Fire, Water, Heaven and Earth: Ritual Practice and Cosmology in Ancient Scandinavia - An Indo-European Perspective

Archaeological excavations of prehistoric Scandinavian graves and ritual sites often reveal seemingly enigmatic and contradictory features. Interpretation from a comparative Indo-European perspective allows a partly new approach to material which at first sight seems fragmentary and anonymous. The interpretations in this book proceed from cosmological beliefs occurring in various Indo-European traditions. The author discusses mortuary practices and votive customs in ancient Scandinavian tradition in a long-term perspective, with a comparative Indo-European approach.