etc). Then it is possible to identify regional patterns, die-identical figures and also depicted deities. The material shows that Uppåkra has die-links to Bornholm, Sjaelland (Toftegården) and Fyn (Lundeborg). There are figures from Uppåkra and Bornholm that are made from identical dies, and regarding the overall material, the Uppåkra figures show many similarities to the Bornholm figures. Bornholm is exceptional with 2400 figure foils found. Thor, Odin and probably also Frey are deities that can be seen depicted on the Uppåkra gold foils. The figures are interpreted to have had a symbolic function as offerings in the ceremonial building context, and they can sometimes be referred to as ‘temple money’. There are concentrations found in the north-western post filling, and in the wall trench east of the north entrance. Maybe this area was an important part of the house. The figures could have been deposited in the filling directly, or maybe have been fastened to a post and then deposited when the house was rebuilt. The dating of the gold-foil figures is difficult, but they have probably been deposited during the Migration and Vendel Period.   

Deposited weapons and warriors’ equipment:

Excavations, surface surveys and surveys with metal detectors have revealed many finds of weapons and warriors’ equipment all over the site, but finds in the area surrounding the ceremonial building indicates that this was an important cultic area of the settlement. A large concentration of about 300 objects was found about 25 metres north of the ceremonial building. Warriors’ equipment with a large number of lance- and spearheads were found deposited here. 110 lance- and spearheads of totally 136 have been dated and show that there is a time span from soon after the birth of Christ until the midsixth century. This means a spread in chronology of about 500 years. This is unusual chronological spread compared to other depositions of this kind of equipment. The objects could have been deposited at different occasions or could have been collected somewhere and then deposited in larger or smaller depositions. Many of the lance- and spearheads were deliberately bent before they were deposited, and some of the other equipment also shows signs of destruction. In this large concentration of objects there were also sling stones, arrowheads, shield bosses, shield handles, pieces of skeletons, objects that can not be interpreted as warriors’ equipment and objects that unfortunately could not be determined. Minor depositions have most probably also taken place in the area around the ceremonial building. There are several finds: lance- and spearheads, an eyebrow arch, two mountings shaped like pigs, a sword pommel with inlaid gold and silver, a piece of a sword haft with gold and garnets, two mountings that might have been applicated on a sword scabbard. It is possible that the beautiful eyebrow arch and the two pigs were once applicated on the same helmet, since they were found close to each other. At Uppåkra the objects were deposited on dry land and this is a rare phenomenon. The depositions are interpreted as offerings to the gods and were a way to communicate with  them. Offerings were a common occurrence in the society, but then often in wet milieus like bogs, lakes or rivers and there are several finds of warriors’ equipment and weapons found.  Gullåkra bog is located not far from Uppåkra, and objects found there can indicate that the bog was also used for sacrifices. Maybe Uppåkra represents a change in tradition, from sacrifices in bogs, lakes and rivers, to sacrifices within the settlement on dry land. At Uppåkra, lance- and spearheads were still deposited when the depositions in the Danish bogs seemed to have ceased. The weapons and equipment that were sacrificed at Uppåkra could have been used for defending themselves, but most probably they were a booty brought home after military campaigns or encounters. The weapons and some of the equipment were ritually bent and destroyed and then buried. Historical sources like Tacitus and Orosius wrote about the Germanic tribes and their custom of destroying the equipment of their enemies. The large number of lance- and spearheads at Uppåkra can perhaps be linked to a cult of the aesir Odin at the site.
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