IRON AGE EXHIBITION
Sacred bogs and bloody battles
At the bog, between land and water, we take part in the sacrifices which the Iron Age farmers make to the gods. Visit Grauballe Man, the world’s best-preserved bog body, who has earned his own place of honour in a mythical bog universe, see the Gundestrup Cauldron, and shudder at the sight of the dead warriors from Alken Enge.
500 BC - AD 800
The sacrifices in the bog
Where do you go when you want to contact the gods? In the Iron Age, sacred temples are not constructed, like in the Roman Empire or ancient Greece. Instead, people go out into nature and make sacrifices at the edges of lakes and in bogs – including the greatest sacrifice of all: a human being.
Grauballe Man
Grauballe Man is the world’s best-preserved bog body, and his hair, skin, nails and teeth are still telling stories. Researchers have even found out what he ate for his last meal! He is Moesgaard’s crown jewel and provides a window into the dark mysteries of the Iron Age.
Experience the battle of Illerup Ådal
One of the greatest battles of the Iron Age takes place in the valley known as Illerup Ådal around the year AD 200. Thousands of warriors fight, the enemy is brutally defeated and the victors destroy the weapons of the dead, before offering them all to the gods in the sacred lake. Stand in the middle of the battlefield in the installation ‘The Battle’ and gaze at the huge number of sacrificed weapons that were found in the river valley.
Open today 10–17