Of all the treasures found in the land of Denmark, the golden horns from Gallehus stand out. They can only be compared with the boiler from Gundestrup. Like him, the horns are covered with images of figures of people and animals and, undoubtedly, belong to the objects of worship.
According to the runes preserved on one of the horns, they date from the beginning of the 5th century. The runic inscription can be translated as follows: "I, Khlevagast from Holt, (or - Holt's son) made a horn." From which we can conclude that the horns were made in the North, and not brought from Southeast Europe.
The first horn was found in 1679 near the village of Gallehus (North Schleswig). The second was discovered there, but much later - in 1734. After changing hands, both horns eventually ended up in the Danish crown collection of antiquities in Copenhagen.
The find made a splash in the scientific world. The horns were treated like real treasures. The inner surface of each horn consisted of a sheet of pure gold attached to rings made from an alloy of gold and silver. The surface of the product was covered with images of people, animals, birds, fish, stars, etc. In all likelihood, the images made did not carry a semantic load, but were simple decorations.
Some researchers have attempted to decipher the symbolic language of the images placed on the horn, but each researcher gave his own interpretation of the symbols depicted. Vorsae put forward the assumption that the characters have a connection with the mythology of the Elder and Younger Edda. Olric believed that they were associated with Celtic traditions, and Ringbom claimed that the horns were depicted with images of acrobats and dancers, who appeared under the influence of the performances taking place on the Byzantine hippodrome. The researchers have not been able to come to any single point of view.
Much to the regret of scientists, in 1802, both horns, which were kept in the room above the royal library, were stolen. Nils Heidenreich, who stole the horns, did not think of anything better than melting priceless antiques and making jewelry out of them.
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When restoring the horns, scientists were forced to rely on descriptions and sketches made back in the 18th century. The two horns that are currently on display in the National Museum of Copenhagen, as well as the originals, are made of gold and the images that were on the ancient horns are applied to them with maximum accuracy. By the way, copies also disappeared from the collection more than once, after which, once again, they were restored.
Researchers often compare the horns to the "Gundestrup cauldron", suggesting that both the horns and the cauldron were involved in some ancient ritual. It is not excluded that both the cauldron and the horns were used as vessels that were filled with sacrificial blood.
Studying the images made on the horns, Eric Oxenstierna noticed a small figurine of a man with long hair holding a drinking horn in his hands. Most likely it is a priest or a woman. Nearby is an animal lying on the ground. Not far from him stands an archer aiming at an animal, and a little further a man holding a weapon directed downward. There is also a picture of a man riding a horse. Looking at the images, we can conclude that we see a scene of the sacrifice, ending with the offering of the victim's blood.
According to Oxenstiern, one of the horns is associated with ceremonies that took place in the fall and winter. And the second - with those that were held in spring and summer.
Both horns in content and manner of performance are closely related to each other. The image of how one person holds the other so that they form a cross is on both horns. Oxenstierna has suggested that the horns bear images of seasonal ceremonies associated with the worship of the gods.
The horn without runes depicts a scene of a duel between two people, whose faces are wearing animal masks. A centaur is standing nearby. It is possible that rituals associated with something are depicted, but with what exactly, scientists cannot determine, or even suggest.
Similar scenes are also found on the horn with runes. We can also see on it an image of a three-headed giant with a goat, which is not on the horn without runes, but even here it is not clear who the strange character depicts and with what rituals he may be associated.
Some scholars have tried to prove that the men depicted on the horns are gods and identified them with Tivaz, Wodan or Freyr. They believe that the three-headed giant may be the image of Thor, and the archer Ullom. But these are all just assumptions. On the surface of the horns, not gods can be depicted, but ordinary people. Most likely, priests taking part in various rituals.
The figurine of the sacrificed horse may be associated with a rite that came to Denmark from India. On the island of Bornholm, during excavations of one of the houses of the Great Migration Period, a horse sacrifice was discovered. The conclusion that this is a clear sacrifice was made on the basis that the bones of the animal were not gnawed by dogs. Horse sacrifice played an important role in Scandinavia. The horse represented the universe, replacing the bull that had been sacrificed earlier.
Despite all the efforts of scientists, it is currently not possible to give a clear interpretation of the images on the horns. One can only speculate about their meaning and compare the depicted figurines with symbols and rituals that existed during the previous eras of the development of Scandinavia. Just like three hundred years ago, the treasures continue to keep their secret.
Mikhail Ostashevsky