Editing History of Denmark (section)

=== Iron Age ===
{{see also|Nordic Iron Age}}
[[File:Gundestrup cauldron - F.I.4277.jpg|thumb|The silver [[Gundestrup Cauldron]], with what some scholars interpret as Celtic depictions, exemplifies the trade relations of the period.]]
During the [[Pre-Roman Iron Age]] (from the [[4th century BC|4th]] to the [[1st century BC]]), the climate in Denmark and southern [[Scandinavia]] became cooler and wetter, limiting agriculture and setting the stage for local groups to migrate southward into [[Germania]]. At around this time people began to extract iron from the [[bog iron|ore]] in [[peat bog]]s. Evidence of strong [[Celts|Celtic]] cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark, and in much of northwest Europe, and survives in some of the older place names.

The [[Roman Empire|Roman provinces]], whose frontiers stopped short of Denmark, nevertheless maintained trade routes and relations with Danish or proto-Danish peoples, as attested by finds of Roman coins. The earliest known [[runic]] inscriptions date back to c. 200 AD. Depletion of cultivated land in the last century BC seems to have contributed to increasing migrations in northern Europe and increasing conflict between Teutonic tribes and Roman settlements in [[Gaul]]. Roman artifacts are especially common in finds from the 1st century. It seems clear that some part of the Danish warrior [[aristocracy]] served in the [[Roman army]].<ref>Birger Storgaard, ''Cosmopolitan aristocrats'', pp. 106–125 in: ''The Spoils of Victory – The North in the shadow of the Roman Empire'', Nationalmuseet, 2003. {{ISBN|87-7602-006-1}}.</ref>

Occasionally during this time, both animal and [[human sacrifice]] occurred and bodies were immersed in [[bog]]s. In {{As of|2008|alt= recent times}} some of these [[bog body|bog bodies]] have emerged very well-preserved, providing valuable information about the religion and people who lived in Denmark during this period. Some of the most well-preserved bog bodies from the Nordic Iron Age are the [[Tollund Man]] and the [[Grauballe Man]].

From around the 5th to the 7th century, [[Northern Europe]] experienced mass migrations. This period and its [[material culture]] are referred to as the [[Germanic Iron Age]].

<gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="130">
File:Tollundmannen.jpg|The face of Tollundmanden, one of the best preserved bog body finds.
File:Dejbjerg wagon, Nationalmuseet Copenhagen.jpg|The [[Dejbjerg wagon]] from the Pre-Roman Iron Age, thought to be a ceremonial wagon.
File:Nydamboat.2.jpg|The [[Nydam Mose|Nydam oak boat]], a [[ship burial]] from the Roman Iron Age. At [[Gottorp|Gottorp Castle]], [[Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig]], now in Germany.
File:Guldhornene DO-10765 original.jpg|Copies of the [[Golden Horns of Gallehus]] from the Germanic Iron Age, thought to be ceremonial horns but of a raid purpose.
</gallery>