2,000-Year-Old Temple from Jesus' Era Unveiled

The Central Jutland Museum in Denmark recently excavated a pagan temple near Eilstrup Holm, built approximately 2,000 years ago. The temple has been identified as a Nordic pagan structure dating between 50 BC and 50 AD. This excavation has been a joint effort since last August by researchers from the Central Jutland Museum, Horsens Museum, and Moesgaard Museum.

The Hedegaard site, where the temple was discovered, is a fortified Iron Age settlement known as one of Scandinavia's largest and wealthiest burial grounds. The temple measures roughly 15x16 meters, with a clay platform approximately 1.8x1.8 meters and an ornate hearth at its center. Investigations revealed the temple was constructed in two phases and showed signs of destruction by fire in the past.

Plaster fragments found at the site suggest the temple walls were painted white, and two glass beads, believed to be of Middle Eastern or Egyptian origin, were discovered inside. The Central Jutland Museum stated that these artifacts are examples illustrating the military, economic, and religious structures of the society around 1,000 years before the spread of Christianity. It is being evaluated as material that can confirm the religious rituals and architectural techniques of ancient Nordic society.