As you know, the land of Denmark in the literal sense of the word is "stuffed" with ancient artifacts, and among them there are many real treasures. But two golden "horns from Gallehus", nevertheless, are simply impossible not to distinguish among all this wealth. And to compare … one can only compare them only again with the Danish "cauldron from Gundestrup", because this cauldron and horns are all covered with images of figures of people and animals and, of course, are objects of worship. On one of the horns there are runes from the beginning of the 5th century, which can be translated as follows: "I, Khlevagast of Holt, (or - Holt's son) made a horn." That is, this is a local, not imported product.
The first horn was found in 1679, and the second, not far from the place where the first was found, only in 1734 in Northern Schleswig, near the village of Gallehus. Obviously, these horns form a pair, although they were found separately. Having changed many owners, they ended up in the collection of antiquities belonging to the Danish crown and located in Copenhagen. It is clear that in the scientific world, their discovery caused a real sensation, because they could be studied, describe and build the most intricate theories. It's funny that, despite the obvious value, these horns were used for their intended purpose: the most honorable visitors were served Rhine wine in one of them. But in 1802, a thief named Nils Heidenreich managed to steal them. And then he melted both horns and made jewelry out of them. So when scientists decided to restore these horns, they had to focus on their descriptions and sketches made by their predecessors back in the 18th century. However, the horns that are exhibited today in the National Museum of Copenhagen are indeed golden, and all the images that were on the ancient horns are reproduced with maximum accuracy. However, how many times these horns were stolen and restored is not known exactly. They tell about this in different ways, including museum guides …
Here they are, the golden "horns from Gallehus". A fine example of ancient craftsmanship.
Later, Niels told a lot of interesting things about the horns, which left behind not only a bad, but also a good memory. According to him, both horns were made of sheet gold of high standard, and fastened with wide rings, made of an alloy of gold and silver. They were covered with images of human figures and various animals, birds, fish, stars and ornaments. The latter, most likely, did not carry a semantic load and served as a common decoration. But some of the relief images had a certain meaning, but what the kidnapper, of course, could not say. What could mean, for example, a man with three heads? However, there was no shortage of attempts to interpret the images on the horns.
"Horns from Gallehus" on display at the National Museum in Copenhagen.
Some saw them as characters of Scandinavian mythology, someone believed that they were made in Celtic traditions, or that they were … acrobats and dancers whom the creator of the horns saw at the Byzantine hippodrome. At the same time, each new researcher added something from himself, but to this day there is no single point of view as to what the horns represent!
One horn is longer, the other shorter.
Again, what can you compare them with? Only again with the "boiler from Gundestrup". What if both the cauldron and the horns were involved in some ancient ritual, and it probably was. The fact that they drank from the horns is undoubtedly. But what? Wine, water, beer, blood, milk? That is, history, unfortunately, has not left us with evidence of their practical use.
It is difficult to photograph them, firstly, because they are behind glass, and secondly, because the images on them are very small.
Images on the lost horn from Gallehus without runes.
However, if we look at the figure of a long-haired man in the second row from above, we will see that he has a drinking horn in his hands. Next to him is some kind of animal, most likely a horse lying on the ground (since this figure is located at an angle to the rest of the figures). A man with a bow is standing nearby and aiming at this animal. Next, we see a man with spears in both hands, pointing downward. Another man is riding a horse. There is an assumption that if we consider these figures in the following sequence: a horseman, a man with spears, an archer, a man holding a horn, then why not imagine that a scene of sacrifice is shown in front of us?
On the horn without runes, we see a duel between two people, whose faces are covered with animal masks. A centaur is depicted next to them. It is possible that these are various rituals associated with … what? This cannot be said. We can only guess about this, and the most conclusive assumption in the end may turn out to be erroneous and vice versa - the most unsubstantiated one - true.
Two naked men with swords and shields on a short horn. Who are they? Berserkers, dancers, gods? Unknown!
The horn with runes bears similar scenes. But here there is a three-headed giant with a goat, which is not on the horn without runes. And again, who does this character represent, what rituals and beliefs is he associated with, what culture does he belong to?
The horned figure with a sickle depicted on the shorter horn.
At the top of the rune-horn, there are two people naked or wearing loincloths. Note their curved-horned helmets, common in Denmark during the Bronze Age. In any case, they look like the famous "helmets from Vimose". One holds a sickle and a wand, and the other holds a short spear, a ring and a wand. Further here we see warriors with swords and shields and, very possibly, they also dance. But for some reason, a horse or deer with moon-shaped horns is also depicted here.
Many scientists tried to prove that the men depicted on the horns are gods, and even identified these dancing characters with Tivaz, Wodan or Freyr. The three-headed giant with a goat, in their opinion, was Thor, in the archer they saw Ull. But it is quite possible that not gods are depicted here at all, but ordinary people. So in helmets with horns, too, people or, more specifically, priests. Well, the warriors with swords and shields are most likely the priests of the god of war.
Images on the lost golden horn without runes. Based on a drawing made in 1734.
Images on the lost golden horn with runes from Gallehus, Denmark. Based on a drawing made in 1734.
Interestingly, we find images of people with spears in their hands and in horned helmets on the plates adorning the famous helmet from Sutton Hoo, and the same plates were found among the so-called "Wendel helmets" of the 7th century. It is possible that these images are somehow connected with the twin gods, which were described by the Roman historian Tacitus, the sons of the god of heaven. Tacitus also reports that they patronized travelers. Well, and a man, with a sickle and a spear in his hands, could be both the god of the sky and one of his priests - who knows what the ancient chaser tried to convey with his images.
The images are often completely incomprehensible….
There is no figurine of the goddess of fertility, but there are symbols - a ring and a snake, which can symbolize the deity of fertility … a man whose image is on the "cauldron from Gundestrup".
The stars are above and … below. Why?
The figurine of a horse sacrificed is associated with a rite that came from India, that is, it may be associated with the Aryan culture of tribes who came to Europe from the East. In Scandinavia, such sacrifices could be made by warriors who asked the gods to defeat the enemy and gave them the most valuable thing they had - war horses! Before that, bulls were sacrificed in the previous period of its history.
Horse sacrifice and a three-headed giant with a goat.
In Denmark, apparently, there was also a custom of horse sacrifice. For example, on the island of Bornholm, during the excavation of one of the houses of the Great Migration era in Sort Mulda, an explicit horse sacrifice was discovered. Why sacrifice? Because the bones of the animal were not gnawed by the dogs. They found horse skulls and bones in the peat bog in Rislev (Zealand), and in many other places. In any case, the images of a man next to a horse on the "Gundestrup cauldron" and a rider on the "Gallehus horns" unambiguously testify to the high role of the horse in the society of the ancient Danes.
Here it is - the "cauldron from Gundestrup"
And this is one of the figures depicted on it. On the head are deer antlers, in the hands of a snake and a ring - symbols of engagement with nature or power over her?
In general, so far all attempts to explain the storyline of the images on the "horns from Gallehus" have not really led to anything, as well as the comparison of these finds with the "cauldron from Gundestrup". They are beautiful, they are pleasing to the eye, they tell us about the original and ancient culture of that time, the skill of those who made all this, the complex rituals and beliefs of those who used them, but no more. The treasures keep their secret, as they did three hundred years ago.
