Gjermundbufunnet – en småkonges grav med østlig tilsnitt på Ringerike

The Gjermundbu find came to light under difficult, wartime circumstances in 1943. With travel and other restrictions in place, a full-scale rescue excavation was not possible, and the find is poorly documented. What is certain, is that we are dealing with a very rich grave from the end of the 10th century, with few if any parallels outside the milieu of the large ship graves. The cremation grave held some very uncommon objects, like a helmet and a chain mail, as well as five or six horses and one or two sledges. While there are many similarities between the Gjermundbu find and the Vendel and Valsgärde burials in Sweden, the closest parallels to the find are the so-called druzhina burials in present-day Russia and Ukraine, and the authors suggest that the buried man was a petty king, who had served in the retinue of Vladimir the Great or one of his predecessors, together with other warriors from Ringerike.

Eldre jernalders tjæreproduksjon ut av tåken. Om tidlig norsk tjæreproduksjon med utgangspunkt i et funn på Averøy i Møre og Romsdal

For many years it has been well known that tar was an available commodity in the Norwegian Iron Age, but until recently no production site or installation for such production was known. In this paper two recently discovered tar production sites, in south-eastern and mid-Norway respectively, are presented and discussed. Both are clay-lined funnel-shaped pits that are dug into the ground with an upper part where the wood was stacked and lit, and a lower part where the tar was collected in a container. The Norwegian tar production pits are similar to contemporary Swedish ones found in large numbers in mid-Sweden. The type is also known from the eastern part of Central Europe where they came into use a few centuries later than in Scandinavia.

Hvordan endret byggeskikken seg på Borg? En analyse av fire utvalgte hus på Borg, Vestvågøy fra yngre jernalder til høymiddelalder

The purpose of the analysis was to highlight how the building tradition at Borg, Lofoten, Norway, changed from the Late Iron Age to the High Middle Ages. The construction elements such as roof-bearing posts, doorways, fireplaces, walls, and room divisions were compared between Borg I:1a, Borg I:1b, Borg II and Borg III. The results of the analyses emphasized that the building tradition at Borg changed in regard to house construction, size of the buildings and the division of rooms. The residents of Borg traditionally built longhouses with combined living room and byre from approx. 600 AD to the year 1300 AD. It is argued that limited access to local resources, such as timber, led to the residents retaining much of the same building tradition for approx. 700 years.

Pilegrimsspor fra Tynset: En detektorfunnet blymedaljong med kristne motiver

In 2016, a metal detectorist found a circular lead medallion with iconography on both sides in Tynset in the Østerdalen valley. This article studies the medallion’s shape, function and symbolical content. The object is interpreted as a pendant comparable with pilgrim badges from the late medieval period. The motifs are identified as Christian, representing the apocalyptical Mary with Christ on one side, and a passion and resurrection scene on the other. In this article, the medallion is compared to Norwegian and other European pilgrim badges and amulets with the same motifs, suggesting its origin most likely to be Aachen in Germany. Aachen was one of the most visited holy places for pilgrimage in Europe. The motifs can be connected to the Marian cathedral in Aachen, at the same time as expressing religious content regularly transmitted in the late medieval church. By comparing the motifs with Old Norse texts and images, the article demonstrates how the amulet’s religious messages potentially could influence the bearer – possibly a Norwegian pilgrim.

Steinalderkeramikken fra Rogaland – en kronologisk studie

From the 1800’s and onwards, pottery sherds have been found at a number of Neolithic occupation sites in Rogaland County, Southwestern Norway. In this paper, pottery assemblages from nine contexts are analyzed in order to produce an interpretative chronology. Typological analysis is combined with correspondence analysis and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates. The result is a coherent chronological model that accounts for variations in pottery decoration styles between the late Early Neolithic and the Late Neolithic. There is a development in decorative styles from cord and cord-stamp ornamented vessels followed by a period of pots decorated with cord-stamp, small imprints and incisions, and finally a phase with added lines, comb, and cord-stamp. However, the multi-phased nature of the sites suggests that there are still many unanswered questions. New excavations and re-analyses of older sites are necessary for a better understanding of the developments in Neolithic pottery styles.

Årsrapport Norsk arkeologisk selskap

Årsrapport Norsk arkeologisk selskap

Christian Løchsen Rødsrud og Axel Mjærum (red.): Ingen vei utenom – Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv.3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet

Bokanmeldelse av boken Ingen vei utenom – Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv.3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet / Redaktører Christian Løchsen Rødsrud og Axel Mjærum.

Jan Magne Gjerde og Mari Strifeldt Arntzen (red.): Perspectives on Differences in Rock Art

Bokanmeldelse av boka Jan Magne Gjerde og Mari Strifeldt Arntzen (red.): Perspectives on Differences in Rock Art.

Etnesjøen – en førromersk landsby på Vestlandet

In the summer months of 2013, the University Museum of Bergen conducted an archeological excavation of a large prehistoric settlement area at Etnesjøen in Etne parish, Western Norway. By use of mechanized top soil stripping numerous buildings, inhumation burials, cooking pits and kilns were uncovered. The site dates from the Late Bronze Age to Early Medieval Period. The focus of the article is the discovery of a Pre-Roman Iron Age village, formed of up to six farms chronologically spanning up to five generations of continuous occupation. At the time of the excavation, this was only the second pre-historic village of its kind found in Norway, indicating a significant and important discovery.

The Symbolic Use of Whetstones and Their Role in Displaying Authority over Metallurgical Processes and Trade

Whetstones of the Viking Age can have a conspicuous design, but not much is understood about the specific use of more unusual specimens, or their place in rituals. This article proposes a new interpretation of whetstones, based on novel studies of a well-known whetstone from Lejre, and miniature pendants from Tissø. Our examination of the prominent whetstone from the Lejre hoard with an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) scan, did not reveal any metal traces, which suggests that it was unused. At Tissø, the find distribution of so-called stafflike pendants – made of iron, bronze, or silver – links them to a metal-working area, and since their morphology resembles full-scale whetstones we suggest that they may be symbolic, miniature whetstones. Finally, we argue that the overarching meaning of the ritual use of whetstones is more related to the authority over – and control of – metallurgical processes, as well as the trade of metal goods, and only by proxy to the smith himself.