The ancient Goths, who lived in what is now Sweden more than 2,500 years ago, may have used a sophisticated system of observing the Sun and the Moon to determine the timing of a large-scale winter sacrifice, the science news site Universe Today wrote.
Swedish astrophysicist Goran Henriksson believes that he has discovered an ancient calendar that could be used to calculate the eight-year cycle of these rituals.
It refers to the region of Old Uppsala, which is located about an hour north of Stockholm. Here there are large burial mounds attributed to the ancient Germanic culture. These peoples were not Vikings. they belonged to earlier Germanic groups and followed pagan polytheistic beliefs associated with the predecessors of the figures of Odin, Freyr, and Thor.
According to Henrikson's version, the most important winter ritual was held once every eight years. The nine-day sacrifices began during the hottest part of winter, around February 6-8. The phases of the Moon and the position of the Sun above the horizon may have been used to determine the date.
Archaeologists have discovered two long rows of pillar pits in Old Uppsala. One of them stretched about 850 meters and was directed in the direction of the northernmost point of the rise of the full moon during the alleged ritual. The second, about 600 meters long, showed the direction of the sunrise on February 6-8.
Henrikson believes that these structures could have been used as a kind of astronomical calendar. By observing the rising of the Moon and the Sun in relation to the rows of pillars, the ancients could determine with considerable precision the moment of the beginning of a new eight-year cycle.
According to Henrikson, one person and seven domestic animals were sacrificed during the nine-day ritual. After the ceremony, according to medieval written sources, bodies of animals and people could be hung from the sacred tree. In the description, the total number of victims reached 72.
The researcher assumes that the exact determination of the time of the sacrifice had a great religious significance for the ancients. They believed that this ritual would ensure order and prosperity for the next eight years.
It is interesting that the landscape of Old Uppsala at that time was significantly different from the present landscape. About one and a half thousand years ago, the level of the Baltic Sea was about 19.5 meters higher than it is now, and the sea was less than a kilometer away from the burial mounds. Henrikson speculates that the reflection of the sun's rays in the water and the shadows cast by the installed pillars could have additionally aided in astronomical observations.
In the vicinity of the so-called three royal burial mounds, dating from around 450-550 AD, archaeologists have also discovered traces of structures that may have been associated with this observation system.
According to the researcher, the Moon also had a special significance in funeral rituals. Many boat burials have been found in the Uppsala area, dating from around 550-1100. In some of them, horses, dogs and things necessary for the afterlife were buried along with the dead. The orientation of some ship burials could also be related to the rise of the full moon.
