In the Iron Age the bog was a sacred lake, where the weapons and ships of vanquished armies were offered to the gods in thanks for victory over the fallen enemy. Many items were deliberately destroyed (broken or hacked into pieces) in ritual sacrificial acts.
The archaeologist Conrad Engelhardt performed the first archaeological excavations at Nydam Bog in the period 1859-1863. Engelhardt found, among other things three vessels from the newer Iron Age. The excavations ceased due to the outbreak of war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864. Some of the discoveries, including a well-preserved pine (fyrretraesbåden) ship, were unfortunately lost during the war.
The National Museum of Denmark resumed excavation of the bog in 1989. During excavation a large quantity of weapons have come to light, in the form of swords, spears, bows and arrows; and also personal effects such as belt buckles, brooches and ornate clasps. These finds originate from the Iron Age, in the period between 250 and 550 AD.
Three boats were found in Nydam Bog: an oak (egetraesbaaden) boat (the Nydam Boat) which is on display at Gottorp Castle, another oak boat which had been cut to pieces, and the pine boat, which was lost in 1864. The map above shows the excavated areas and where the oak and pine boats were found.
A simplified cross-section through the excavated area of the bog is shown below. Completion of the first silting of the lake ca.6000 BC is marked by formation of alder fen peat with trunks and tree-stumps. After the lake was re-established at about the time of Christ, sedimentary deposits occurred until ca.400 AD. The lake was thereafter silted up once again due to the formation of swamp peat and later, alder fen peat.
Peat was cut on the bog site prior to establishment of the lake in the Iron Age. The weapon finds lay in the upper part of the sedimentary lake deposits or in the lowest part of the overlying swamp peat, but a few spear shafts have been thrust into deeper layers (marked in yellow) during sacrificial rituals.
