Southern Sweden likely consists of the furthest extent of the Nordic Bronze Age where blades of the Sögel and Wohlde type have been found. Approximately five relevant blades have been identified this far north and are currently in the collection of the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm. Typologically, the blades show many similar features to
Denmark, and most importantly the southern part of Jutland, has traditionally been part of the Sögel-Wohlde region in the early Nordic Bronze Age. In previous posts, we have already stressed the importance of swords belonging to the Apa-Hajdúsámson type from the Carpathian basin, as one of the main sources of inspiration for the Sögel-Wohlde metalwork.
Czechia is one of the destinations that could not be missed as the counties of Pilsen and Southern Bohemia had some excellent finds that could be related to the Nordic Sögel and Wohlde blades. Previously, we have already been to the Moravian Museum in Brno to study a blade that is reminiscent of a type
After Munich, the trip continued with stops at the Stadtmuseum Nördlingen and the Keltenmuseum Hallein. Both locations are somewhat out of the way but could not be missed. Both the Stadtmuseum in Nördlingen and the Keltenmuseum in Hallein were important destinations since they have in their collection specimens of the rarer type Varen as well
Last November, we were able to meet one of our main cooperation partners at the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich. The museum itself is undergoing a renovation and is still under construction. This often means that much of the archaeological collection has been safely put away in storage until they can be put on
This time the sampling trips practically followed the Danube river starting from Linz to Tull’n an der Donau, Vienna and Bratislava. Beyond that there were excursions to Wiener Neustadt, Asparn an der Zaya and Graz as well as Brno in Czechia. This area in the northern Alps again held many of the suggested precursors to
So far, the majority of blades that have been presented have those of the Wohlde type. The Sögel blades have so far been more elusive but the latest visits to Verden, Bad-Bederkesa and Oldenburg have restored the balance as the most Northwestern area of Lower Saxony appeared to have several burials that contained Sögel blades.
The latest visit took us to Lower Saxony again, this time to the so-called Elbe-Weser-Triangle which encompasses the region between Bremen, Hamburg and Cuxhaven. Here, I was able to spend time at the Archaeological Museum Hamburg, the Bachmann Museum in Bremervörde and the Focke Museum in Bremen. Mostly, Type Wohlde and Harburg blades were present
Slowly we are starting to investigate more and more of the potential precursors for the Sögel and Wohlde blades. This time we are investigating Wohlde precursor blades with the characteristic trapezoid hilt plates such as type Gamprin, Statzendorf and Sandharlanden. We were very pleased and grateful to have received the cooperation of: Vorarlberg Museum, Bregenz
The area currently known as Hessen in Germany lies in the contact zone between the Northern Sögel-Wohlde district and southern Germany, where many of the potential precursors for the Nordic blades are said to originate from. The museums included in this visit were: Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel Museum der Stadt in Bad Hersfeld Vonderau Museum