Illerup Adal 5, 6 and 7: Die Prachtausrustungen

One of the greatest accumulated finds of Roman military equipment ever has occurred in Denmark in the Illerup Adal near the town of Skanderborg. It was in this valley in the second century AD that warriors from Jutland placed as a sacrificial thanks for their victory, the weaponry of their defeated enemies. Excavations lasting many years resulted in more than 15,000 items being found. Through the systematic analysis, registration and identification of each individual item, it has been possible to track most of the weapons back to the independent Germania or to the Roman Empire. How the weapons found their way to Illerup from those regions remains a mystery. Perhaps they were spoils of war gathered by the Germanic tribes during their border skirmishes along the northern flanks of the Roman Empire? The volumes 5-7, Die Prachtausrustung, presented the more spectacular finds - the lavishly decorated and crafted equipment which presumably were the belongings of chieftains and distinguished warriors - in this way giving us an insight into the organisation and social differences in an iron-age army.