BY ASPEN PFLUGHOEFT
Sifting through the soil of an abandoned ancient village, archaeologists in Denmark searched for anything that looked human-made. Their efforts paid off when they unearthed several very rare tools, offering a glimpse into life 1,500 years ago.
A team of archaeologists spent the winter excavating a field next to a gravel pit in Stepping, the South Jutland Archaeological Museum said in a Jan. 23 post.
Excavations of the mundane-looking plot revealed it was the site of a village over 1,500 years ago, the museum said. The settlement had fenced farms and huts used as workshops.
But, for some unknown reason, it was eventually abandoned.
Before residents left the village for good, they filled the workshop structures with garbage from the farm, the museum said in a Jan. 28 post. The move was likely motivated by convenience — yet also helped modern-day archaeologists.
Buried in one of the workshops were several 1,500-year-old loom weights, weaving tools used to keep the thread tight on a vertical loom, archaeologists said. The weights were likely forgotten when the site was abandoned.
A photo shows one of these clay, bead-like weights and some grains accidentally pressed into it when it was made.
Loom weights were ordinary objects during the village’s existence but are a very rare find for archaeologists, the museum said. The weights, along with other artifacts, provide a glimpse into the everyday life of ancient residents.
A reconstruction shows what the workshop may have looked like during its existence.
Excavations also uncovered two tin weights used for spinning wool and a very rare metal comb used for making clothing, archaeologists said.
Stepping is a small village in southern continental Denmark and a roughly 160-mile drive west from Copenhagen.
This article was original published in Miami Herald on February 6, 2025.
