Failing arguments for the presence of iron in Denmark during the Bronze Age Period IV. Regarding the razors from Kjeldbymagle and Arnitlund and a knife from Grødby

Abstract

ABSTRACT The dark squiggly lines of the razors from Kjeldbymagle and Arnitlund are often mentioned, along with the knife from Grødby, as the earliest examples of iron in Denmark. The razors can be dated to the early Late Bronze Age (Period IV) – around 1000 BC – due to their form and ornamentation, while the iron knife from Grødby is reported to have been found in a slightly earlier urn burial. Recent metallurgical analyses have, however, shown that the squiggly lines are not in fact iron, but rather copper covered by a layer of iron-bearing corrosion, and that the knife’s context with the other grave objects must be considered uncertain. This means that there is no evidence for the presence of iron in Denmark until the very end of the Bronze Age – around 700–500 BC.