Archaeology of Odinism. Author: Dimitar Al. Dimitrov

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Archaeology

of
Odinism
By Dimitar Alekseev Dimitrov © 2021
Foreword

My interest in Odinism dates from the late 1990s, when I bought myself the book “Rune
Power” by Kenneth Meadows. I even made the runic initiation, described in the book, under a
local ash tree. Actually, it felt quite right…
Of course, I started to explore the runes, but I was into many ancient religions and cults at
that time. Just recently, around 2013, I decided that the Celtic paganism and the Odinism – the
two original native religions of my continent, Europe, should be my only religions. In 2019, I
started to make a scientific research on the basic elements of Odinism like divinities and
sources. I wrote two papers so far – about the cosmogenesis and the ethnogenesis, according to
the ancient Scandinaveans, based on the Voluspa and the Heimskringla’s Ynglingatal; and my
commentary of the first 25 lines of the Voluspa.
This time, my intention is to go a little bit further in explaining the roots of Odinism, based
on archaeological data and its possible relations to the sagas.

I. Prehistoric petroglyphs and rock art

Already in Bronze Age (1800 – 500 BC) rock carvings in Tanum, Sweden, the images,
which the local craftsman decided as worthy of remembrance were these:
1. Those of a mighty fleet. Which means that the ancient Alvheim’s (present-day
westernmost Sweden’s) coast was part of a flourishing local culture, which had large (war?)
ships with many men.

This fact is important in several ways, in my humble opinion. Most of all, because of the
very important question for the exact place of origin of the ruling Scandinavean class. As we
know, Saemundr the Learned placed even the creation of the Cosmos itself on the
Scandinavean peninsula, when he first wrote down the ancient Voluspa in the late 11 th – early
12th century AD. But, Snorri Sturluson, who lived a hundred years later, when he wrote down
for the very first time the Ynglingatal, claimed that actually Odin and his tribe first lived along
river Tanais (pr. Don) in what is now southern European Russia.
I suggest that there is only one truth on that matter. I mean, there was only one Asgard. And
I’m more convinced by Saemundr, that it was on the Scandinavean peninsula, than by Snorri,
who threw it (I really cannot figure it out why. Most probably, because he wanted to play more
well informed than his very own teachers...) more than 2000 km. to the southeast…

I’m absolutely positive that the rock carvings in Tanum may be used as a strong evidence,
maybe even the strongest, that Saemundr was right and Snorri misled his readers. Because they
show that already during the Bronze age around the gulf of Vic flourished a mighty civilization,
with huge fleet of large ships. Only a very ancient culture could’ve developed such mighty
fleet. And I’m sure that these images are not a representation of invasion, because, c’mon, who
would’ve praised foreign soldiers in the times of clans and honor?! Who would’ve praised an
invasion?! The locals would’ve erased these ships if they were foreign…

So, there was no invasion of foreign tribes on the Scandinavean peninsula during the
centuries when Odin and his followers, all the way to Freyr, have lived – in the first millennium
BC. On the contrary – the local tribes were so powerful that they controlled the sea and were
able to push back any foreign invasion.

And, thus, the ethnogenesis of Odin and his followers around river Tanais, as suggested by
the Ynglingatal and Snorri Sturluson, has no reasonable arguments. I’m planning to stick with
the Voluspa and Saemundr the Learned in placing the line of local gods and kings as native of
origin.

2. Pay attention, that the chief captains of the Tanum ships have horns on their heads.
Actually, this is yet another element which is, obviously, totally local in origin, and survived
through the ages, all the way to the Vikings’ era (9th – 11th century).

3. The Tanum ships were already dragon headed. Another local element, which
continued to be used up until the Christian period.
4. Besides ships, on the Tanum rocks, there is a representation of a chariot, driven by a
horned male figure, with Mjolnir type of weapon in his hand and an erected penis, which was a
typical iconography of god Freyr (lat. Frikko) up to the 11 th century, as we know from Adam of
Bremen’s “Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum” (1073 – 1076 AD).

5. There is another Mjolnir in Tanum. What is interesting about this image is that it is
placed above a ship, so I suggest that it represents constellations. If the fighter is the famous
Orion (of course he had a different name in Scandinavea. I suggest that this constellation was
thought of as god Freyr), who helps the Sun to rise in the southern horizon, along with a horned
figure (otherwise seen by the Greeks as his bow), then, the dancing (?) woman should be the
Scandinavean version of the constellation Canis Major, with its star Sirius (gr.) around her
vulva. The ship may represent the Earth or the movement of the starry sky during the night.

6. Image of a man who’s counting the days of a Moon cycle:


This might be a religious scene, based on the importance which the earliest religious text –
the Voluspa, gives to the moment of Creation when the gods gave names to the celestial objects
and the different parts of the day and the night.

7. The fact that the so-called balls are in fact moon phases is well confirmed by another
carving in which they were placed in the sky above a ship, which most probably had to pointed
out how long this ships’ voyage had continued.

8. Men with erected penises dancing, waving axes.

This drawing puts a question mark about the dating of the whole site. In my opinion, the axes
had stone heads and not bronze ones. Which means that the whole site might be of much earlier
date – 3rd millennium BC or even earlier…

II. Cult buildings

1. Orsta Viking Age temple to Odin and Thor


On September 29th 2020, the following news travelled around the world: Archaeologists from
the University Museum of Bergen excavated approximately 8000 square metres at Ose farm in
Ørsta, south of Ålesund, western Norway. They revealed traces of an Iron Age settlement,
which consisted of several longhouses and a building at the western end of the site, 14 m. x 7
m., supported by sturdy wall posts, showing a bow-walled structure with a rounded end. Its
interior lacks the typical double rows of roof-supporting posts in its construction, observed in
the three-aisled longhouses. Instead, the inner center is comprised of four large posts situated 3
x 3.5 m. apart. There are very few buildings with almost identical construction characteristics
from the Late Iron Age in Scandinavia, and they include the pagan temple sites Uppåkra in
southern Sweden and Tissø in Denmark. So, this building must also be interpreted as a pagan
temple…

etc. etc.

The whole paper is 32 pages. If you want me to send it to you via e-mail – please support my
scientific career (because I have a family to feed) by donating 15 euro (19$; 15£) at:

paypal.me/DimitarAlDimitrov

or

Dimitar Alekseev Dimitrov Raiffeisen Bank Bulgaria

IBAN: BG78RZBB91551013950726 BIC: RZBBBGSF

And send me an e-mail that you done it at:

dimitar.alekseev.dimitrov@abv.bg

or

dimitaralekseevdimitrov@gmail.com

I’ll attach the paper to my reply to your e-mail.

As simple as that!

The author

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