are frequent finds in bogs; these figures generally follow the natural form of a branch. It is unclear whether the figures themselves were sacrifices or if they were the beings to whom the sacrifice was given. Most date from the first several centuries CE. For the pre-Roman Iron Age, board-like statues that were set up in dangerous places encountered in everyday life are also attested. Most statues were made out of oak wood. Small animal figurines of cattle and horses are also found in bogs; some may have been worn as amulets while others seem to have been placed by hearths before they were sacrificed. Holy sites from the migration period frequently contain gold bracteates and gold foil figures that depict obviously divine figures. The bracteates are originally based on motifs found on Roman gold medallions and coins of the era of Constantine the Great, but have become highly stylized. A few them have runic inscriptions that may be names of Odin. Others, such as Trollhätten-A, may display scenes known from later mythological texts. The stone altars of the matronae and Nehalennia show women in Germanic dress, but otherwise follow Roman models, while images of Mercury, Hercules, or Mars do not show any difference from Roman models. Many bronze and silver statues of Roman gods have been found throughout Germania, some made by the Germani themselves, suggesting an appropriation of these figures by the Germani. Heiko Steuer suggests that these statues likely were reinterpreted as local, Germanic gods and used on home altars: a find from Odense dating c. 100-300 CE includes statues of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Apollo. Imported Roman swords, found from Scandinavia to the Black Sea, frequently depicted the Roman god Mars Ultor ("Mars the Avenger"). Sacred places Caesar and Tacitus claimed that the ancient Germans had no temples and only worshiped in sacred groves. However, while groves, bogs, trees, springs, and lakes undoubtedly were seen as holy places by the Germani, there is archaeological evidence for temples. Archaeology also indicates that neolithic structures and Bronze Age tumuli were used as places of worship. Steuer argues that finds of sacrificial places enclosed with a palisade in England indicate that similarly enclosed areas in northern Germany and Jutland may have been holy sites. Large fire pits near settlements, found in many sites including those from the Bronze Age, the pre-Roman Iron Age, and the migration period, probably served