4,900 years ago, a Neolithic community on the Danish island of Bornholm engaged in the ritual sacrifice of numerous stones adorned with sun and field designs. Researchers, including archaeologists and climate scientists from the University of Copenhagen, have established that these rituals coincided with a significant volcanic eruption that caused sunlight to vanish across Northern Europe.
4,900 years ago, a Neolithic community on the Danish island of Bornholm engaged in the ritual sacrifice of numerous stones adorned with sun and field designs. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have now shown that these rituals coincided with a significant volcanic eruption that caused sunlight to vanish across Northern Europe.
Throughout history, volcanic eruptions have led to serious repercussions for human societies, like cold weather, diminished sunlight, and poor crop yields. In 43 BC, a volcano in Alaska released vast amounts of sulfur into the stratosphere, resulting in crop failures in Mediterranean countries for several years, leading to famine and disease. This is well-documented in ancient Greek and Roman texts.
Although written records from the Neolithic period are lacking, climate scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen have analyzed ice core samples from Greenland and have confirmed that around 2,900 BC, a similar volcanic eruption occurred. This eruption likely brought about devastating effects for the Neolithic communities dependent on agriculture in Northern Europe at that time.
This new understanding of climate events from the Neolithic era has prompted archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen, the National Museum of Denmark, and the Museum of Bornholm to reassess their findings of the so-called “sun stones” from the Neolithic site at Vasagård on Bornholm, leading to a new publication on the topic in the journal Antiquity:
“For quite some time, we have understood that the sun was vital for early agricultural societies in Northern Europe. They relied on sunlight for their crops. If the sun was obscured for extended periods due to atmospheric conditions, it would have induced significant distress among them,” explains archaeologist Rune Iversen from the University of Copenhagen, who has been involved in the excavations at this site managed by the Museum of Bornholm and the National Museum. He adds:
“A unique find specific to Bornholm is the flat shale ‘sun stones’ featuring intricate sun designs. These stones were likely offerings meant to ensure the return of the sun and promote agricultural growth. Numerous sun stones were discovered at the Vasagård West site, where they were placed in ditches associated with ritual feasting, including animal bones, broken pottery, and flint artifacts, around 2,900 BC. These ditches were later filled in.”
Iversen and his team believe there’s a strong likelihood that a connection exists between the volcanic eruption, the resulting climatic shifts, and the ritual sun stone sacrifices.
“It seems plausible that the Neolithic inhabitants of Bornholm aimed to protect against further climatic decline by sacrificing sun stones—or perhaps they were expressing gratitude for the return of the sun,” he notes.
Major cultural changes
As if the abrupt climate change around 2,900 BC wasn’t enough, Neolithic cultures in Northern Europe also faced other calamities; recent DNA research on human remains has revealed that widespread and deadly plagues were occurring at the time.
During this period of climate fluctuation and disease, archaeologists observed a noticeable transformation in the long-held cultural practices. The Funnel Beaker Culture, which had thrived for over 5,000 years with its distinct pottery and passage graves, began to decline.
“At the excavated site on Bornholm, we can see that after the sun stones were sacrificed, the structure of the site altered from sacrificial ditches to vast rows of palisades and circular cult houses. While the reasons for this shift are unclear, it’s reasonable to suggest that the severe climate changes they experienced played a significant role,” concludes Rune Iversen.
Sun stones to be exhibited in Copenhagen
Starting January 28, four of the sun stones from Vasagård will be displayed in the prehistoric exhibition at The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. These artifacts likely represent some of the earliest deposition practices linked to a Neolithic sun cult in Southern Scandinavia, which also connects to the Nordic Bronze Age with similar offerings like the sun chariot.
“The sun stones are truly unique, even compared to other European finds. The closest parallels to such a sun cult in the Neolithic are found in a few passage graves in Southern Scandinavia or henge structures like Stonehenge in England, which some scholars link to solar worship. The sun stones, however, leave no doubt in my mind. They are an extraordinary discovery that illustrates the ancient practice of depositing offerings to honor the sun—a tradition that reemerges in South Scandinavia during the volcanic climate crisis around 536 AD, when large gold treasures were likewise sacrificed,” states Lasse Vilien Sørensen, a senior researcher at The National Museum of Denmark and co-author of the study.
Volcanic eruption 2,900 BC
Researchers have established evidence of decreased sunlight and subsequent cooling traced back to both the United States and Europe around 2,900 BC.
Dendrochronological studies of fossilized wood indicate signs of frost during spring and summer before and after 2,900 BC.
Additionally, ice cores from the Greenland ice cap and Antarctica contain sulfur deposits, indicating a significant volcanic eruption occurred during that time.
