Danish Village Grounded in Iron-Age History

On a Saturday afternoon in 1952, a group of peat-cutters from the Danish village of Grauballe made a gruesome discovery. Two feet below the surface they unearthed the head of a man whose throat had been severed ear to ear.

The body was completely naked, and the hands so well-preserved that the police were called to take fingerprints. The prints were for scientific purposes; there was no chance to identify the dead person. This man, who died in his late 30s, had lived as a contemporary of Julius Caesar.

Known today as the “Grauballe Man,” he’s one of the best examples of numerous Iron-Age bodies that have been discovered naturally preserved in the peat bogs of Denmark, Northern Germany and the Netherlands. Interestingly, each individual died a violent death, perhaps a sacrifice-ceremony victim.

Today, the Grauballe Man is one of a number of fascinating exhibits at the Mosgard Prehistoric Museum, about five miles from Denmark’s second-largest city, Arhus.

The museum, which is set in a forest near a beach, offers exhibits from the Stone Age to Denmark’s Viking period. Cost is about $3 for adults, students about $1.50. It can be reached by taking bus No. 6 from the Arhus rail station, a 30-minute trip costing $1.75. The area also contains many bicycle paths. A map, costing $3, is available at the tourist information office.

Arhus, which has a population of 258,000, was founded by the Vikings 1,000 years ago. Remnants of history are everywhere. The basement of the UNI Bank, in the center of Stroget Street, is a small Viking museum focusing on life in the Arhus area in AD 900.

Inexpensive accommodations are available at a youth hostel in the middle of the city’s oldest forest, which is also a five-minute walk from a beach. The Pavillonen Youth Hostel is at Marienlundsvej 10, two miles from the city center. It can be reached by taking buses numbered 1, 6, 8, 9 or 16 from the rail station. Accommodations, in four-bedded rooms for members of national hosteling associations, is $9 per person. Nonmembers get charged an extra $4.15. The hostel is closed between noon and 4 p.m.

Those who don’t want to stay in a hostel can arrange--through the local tourist information office--for accommodations in a private home for $15.30 per person, plus a $3 booking fee. Coffee or tea is provided, and bathroom facilities are shared. Breakfast is available for $5.35. The tourist information office is in Arhus City Hall, about a two-minute walk from the rail station.

For more information, contact Denmark at the Scandinavian Tourist Boards, 655 3rd Ave., 18th Floor, New York 10017, (212) 949-2333.

Some sea travel between Scandinavian countries is included in popular European rail passes sold in the United States. Students are also eligible for the 50% discounts on the ships of Scandinavian Seaways, which include routes to Great Britain.

These huge ships provide overnight services with swimming pools, saunas, casinos, theaters, dining and duty-free shops. For details, contact a travel agent. In Britain, you can inquire at Scandinavian Seaways, DFDS Travel Centre, 15 Hanover St., London W1R 9HG.