Behind Heathendom: Archaeological Studies of Old Norse Religion

Abstract

This paper offers a synthesis of a large body of research into the Norse which has been conducted as part of a multidisciplinary research projekt - Vagar till Midgard - Roads to Midgard. Evidence for Pre-Christian Norse religion is drawn from Medieval Icelandic literature, place-names and the archaeology of ritual sites. The movement from open-air sites to purpose built ritual houses and finally churches is outlined. The prolonged contact with the Mediterranean world during the Roman Iron Age exerted a strong influence on Old Norse religion and some of the most distinctively Scandinavian religious features can be seen to be hybrid cultural constructs.