of weapons are attested from 350 BCE to 400 CE, with smaller deposits continuing to be made until 600 CE. Deposits of various sizes were common and often included objects besides weapons, even warships that had been burned and destroyed. They appear to be from a ritual performed over a defeated enemy to commit the weapons to the gods. There is no archaeological evidence for what happened to the warriors who bore the weapons, but Roman sources describe them as being sacrificed as well. A possible exception is the site of Alken Enge bog in Jutland: it contains the crushed and dismembered bodies of about 200 men, aged 13–45 years, who seem to have died on a battlefield. No later Scandinavian sources mention rituals associated with the destruction of weapons, implying that these rites had died out and been forgotten at an early date. Variations of Germanic paganism Anglo-Saxon paganism Continental Germanic mythology Frankish mythology Gothic paganism Old Norse religion See also Ancient Celtic religion Ancient Greek religion Ancient Iranian religion Germanic mythology Hittite mythology and religion Historical Vedic religion Religion in ancient Rome Scythian religion Slavic paganism Notes References Bibliography External links Paganism Paganism