The Web of War: Warfare, Weapon Graves and Technology Transfer in Northern and Central Europe 200 Bce - 400 CE

This publication presents a unique study investigating the complex weapon culture of the Iron Age in Northern and Central Europe. The study is based on a comprehensive corpus of 2,000 weapon graves, covering the period from 200 BCE to 400 CE, and sheds light on the development of weaponry, the dynamics of warfare and the exchange of technology across the region. The book contributes a new understanding of the intricate interplay of factors that influenced the development and spread of weapons during a bloody era, which is otherwise only one-sidedly and unreliably illuminated by contemporary Roman sources. It is the first coherent study of Iron Age weapon culture since Martin Jahn’s Die Bewaffnung der Germanen (1916), and the first ever analysis of the period’s weapon chronology using correspondence analysis for all the regions collectively referred to by the Romans as Germania. The book also presents a new typology and chronology for Roman swords, as well as a new chronology for the Roman imports of bronze objects and glass deposited in graves north of the Roman frontier. Published in cooperation with Museum West.

Rasmus Birch Iversen (b. 1971) holds a degree in prehistoric archaeology from Aarhus University and earned his Ph.D. in 2008. Since then, he has taught archaeology at the same institution, worked as an archaeologist and curator at Moesgaard (2008-2010/2013-2023) and Vejle Museums (2010-2013), and is now an archaeologist at Museum West in Ribe. The author has edited and written several books on the Danish Iron Age.