Lindholm Høje is a ridge near Nørresundby with a view of the Limfjord and Aalborg, which is a large and rare ancient monument that has not yet been fully explored. A new research project will change that. A central question in the research project is: How did social and cultural changes affect people's lives at the iconic burial site Lindholm Høje – an ancient monument from the Iron Age and the Viking Age in the years 400-1100?

The project is called "MILESTONE: Change that mattered in the Late Iron Age" and has just received almost seven million kroner from the Carlsberg Foundation. A project that, according to project manager Sarah Croix, associate professor of archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, shows that life in the past was far from static, and that small and large changes took place at different paces and at different levels – from clothing to eating habits, funeral customs and interactions with the outside world.

"In connection with the project, we will analyse more than 700 graves from Lindholm Høje using advanced dating methods to map changes in burial customs, diet, mobility, demographic composition and health among the population. This will create a deeper understanding of how lives and changes in the past can be mirrored in today's rapidly changing world," says Sarah Croix and elaborates:

"By examining the changes of the past, we can reflect on our own understandings of time and history, where the 'historical' is often used to describe both large and small changes in our time."

The project is carried out in collaboration with the Museums of North Jutland, the AARAMS Centre at Aarhus University and the ERC project "Lumière" at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Contact
Sarah Croix, associate professor of archaeology 
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: marksc@cas.au.dk
Mobile: +45 8716 2541