Mysterious Bronze Age Viksö Helmets With Horns Related To Myths, Holy Animals And Divine Power

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - The mysterious Bronze Age Viksö helmets with horns were discovered in southern Scandinavia.

Due to their impractical size and shape, these ancient helmets were not used for war or fighting. Instead, the Viksö helmets were deliberately created for various religious ritual purposes. The elaborate carvings on the helmets have symbolic meaning, and the objects are rich in spiritual meaning and most likely related to myths about holy animals and divine power.

Left: Credit: National Museum of Denmark - Right: The horned helmets of two men's heads on a horse collar from Fogdarp in Scania, Sweden, bear a strong resemblance to the Viksø helmets. Among others, the two men are furnished with curved beaks on their foreheads. Late Bronze Age. Credit: National Museum of Denmark

Scientists think these unique Bronze Age artifacts functioned both as helmets and masks. The Viksö helmets are unique.

Ancient Pages has previously presented several truly bizarre and fearsome ancient helmets, but the Viksö helmets differ significantly and were not designed to scare any enemy.

Some of them are equipped with eyes and a hooked beak. The hooked beak of a bird of prey and the large, round eyes perhaps indicate an owl.

The helmets have manes like horses, and the horns on the helmets relate to the ox.

Viksö helmets

Feathers from a crane or another large bird could be stuck into the two small cylindrical fittings and in the ends of both horns.

The Bronze Age people had a reason to incorporate all these different animals into the design of the helmets. However, the entire purpose behind these helmets is still a matter of speculation.

Sun Symbol In Norse Mythology

We also know that Sun worship was essential, and the picture of the Sun Ship on the helmets from Viksö refers to a central myth in Bronze Age religion.

Along the edge at the base of the helmets are stylized ship pictures made out of a row of minor hammered dents. On each helmet are two ships, which stretch from the front to the back of the helmet. The ship's prow is furnished with a water bird – duck, swan, or grebe. The Sun Ship is the most important religious symbol of the Bronze Age.

Bronze figure from Glasbacka in Halland, Sweden. The figure probably wears a mask with a hooked bird's beak. Late Bronze Age.

The waterbird had a special significance in the Bronze Age perception of the Sun's continual cycle. The bird could follow the Sun and its light in all places and environments. It could dive underwater, swim, walk on the earth, and fly in the sky.

The symbol of the Sun can often be found in Norse mythology. This is the myth of the Sun's eternal journey round and round, with the help of the Sun Ship. The other important helper on this journey is the sun horse, which pulls the Sun across the sky.

The horse, the noblest and holiest of all animals, is represented on the helmets in the form of a mane. The ox, represented by the horns, can symbolize strength and wealth. In many religions, the ox is also a sacred symbol.

Along the edge of the helmets, stylized ship pictures can be seen. The prows resemble water birds.

The bird of prey, which constitutes the masks on the helmets, may also be connected to the Sun's eternal journey myth. If it is an owl, this probably relates to night-time. Finally, the added feathers from the crane, which can also be seen in Bronze Age rock carvings from Sweden, may be connected to changing the seasons. The crane is the largest and most beautiful of the migratory birds.

Two small intriguing figurines were discovered in the 18th century at Grevensvænge, near Næstved, Denmark. It is assumed that the figurines have initially been part of an ensemble arranged on a ship.

The men wear helmets with curved horns like those from Viksö. Only one of the figures is preserved today, but old drawings of the find show that the two men initially knelt beside each other, and each had a sizeable ornamental axe in one hand.

Left: mask from The Early Bronze Age, furnished with bronze horns and golden application, was found at Hagendrup in western Zealand. Credit: National Museum of Denmark 
Right: Part of a rock carving from Sotetorp, Bohuslän in Sweden. The man on board the ship wears a horned helmet. Credit: National Museum of Denmark 

The same motif, of kneeling men wearing helmets and carrying axes, is depicted on a razor from Vestrup in south Zealand. The men are sitting in a boat.

This is how the Viksø helmets may have looked—illustration by Anders Andersson. 

Ships, helmets, and ornamental axes were all used for religious activities in the later Bronze Age. The combination of men with helmets and axes is also found on Swedish rock carvings. The warriors on the rock carvings from Sotetorp at Tanum in the Bohuslän area are helmet-clad and carry axes. They also have swords at the hip and hold a round object in the other hand. The round object may represent the Sun.

Both the twins' motive and the cultic significance of the horned helmets seem to have persisted into the early Germanic culture. The kneeling warrior figures have been interpreted as the "Ashvins" type divine twins of early Indo-European religion, sons of the sky god, known by Alcis to Tacitus.

Updated on August 30, 2024

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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