Archeologists Discover Hundreds of Decorated Stone Artifacts on an Island, Offered it to Gods to Banish ‘Darkened Sun’

Archaeologists Uncover Hundreds of Ornate Rock Artifacts on a Remote Island, Dedicated to Appease the "Darkened Sun" Deity.

.

The stone arrangement. The pottery style used for the plaques and the radiocarbon dating of nearby charcoal revealed to experts an approximate time frame when the stones were placed. The sun connection to the stones was made by researchers based on the imagery and the groups' affinity for the star.

The majority of the stone plaques were made from black shale, a dark type of sedimentary rock that is easily recognizable on the island. Other stone artifacts were carved from quartz and flint. Researchers observed that plant and sun designs were etched into the stones. The discovery of the stones in the same location raised the interest of experts, who hypothesized that they were placed there for a specific purpose. This theory was linked to the volcanic storm that occurred after the time period when the stones were placed at the site.

"We've long known that the sun was the central aspect of the early agricultural societies in Northern Europe. They relied on farming and the sun to bring in the harvest. If the sun had almost disappeared due to prolonged periods of mist in the stratosphere, it would have been extremely intimidating for them," archaeologist Rune Iversen from the University of Copenhagen explained. The stone artifacts may have been placed there as offerings to deities, to restore the "normal" order of things, according to experts. "It's reasonable to assume that the Neolithic people on Bornholm tried to shield themselves from further climate deterioration by sacrificing sunstones, or perhaps they wanted to express their gratitude for the sun's return," researchers stated.

Experts believe the site was turned into a fortified settlement after rocks were deposited. This suggests, in their opinion, that a "sacrifice" occurred in the area. The team speculates that a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption may have ruined crops, and the stones were possibly buried as a sacrifice to a deity, asking for a recovery from the situation. Another idea is that the stones were buried to restore the sun to its original form, which may have changed due to environmental factors. "These rock deposits may have been made during a stressful time in order to bring back the sun and resume agricultural production," the researchers explained in their study. "They may also have been deposited after the climate crisis had ended, as a way of celebrating the return of the sun."

Researchers believe that the findings show how crucial the sun was to ancient Neolithic communities. "It's really amazing to discover that ancient people made depositions to honor the sun, a phenomenon we see again in South Scandinavia during a climate disaster caused by a massive volcanic eruption in 536 AD," said Lasse Vilien Sørensen, an archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark.