The Muldbjerg Dwelling Place: 
An Early Neolithic Archeological Site in the 
Aamosen Bog, West-Zealand, Denmark’ 
By J. TROELS-SMITH 
The National Museum, Denmark 
[With 6 plates] 
For Many years peat litter had been harrowed for briquettes in 
the large Aamosen bog in West-Zealand (figs. 1 and 2), when one day 
the teeth of the harrow raked up some potsherds and a number of 
flint flakes. These objects, which were lying on the vast brown surface, 
gave evidence of a Neolithic dwelling place. 
In the period that followed, and during the excavation which went 
on through several years, it was found that this dwelling place was 
one of unusual importance. Here the oldest traces of grain and 
weeds, as well as the oldest bones of domestic cattle and sheep in 
Denmark, were found. 
The following will describe the investigations step by step in order 
to show how the individual parts of the puzzle—if understood and 
interpreted correctly—unite into a picture of the dwelling place and 
the landscape, the people and the animals, and the whole life of 
a dwelling place as far as a reconstruction has been possible. 
The investigations were carried out by the Department of Natural 
Sciences, the National Museum, Copenhagen. 
INVESTIGATIONS IN THE FIELD 
EXCAVATION OF THE DWELLING PLACE 
Initially two trial trenches were dug across the site in the form of 
across. In this way the first information on extent and stratigraphy 
was obtained. As the preliminary results had been promising, fur- 
ther investigations were planned. ‘The fieldwork was begun in 1951. 
1A condensed translation of original article in Danish, which appeared in Naturens 
Verden, July 1957, and is here reprinted by permission of the publishers. 
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