AmS-Varia publishes both monographies and articles, mainly within the study of the relationship between humans and nature in the past.
University of Stavanger, Museum of Archeology
Gravfeltet i Hålandsmarka, Time kommune, SV-Norge
In 2008, a pre-development excavation examined a grave field on the ridge of Hålandsmarka. The burial ground was in use from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age, and the excavation provided an opportunity to gain new insights into the long-term use of a grave field. The Hålandsmarka excavation allowed archaeologists to explore not only reuse of the grave field throughout this period, but also variations in burial form, treatment of the corpse, and grave goods over shorter timespans. The aim of the project has been to challenge the normative approach to graves as containers of a single burial event, and call attention to construction processes and other practices demonstrating the repeated use and transformation of the graves and their surroundings. Graves can be viewed as places of recurring engagement between the living and the dead, and as opportunities to explore the importance, duration and entanglement of material culture. Hålandsmarka should not be considered as a unique site: the results presented here are heavily dependent on our choice of archaeological methods, and we have the responsibility to be aware of the potential for complexity in both past and present practices when planning future excavations. The findings from Hålandsmarka call attention to the multi-temporal and gathered nature of grave fields in particular, as well as the archaeological record in general.
Copyright (c) 2024 Barbro Irene Dahl https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
In 2011, archaeological excavations were conducted at a middle Neolithic site on the outmost headland at Haugesund Airport on the island of Karmøy in Rogaland, Southwestern Norway. The excavations revealed three dwelling structures, a midden and a string of stones constructed to prevent the sea from flooding the living areas. The dwelling structures, defined as huts, consisted of several cultural layers with a depth up to 40 cm. Several fireplaces inside and outside the living areas were also uncovered. A total of 133 484 artefacts were recovered, including 515 shards of pottery, of which 122 shards were ornamented with corded stamps, pit imprints, bone imprints, zigzag ornamentation and knot winds. Of tools, there are fragments of ground flint adzes, and adzes and chisels of greenstone and other types of rock. Additional finds included many different forms of slate arrows, projectile points of type A, B and C, plate knifes of slate, greenstone and sandstone, and so on. The finds from the Helganes site have many parallels to other middle Neolithic sites in southern Norway. This publication gives an introduction to all the well-known dwellings from middle Neolithic A and B and compares them in terms of find inventory, 14C-dates and structures. This study concludes that there are many similarities between the sites which indicates social interaction along the coast of southern Norway and exchange of material culture, ideology and knowledge.
Plantemateriale frå jordprøver: uviss alder og ubrukt potensial?
The aim of this paper is to assess the assumptions we make about the age of carbonized and uncarbonized plant materials from soil samples. By questioning the age and origin of plant remains, we investigate an unexploited potential of possible archaeological interpretations. As a case study, carbonized and uncarbonized plant remains from a house that dates to the transition between the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age at Hove-Sørbø in Southwestern Norway are investigated. As opposed to the original assumptions based on the preservation conditions at the locality, a total of 1 062 uncarbonized seeds of the arable weeds fat-hen (Chenopodium album) and corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis) are shown to be contemporary with the house. This is a unique find in Norway, and it is assumed that the seeds are a by-product of crop processing, most likely residues from fine sieving of cereal grains. The literature discussing macro analysis and interpretation relevant for Norwegian archaeological contexts is scarce. This is partly due to the fact that analysis of macro remains from such contexts is inherently interdisciplinary, and therefore dependent upon the involvement of archaeologists as well as palaeobotanists for further method development and knowledge production.
Om kyrkjebygging og kristning i Rogaland i tidleg mellomalder
This article researches six church sites founded in Rogaland during the early stages of Christianisation in Norway in the High Middle Ages. The areas selected for investigation are the coastal skipreider (administrative units) Time and Klepp in central Jæren, and Jelsa and Suldal in non-coastal Ryfylke. The sites have been assessed in relation to their surroundings, to shed light on the issues of actor, time and choice of location. The investigation revealed two types of church site: sites with proprietary churches erected by a local magnate or middle-ranking landowner, and churches built by the villagers as a collaborative enterprise, in accordance with provisions in the section on church law in Gulatingslova (the Gulating Law) – called Kristenretten (Christian Law). The location of church sites relative to older pagan cult sites was assessed, to ascertain to what extent the location of a particular church represented continuity or change. The issue of monumentality appears to have been central in determining the location of proprietary churches, while accessibility seems to have been a consideration that influenced the location of churches built collaboratively by members of the community.It is suggested that Kristenretten was instrumental in spreading Christianity in Norway, in that the provisions on church building and related regulations encouraged the building of churches by a class of middle-ranking landowners.
Exploring production and use of soapstone in Norway: Towards an interdisciplinary approach?
In recent years, soapstone research has developed into a multidisciplinary field encompassing a broad range of topics and methodological approaches. Interdisciplinary research now attracts more interest and has contributed significantly to the identification of quarries and understanding of the distribution and use of soapstone. Most collaborative projects have related to certain geographic or thematic areas. As the research on soapstone deposits in Northern Norway illustrates, interdisciplinary work can make important contributions also to other and little explored types of soapstone utilisation. In order to realise the full potential of interdisciplinary research, an expansion of the areas covered and a rethinking of approaches to collaboration and disciplinary compatibility are required. One problem is the use of modern scientific criteria and classification schemes to identify and interpret stone sources, as such methods do not necessarily capture all the aspects of the material that were crucial to past users and production.
Klimaets plass i norsk historie : En forskningshistorisk oversikt
Based on the threatening climatic situation confronting the world and the fact that Norway’s geographical position makes the country vulnerable to climate change, this article addresses the paradox that climate has only interested Norwegian istorians to a negligible extent. In a historiographical analysis, a review is made of Norwegian historical research over the last 100 years to establish what place climatic effect and climate change has had on Norwegian historical development. The seeming lack of interest for the subject is contrasted with the opposite international situation and the situation in other relevant subject areas. Characteristically, the degree to which Norwegian historians have been engaged in interdisciplinary cooperation has been small. The starting point has been the firm belief that more knowledge about climate and climate change can contribute significantly to a better understanding of historical development in Norway. It is also argued that, because of this, historians have lost an opportunity to extend the possibilities of coping with the climatic challenges facing society.
Preconceptions about the construction and function of burial mounds can heavily influence the degree of complexity one is apt to see in the field. Rather than seeing a burial mound as the result of a single moment in time, a single burial in prehistory, the mound should be considered as an entire grave field in use over a long period. The excavation of a burial mound at Hålandsmarka, in Time municipality, southwestern Norway, revealed that the monumental structure actually consisted of many different structures and was developed over the course of 2,000 years. By setting aside the standard model of a single burial centrally placed in a homogenous mound, and focusing on the processes of construction and activities that may have left recoverable traces in and around the mound, the excavation allowed for the development of new insights into the longterm use of the site before, during, and after the burials. It is argued that the situation at Hålandsmarka is not unique, and that the ability to accurately document such complexities in grave mounds is heavily dependent upon excavation strategy. It is further argued that the responsibility to document these processes must be taken into consideration in the planning of future excavations.
Bergkunst på Midt- og Sør-Jæren samt i Dalaneregionen, Rogaland. Motiver, historikk, naturmiljø og tilstand.
In Rogaland County, southwestern Norway, one of the country’s largest collections of rock art can be found: ca. 110 sites with figures and cup marks, 38 grave monuments with decorated slabs or stones with cup marks (altogether 67 slabs) and 37 stray finds of decorated slabs or stones with cup marks. In 1996, the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger established an interdisciplinary group working primarily on the documentation and preservation of rock art. This group was part of the National Rock Art Project, a program run by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. The project lasted until 2005, after which the Directorate granted supplemental funds for continuing the work. Two previous papers have been published concerning rock art in Rogaland (AmS-Rapport 9 and AmS-Rapport 19). In this publication, we will present 15 sites with figures and cup marks, 20 with cup marks only and 61 decorated slabs and stones with cup marks recovered from either grave monuments or as stray finds. Ships are the most common motive, but the range of motives also includes simple discs, wheel crosses and, more rarely, human figures, horses and axes. As far as possible, these sites are put into an environmental context in terms of vegetation history, sea-level fluctuations and geological conditions. Furthermore, the publication contains an historical outline of earlier investigations and documentation as well as descriptions and the present status from the rock art sites. Damage and weathering are also described. Finally, we present interpretations of the symbolism and cultural background of the rock art.
This book explores the construction of regional identities in the Early Bronze Age through the temporal variation in burial practice in Southwest Norway. Earthen barrows from the regions Etne, Karmøy, Jæren, and Lista are used as the archaeological source for this study. How historically constituted structures together with external practice form part of an open-ended process of identity construction is investigated. Previous research has often used a set, rigid definition of identity, and earthen barrows along the coast of Southwest Norway have therefore frequently been portrayed as part of a southern Scandinavian culture. These perceptions are not necessarily wrong, but neglect the complicated processes that give rise to groups. In this study it is argued that patterns found in the material remains, both unintentional and intentional, express regional variation. Through a quantitative methodology based on a selection of focus points and spatial analysis in ArcGIS the multifaceted process behind identity construction is showcased. As a result, the southwest coast of Norway during the Early Bronze Age can be seen as a more complex and dynamic region. Although many similarities between regions are shared, they are also clearly divided and competitive.
"Gjeng vegane etter dei døde". Død, dyrking og (om-)bygging av røyser i et langtidsperspektiv
How are we to understand and interpret intentional deposits of stone built-up over long time spans? The empirical point of departure for this contribution is a complex cairn located on a hilltop in Sauherad, Telemark, excavated in 2015. Twenty C14-samples date the site from c. 300 cal. BC to the present. Additionally, a single deposition of two Neolithic thin-butted axes of Funnel Beaker type (3800–3300 BC) was uncovered. The main phase of activity is related to the Early Iron Age (c. 300 BC–AD 450). No remains of Iron Age burials were identified, but it is argued that the Neolithic axes represent a secondary deposit related to the Iron Age activity. Taking the temporal depth and durability in the practice of removing stone as a point of departure, this paper explores how gathering and placing of stones may have been accorded meaning during various points in time and focuses particularly on the relationship between stone clearance, agriculture, fertility and ancestors.
We need to address the way shifting methods in archaeology affect the knowledge of the past. The current use of rural areas for cultivation or pasture, dictates our choice of survey- and excavation methods in development-led archaeology. While the focus is placed on visibility in areas currently used as pastures, there is a tendency not to discuss what might have been removed in cultivated areas. If we let the understanding of prehistoric land use be dictated by modern land use, we risk creating two sets of knowledge of the past which appear mutually exclusive. It is crucial that material from both cultivated fields and pastures are treated as differently preserved fragments of the same archaeological phenomena. The excavation at Myklebust, Sola municipality provides an example of the challenges stemming from the application of different methodologies and interpretations due to modern land use. Regarding the long-term use of sites such as Myklebust, modern historicism provides a view of temporality which runs to the heart of the discipline. The concentrated, multi-phase, chaotic nature of archaeological remains at this site is considered key to the importance of these sites, for both past and present practices. It can take time to revise or update long-held views of the past, and of what are considered the most suitable ways of deepening our knowledge of that past. If excavation and fieldwork are to play a central part in research development, it must begin with our willingness to broaden our perspectives in terms of field practices.
Cairns in one form or another are the most common type of prehistoric structure encountered during archaeological surveys in Rogaland County, southwestern Norway. In Norway, the responsibility for pre-development archaeological investigations is divided between county archaeologists and regional museums with the former undertaking site identification surveys and the latter carrying out subsequent excavations. Archaeological surveying is typically non-invasive and distinguishing burial cairns from clearance cairns often proves to be a difficult task. It is frequently argued that separating the two categories based on size and form alone is not sufficient. In this article, it is shown that, in addition to visual analysis, an understanding of the surrounding prehistoric landscape within which the cairn is situated is crucial when interpreting these structures. The interpretive utility of new methodologies such as Lidar and analysis of soil identification maps are also highlighted. Arguments are based primarily on data from localities containing cairns encountered during the E39 Ålgård–Hove project carried out in 2016 by Rogaland County, as well as a site excavated by the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger in 2011.
Gamle steinsamlingar; gravminne, ryddingsrøyser – eller kva?
This article discusses how to better unlock the information potential of unremarkable, though complex, prehistoric stone-built structures, by integrating the past 30 years worth of Nordic archaeological research results into aspects of the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Management processes. Traditionally, it has been rather commonplace to interpret such manmade collections of rocks as remains of either clearance of fields for agricultural purposes or as containers for burials, but this dichotomy should now be regarded as an oversimplification. The site of Orstad in the county of Rogaland, SW Norway, excavated in 2014, serves as a case study. This paper demonstrates how difficult it can be to put updated theories and methods into proper use in the field. Since these new research results call for changes in the approach to the subject were not sufficiently considered in the planning process, neither time nor budget allowed for an adequate examination of the individual structures and their context. This is likely to cause information loss, which creates challenges for both the excavation and post-excavation phases of an archaeological investigation. This paper stresses the need to update and improve how excavations of such sites are handled within Norwegian cultural heritage management. By applying new approaches, such localities can yield more information about the past than previously assumed.
Hverken grav eller rydning – rituelle røyser fra yngre bronsealder–førromersk jernalder på Sømme i Rogaland
This article discusses cairns as ritual constructions during the Late Bronze and Pre-Roman Iron Ages in Southwest Norway. The basis for the discussion are two cairns from Sømme in Sola, Rogaland. It is suggested that the cairns are part of rituals related to settlement expansion and a rapid transformation of the landscape during the period.
Ett röjningsröseområde i Farstorp – odling, begravning och ritual
This paper problematises the categories grave and clearance cairn, based on source-material from Farstorp, Småland. A central point of departure for the analysis is landuse in a long-term perspective. Parts of a clearance-cairn site, comprising clearance-cairns, graves and constructions similar to graves although less well–built, were excavated. The latter were termed complex cairns. Exterior elements were kerbs and surface layers of fire-cracked stones. Interior features resembled cremation layers with fire-cracked stones. Inside and adjacent to these, burnt animal bones and other objects, including intact pots containing food, had been deposited. The main building material was clearance stones, plausibly from surrounding arable land. Features mainly date to Late Roman Iron Age and Migration Period. Fire-cracked stones and burnt animal bones are interpreted as waste from ritual meals, consumed during spring and autumn farm work. Depositions of grinding stones support the assumption that fertility of the land was an important ritual theme. Participants of these meals might be members of the household that held the land rights. A few human bones were deposited in each grave, possibly from deceased members of the owner family who might be expected to act in favour of their living descendants, to enhance fertility in general. Such deposits may also have demonstrated and consolidated land rights.
What to do when the results are insufficient: lessons from the excavation of a cairn field at Eikebakken, Øvre Øksnevad, Klepp
The cairn field at Eikebakken, Øvre Øksnevad, Klepp municipality, Rogaland, Norway, was excavated over the course of 26 weeks in the summer of 2016. The site had undergone an initial survey in 2008, indicating a total of 79 cairns. However, when the site was uncovered a total of 103 stone built structures were identified, as well as three separate settlement areas and evidence of prehistoric farming. The initial project plan and budget were written with the idea of focusing on a smaller number of more thoroughly excavated (i.e. single-context) cairns. The increased number of structures made this plan untenable. As the excavation progressed it also became clear that the single-context method was not returning the amount of data required. The excavation thus went through several major shifts in strategy in response to, primarily, the archaeology and the need to develop a representative data set, but also time/budgetary constraints and available labor resources. The strategy ultimately settled upon involved a much more rapid excavation of a larger number of cairns with a focus on the use of environmental evidence from the cairns, particularly material suitable for radiocarbon dating, but also a range of other methodologies, as a means of understanding the development of the cairn field. This article will discuss both the methodologies and prioritizations involved in the excavation and will present some brief, initial results.
Sten som betydelsebärare i den förhistoriska föreställningsvärlden
This article discusses the meaning of stones and the practice of gathering stones, in graves, clearance cairns and stone-covered hillocks. The emphases are on stone-covered hillocks and their long-term usage (up to 1500 years), analyzed using the concept of longue durée. In this paper I propose that the stones in themselves have a cultic meaning as well as the actions, i.e. the remodeling of hillocks and the placing of clearance cairns among graves. In this, I see a connection between stone-covered hillocks, graves and clearance cairns. The underlying concept is a stable, but slowly changing, prehistoric religious tradition that lasted from the Bronze Age to the Migration Period and possibly also through the Late Iron Age. A basic change in this does not take place until the coming of Christianity in the Medieval Period. The reason that Medieval and later clearance cairns were placed together with graves is probably due to their similar appearance.
In 2015, the Museum of Cultural History organized a large excavation project in Løten, Hedmark with over 90 sites. During the project both clearance cairns and cairns interpreted as graves were excavated. The field at Skillingstad contained more than 100 cairns, of which approximately 40 were excavated. Although originally thought to be clearance cairns, results obtained over the course of the excavation demanded that this interpretation be reconsidered. In the area surrounding Skillingstad, four smaller cairn fields were also excavated, ranging in size from 4 to 21 cairns. Several of these were associated with small, oval, bowl-shaped fields that overlapped in time with the graves at Skillingstad. The plant macrofossil analyses returned few interesting results, but the cairns containing graves and the clearance cairns differed significantly in their micromorphological results. In addition, there were clear differences in structural organization and the relationship between the cairns in the grave and clearance fields respectively. The burial cairns were spread evenly across the site, built with uniform sized rocks and placed with respect to older monuments such that none of the monuments merged into larger units. In contrast, the clearance cairns were more randomly distributed across the site, sometimes cleared to one side of the field and at other sites in between the cultivated land and pastures. The rocks in these cairns were also more variable in size and often several cairns had grown together over time. We will also share some administrative experiences based on the reinterpretation from clearance cairns to graves at Skillingstad.
Å sjå røysa som eit objekt, ein markør og ein prosess av handlingsmønster
Cairns: graves, clearances or both, a seminar held at the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger, in February 2017, attempted to look beyond the traditional concept of cairns as objects resulting from specific or single activities, focusing instead on the idea of a more fluid symbolism, constantly changing over time. This article seeks to build upon the questions and themes raised at the seminar, combining traditional definitions of cairns with the results of more recent research. The results will then be discussed in a broader, Scandinavian context. The aim is to draw attention to the idea that cairns are the product of various ongoing processes, both active and symbolic, and that these processes continuously redefine the relevance and meaning of cairns to society. The article will also draw attention to the results of more recent research and the implications they have for the field of cultural heritage management, both administratively and practically, and cultural heritage legislation in general in Norway.
This monograph presents linguistic analysis of more than 3000 coastal toponyms from Jæren (southwestern Norway), from the sea and the seashores. The etymology of the names is discussed as well as the context and the historical background of the names. There are also chapters on the naming process and the use of names, on toponyms as linguistic and historical sources and on special linguistic and historical topics appearing in this corpus of names. The locations of the toponyms are marked on maps. The place-names presented have been coined from oral sources in the local dialect. A large part of the corpus was collected by the author in the 1970s, presented in his unpublished master’s thesis Stadnamn frå sjøen på Jæren (Coastal place-names from Jæren) from 1978 (University of Bergen). The use of toponyms makes it possible to localize activities and various phenomena in everyday conversation. The fishermen give names to fishing grounds in order to be able to talk about their work. The fact that toponyms contain linguistic material giving specific information about the locations, makes them valuable as sources. They provide information to researchers within linguistics, history and archaeology, as well as to ordinary folk. Place-names mention and localize former traditions and working processes. The semantic content of coastal microtoponyms from Jæren contains information about e.g. fishing and hunting, sailing, dangerous waters, shipwrecks, the use of seaweed, the use of sand from the beaches, defence systems, administration, rights, events, traditions and attitudes – and about the local language. Most toponyms contain a topographical appellative as the generic, describing the type of location represented. Ca. 200 words identifying different types of locations are found in this corpus of names, in addition to more than 100 examples of metaphorical naming. Most toponyms are compound, containing a generic and a specifier. The specifiers refer to e.g. geographical position, shape, colour, size, soil, vegetation, animals, persons, working processes, traditions and special events.