Leila Buchardt Joensson

Educated M.Ed. and MA in Celtic Archaeology. I work as a freelance archaeologist in the United Kingdom and Denmark and facilitate archaeological knowledge in historical novels set in the prehistorical period.

Research interests: My research is in the cross field of archaeology, history and
anthropology with a further focus on belief systems and practices in the Iron Age. My
professional goal is the dissemination of archaeological research and historical knowledge
for all.

Current research project: Supervisors: Prof. Rebay-Salisbury and Prof. Karl

‘When Man becomes Material: Beliefs and Practices in the Iron Age North Sea Zone’

The deposition of corpses in bogs is widely interpreted as evidence of the ritual sacrifice of individuals during the Early Iron Age (Aldhouse-Green 2015; Fischer 2007; Giles 2006; 2020; Glob 1965; Pearson 1986; Ravn 2010). The preliminary study (Joensson 2021) revolves around a selected group of bog bodies as the empirical method in a comparative analysis. The PhD project builds on previous knowledge of ritual depositions but breaks with earlier interpretations by going beyond the archaeological analysis of ritual practices concerning violence before deposition. The study will focus on a possible underlying belief system by means of a comparative study of (later attested) mythologies from the North Sea Zone, theories on Embodied Knowledge and the ontological aspects of ritual practice.

The cultural landscape of settlements, burial practices and contemporary deposited material, bodies and human remains constitutes a nuanced discussion of the social systems in the North Sea Zone. A visible stratification in settlement structures and burials may confirm the existence of an elite performing the rituals. Rituals that could refer to a shared belief system and Iron Age worldview in the North Sea Zone - embodied knowledge expressed in practice and material. Against this background, I wish to elaborate
on the preliminary study's explanatory model: The cycle of rebirth with an expanded focus on the ontological aspect and embodied knowledge.

It is possible, that a shared belief system of the Iron Age societies may have influenced the development of the hanging cult of Odin in the late Iron Age – the Viking Age in Scandinavia, as seen on picture stones (Gotland) and the tapestry of the Oseberg burial (Fischer 2007; Joensson 2021:84). This aspect of the PhD study can shed a light on the transition from the Pre-Roman Iron Age period beliefs to late Germanic Iron Age (continental)/Anglo-Saxon (insular) period.

The project’s focus on European archaeology and history supports the research of Universities in Europe and the British Isles. It connects insular and continental European studies e.g. European connections, beliefs and practices including sacrifices and identities.

Publications:

2020: Joensson, L.B. Harigasti Solutio– The Accomplishment Volume 3. Publisher
Forlaget Mellemgaard
2019: Joensson, L.B. Harigasti Teiva - The Divine Warrior Guest Volume 2. Publisher
Forlaget Mellemgaard
2017: Joensson, L.B. Harigasti – The Warrior Guest Volume 1. Publisher Forlaget
Mellemgaard