viking heritage 4-2001 heritage...artefacts found both in kaupang and fröjel and also those from...

V king HeritageV king Heritage4/20014/2001

magazinemagazine

DESTINATION

VIKINGNORTH SEA

DESTINATION

VIKINGBALTIC SEA

Words of WisdomThe fool who fancies he is full of wisdomWhile he sits by his hearth at home.Quickly finds when questioned by others.That he knows nothing at all.

From Hávamál(Words of “The High One”)

http://viking.hgo.se 2

Viking Heritage Magazine 4/01

EditorialThe theme of this last issue in 2001 is the knowledge about the VikingAge that has come to light through recent archaeological excavations inseven localities around the Viking world.

From Greenland you can read the exciting story of how the Norsesettlers of a farm in the Western Settlement adapted to harsh livingconditions for hundreds of years until the climate changed and "a littleice age" made living there untenable.

Who were the first settlers of Iceland, the Norse or Irish monks? Lastsummer an international team of archaeologists started an investigationof man-made cave structures in hope of getting proof to answer thisquestion.

And in Russia, a project initiated by Thor Heyerdahl has started in thecity of Azov with the aim of clarifying the history of the city and to see ifthere is any connection to Snorre’s account of the native place of theÆsir god, Odin.

In archaeology we learn about life through death. Graves have somuch to unveil about conditions of life, as becomes evident in the articleabout the excavation of Kumle Mound in Denmark. Here you will meetsome humans that we don’t usually associate with the image of theproud Vikings. It is also very interesting to read about people’sconception of the specific nature of the place, known from the storiesthat have been told throughout the ages.

Through the excavations of early urban settlements in Norway(Kaupang) and in Sweden (Fröjel, Gotland) we gain insight into howthese places were characterised by craft activities and trading. Theartefacts found both in Kaupang and Fröjel and also those from theexcavations going on in the ancient town of Staraya Russa in Russia,reveal important production centres, trade links and the widespreadcultural contacts that existed in the Viking world.

We are very happy to be able to pass on knowledge from theseresearch projects to you, and wish you all pleasant reading!

MMaarriittaa EE EEkkmmaannEditor

E-mail: vviikkiinngg@@hhggoo..ssee

AAbboouutt tthhee ffrroonntt ppaaggeeThe Viking Age well, excavated in Fröjel 2001, with its interior wood constructionstill preserved. Read more about it on page 20–22. Photo: Roland Hejdström. M

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IN THIS ISSUEThe Farm beneath the Sand 3–7

Cave culture in South Iceland 8–9

The BC Viking Ship ProjectLaunches “Munin” 9

New excavations at Kaupang,the earliest urban settlementin Norway 10–12

The Kumle Mound 13–15

A picture-stone was foundwith a trenching machineon Gotland 15

Old gods are still alive 16–18

Staraya Russa – An ancient town in the early medievalprincipality of Novgorod 18–19

The Viking-Age harbour and trading place at Fröjel, Gotland 20–22

Heritage News 22

The First Shipyard in America 23–25

Government in Scandinaviaaround 1000 AD 26–28

The Grand Finale of the North SeaViking Legacy project 29

“Senãs vides darbnîca”“Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” 30–31

ORD – topolinguistics andmultimedia 32–33

New book 32–33, 35

Viking Viewpoints 34–35

Viking Viewpoints

Heritage News

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By Joel Berglund.

The find One of the most important Norsearchaeological investigations began inthe early autumn of 1990, when twohunters from Nuuk went to theirhunting-grounds to bag their firstcaribou of the year. During the huntthey caught sight of a couple of biggishpieces of timber sticking out of ariverbank. This made the alert hunterspause and take a closer look. For it sohappens that wood of that size does notoccur naturally in Greenland.

On closer scrutiny they were able toascertain that the wood had beenworked, so they reported their find tothe Greenland National Museum &Archives when they got back to Nuuk.The museum made an inspection of thefind, and it could then be establishedthat we were probably looking at theremains of a medieval building buriedunder a thick layer of sand.

The locationThe site lies in the innermost reaches ofthe branches of the Ameralik fjord, some

75 km east of Nuuk on a high plainabout 60 m above sea level surroundedby low mountains. The plain is today adesert, criss-crossed through by anetwork of meandering waterways whichdrain a leg of the inland ice. The icebounds the plain to the east, and to thewest it is demarcated by a waterfallwhich gathers these watercourses in a fallinto the fjord arm Naujat kuat. Aroundthe plain there is a swathe of sparselyvegetated land of varying width, some 3m above the level of the plain, and on

the eastern side this is subject toconstant erosion from the biggest of therivers.

It was precisely on the eastern strip, afew kilometers from the ice sheet, thatthe find was made. Here one is at the

core of the Norsearea known asthe old WesternSettlement. Thedistance fromthe nearest sites

is not great: about 1.5km from the find-spot lies anotherNorse farm, Nipaitsoq, which wasexcavated in the 1970s; the church siteSandnæs can be reached by boat; and theneighbors in the 20 km long valleyAustmannadalen were within reach.

Environment and climateThe distance from the outer coast isabout 80 km, which means there is aninland climate with temperatureextremes from a winter minimum as lowas –50O C to a maximum of +25OC inthe summer, and it is unlikely to havebeen much different in the Middle Ages.

The plain was not a desert, since theFarm beneath the Sand was in operation.Quaternary geology analyses suggest thatit was a largish meadow and wetland,

which was undoubtedly the reason theNorse farmers chose to take land there.And as the excavation progressed, itindeed emerged that the front of thefarm was oriented towards the plain;towards the most important resource,just as we find in other cases in theNorse settlements in Greenland.

At some time in the 1300s thesituation changed, the plain was floodedby water from the ice sheet, and thesubsistence basis of the farmers changedcrucially. It became impossible tocontinue the breeding of domesticanimals, the water rose, and they had toabandon the farm.

Some time later the farm was underwater, and as it slowly disappeared thefarm was left partly buried under finelydeposited silt. The plain had become adesert, and sand drift from there andfrom the dune areas by the ice sheet inthe end covered the whole farmcomplex.

The archaeological excavationThe excavation was conducted in theperiod 1991–1996 with participation byarchaeologists and other specialists fromCanada, Greenland, Iceland andDenmark, as well as students fromGreenland and Denmark and other

The Farm beneath the Sand

View of the northeastern part of the plain; white marks the excavation field. In theforeground the archaeologists’ camp can be seen, and the wheel tracks from theoverland vehicle used to fetch the water for the camp. Note too the narrow strip ofland along the river, which is subject to constant erosion.

One of themany so-called counting

sticks, beautifully decorated with theKerbschnitt technique.



assistants from Nuuk. Work was done inthe field from mid-June to mid-July andthe average number of participants atany given time was 15. A whole littletent town was thus set up every springon the desolate plain, which is otherwiseonly crossed by small herds of caribou.

The project began as a rescueexcavation, but just a few years later itbecame part of the project “Man,Culture and Environment in AncientGreenland”. Besides the field workers,many other researchers have beeninvolved in the project, for example inthe determination of bones, textiles,wooden objects, insects, palaeobotanyetc., just to mention a few.

To get at the culture layer it wasnecessary to remove up to 1.5 m of sand,and we are talking about a length of agood 70 m and a width of about 18 m,or almost 1300 square metres. Theculture layer itself had a thickness ofmore than 1 m and was locked fast inrock-hard permafrost. This turned out tobe a blessing in disguise, since theorganic material was on the one hand soincredibly well preserved; but on theother hand it took a long time to thawthe layer out. We could reckon ongetting through about 25 cm a day,which was one reason why theexcavation lasted so many years.

The thawing process inevitablyreleased a lot of water, and everymorning it had to be bailed out like aleaky boat, which left the field as puremud. The river, which ran alongside theexcavation field, rose more and more asthe summer went on, and by the end ofthe field season it was more than a metrehigher than when we came. It graduallybecame necessary to fend off the riverwith sandbags, to keep the water out

with a pump, and to change the currentgradient to reduce the erosion. In short,the excavation involved rather a lot of‘building contractor’s work’.

Since the building structures and theculture layer would inevitably be erodedaway within a couple of years, it wasimpossible to think of preservinganything at all. Instead, for the first timein Greenland Norse archaeology, we hada unique chance to follow the processesin the building-up and development of afarm complex over several hundredyears.

What was carried out was a controlleddestruction which released informationfor the understanding of the buildingstructures in purely technical terms, andof the construction of the sociallandscape made up of rooms andpartitions, communication among

rooms, the relationship between animalsand people, and changes in the locationof the house body in relation to changesin volume and function. In other words,we had a developmental series starting inthe middle of the eleventh century andending around the middle of thefourteenth century – in fact most of theNorse period in Greenland.

The buildings

The landnam or first settlement heretook place around the middle of theeleventh century, and the building thatwas erected was in accordance with thecustom of the time a three-aisledlonghouse with a centrally placedfireplace. It was primarily built withstone and turf, but wood was also usedin the construction to some extent – forexample in roof-bearing posts, panelling,partition walls and an alcove-likestructure. There were also benches alongboth long sides and a possible cookingpit was seen at one gable end.

Inside, the house measured 12 x 5 mand was furnished with walls up to 1.9m thick. Apparently the house was onlyused as a dwelling for a brief period,after which it changed function to ananimal shed, as evidenced by a layer ofanimal dung which among other thingscovered the fireplace. Shortly afterwardsthe whole building burned down.

A view of the excavation field as it looked during the third year of the investigation.One can see rooms with partitioning walls topped by rows of stones, as well as theremains of the eroded front surface towards the river. The layout of the buildinggradually began to take form. In the foreground stalling space can be seen.

A box-shaped fireplaceset up in a room thatcould be identified as aweaving room. Thefireplace had beenplaced with its back to awall just inside a dooropening, and the bottomhad been laid withsmaller flat stones thatwere easy to clean ashfrom.



However, there was more buildingafter this, and this time it launched aprocess that led to the specialized typeof farm known from the GreenlandicMiddle Ages, the centralized farm,where all functions are gathered underthe same roof. It has been possible todistinguish eight phases and to identifymore than 63 rooms, but only a smallnumber of these were in use at thesame time.

The interesting thing is the way theparts of the building were displaced andchanged in the course of time almost asif the building was a living organism.The orientation of the house remainedthe same, and the rooms mainly seem tohave been oriented at right angles to thelongitudinal axis.

Unfortunately the front of the housetowards the plain had been erodedaway by the river, so the excavation infact went straight down into theinterior of the house. It ischaracteristic that the rooms changedtheir functions, and that in thisconnection their volume and accesspoints also changed. It was also clearthat material from one demolishedwall was re-used to build upanother. The walls could be built inturf and stone, or turf alone, and withfill in the middle like cofferwork walls.

Changes in the number and volumeof the rooms reflect changing needs interms of the number of people anddomestic animals, and perhaps externalconditions. Often there was a change toan animal shed function, but almostalways the result was a smaller room or apartitioning of a larger one. The roof wasnot one large roof, but many smallerones which covered individual rooms. Itwas borne up by wooden posts standingon flat stones and consisted of loosejoists, branches and turf.

It was possible to determine thefunction of several rooms, for example aweaving room, as a result of the manyfinds of spindle whorls and warpweights, as well as part of a vertical loomand a wealth of textile fragments.Another room could be identified as aliving room with many finds of objectsthat can be related to eating andhousework. Primary animal sheds wereseen, with stall partitioning stones set on

edge and stone dressing; another room,before conversion to an animal shed, hadfunctioned as a kitchen, as indicated bythe remains of a fireplace/oven withthree stoking openings.

Fireplaces were also found in severalother rooms, as a rule positioned justinside a door opening against the wall.Since fireplaces that had fallen intodisuse were also noted, we can view thefireplace as a movable element thatshould perhaps be counted among other‘loose’ inventory like doors andthreshold wood. The fireplaces werebuilt up from stones set on edge,forming a box-shaped fire chamber withstoking access from the free gable end.

No true inventory in the form ofremains of furniture was found, butseveral finds of keys and a single boltlock suggest the presence of chests

which, besides holding things,could also be used as seats. It isincidentally remarkable that among

the amount of wood that was foundand studied, no fragments have yetbeen found that can be identified asparts of loose inventory. In the weavingroom there are traces of earth and stonebenches which may have been cladwith wood, and in other roomsvertebrae of whales have been found,which were probably used as stools.

Byres and living rooms, as well asrooms with other functions, varied ofcourse in volume and number

through the lifetime of the complex,but in general the rooms were quitemodest in size. The height of therooms is unlikely to have been muchmore than standing height, as

suggested by the preserved walls. In the light of the climatic

conditions the layout of the complex, asit appears now, was a heat-preservingstrategy. The possible fuels for thefireplaces were of course branches andscrub from the surroundings, but giventhe fact that the farm was occupied for agood three hundred years, this resourcemust have been exhausted relativelyquickly. Nor is it inconceivable thatdried dung from the farm animals wasalso used, as well as turf and blubber. Atthe same time it is worth noting thatmore than 80% of the heat from anopen fireplace disappears with the smokewith no heat storage other than the fewstones around the fire chamber. Theradiant heat from the fireplaces cannothave been enough; there must have beenother supplementary factors – forexample the small rooms, low ceilingheight, and body heat from the stalledanimals.

We do not known anything about thewindow situation, but there can hardlybe any doubt that it was rather darkinside the building complex. Small

The door to Norse Greenland. Thecollapsed door was found in a livingroom from the last phases of thebuilding. It was lying in the dooropening out towards a passage that ledto the front of the building.

Lid for a small box,decorated on both sides. On this sidewe see a dragon’s head that mergesinto an inscription in the rare knot-runesforming the girl’s name Björk.



crudely carved soapstone lamps suggestportable sources of light, and the fuelwas undoubtedly blubber from seals orother sea mammals.

In the winter the farm animals wouldalso find shelter under the farm roof, andthe bone finds tell us that it was mainlysheep that were kept, but there wereprobably also goats among the flock.Larger animals like horses and cattlewere also represented, but inconsiderably smaller quantities, andfinally there were also dogs.

However, the bone finds also suggestthat the meat diet primarily came fromwild animals like caribou and seal, whichsuggests that the sheep were first andforemost kept for their milk andwool – this might also explain themany small enclosed stalls in thehouse. One of the most frequentfind categories is staves fromcoopered wooden vessels of varioussizes, probably for the storage ofmilk and milk-based products. Themany finds of implements for textileproduction such as spindles, spindlewhorls and warp weights, as well asremains of woven textiles, underscore asclearly as one might wish that some ofthe sheep were kept for the sake of thewool.

The people on the farmWe do not know how many people livedon the farm, but it is not unlikely thaton average 10–15 people lived there.Finds of locks and keys suggest thatthere were social differences; somepeople had the power to decide thatthere were some things not everyoneshould have access to. On a few objectsone could see owner’s marks, which can

be interpreted along the same lines. Thisis of course not surprising, given whatwe know about the social landscape ofthe North Atlantic Middle Ages.

Finds of wooden crosses and objectswith carved crosses suggest a popularCatholic piety which is also expressed bythe fact that several owner’s marks have across as the basic figure.

We know that two of the maleoccupants of the farm were called Thorand one was called Bardr; we also knowthe name of a girl who may have livedon a neighbouring farm. For in severalplaces in the excavation field objectswere found with runic carvings, forexample with the above-mentionednames. The girl was called Björk, andher name was carved with knot-runes onthe lid of a fine box that was alsodecorated with a dragon’s head andrigorously symmetrical plantornamentation in the Gothic style. Thelid was found in stall manure and can

tentatively be interpreted as the physicalevidence of a discontinued love affair,since the box was never finished. Aconnection with a neighbouring farm isnot unlikely, since one of the owner’smarks in the find has a parallel in a findfrom nearby Austmannadal. There wasthus also some knowledge of reading and

writing.

A small number of theobjects from the Farm

beneath the Sand wereornamented. This is usuallya very simple kind ofornamentation consisting of

lines, curves and circles markingcontours, and only in three cases wasthere any pictorial representation –stylized Gothic plant interlacing and adragon’s head. This stuck to a particularstyle, but a few examples were also foundof free renderings – a carving from adisused gable end, from a small woodenbox showing a dog’s head, and a four-legged creature crudely carved on a smallpiece of wood. The latter shouldprobably be seen as a child’s attempt toshow one of the farm animals tethered tothe ground.

The presence of children was also seenfrom several miniature objects, forexample shoe lasts, soapstone vessels andwooden knives that can only be regardedas toys, which in turn suggests the careof children and an introduction to thegrown-up world. Dice and game piecestell us that life was not all toil, but that

In 1995 the excavation had reacheddown to a level that was below thesurface of the river in the month of July.The water flowed irresistibly into thefield and put most of the area underwater. For the last year we had to damoff the water with a structure ofsandbags and bale out with a motorpump. The picture shows among otherthings how we built a small point outinto the river to divert the currentgradient so it did not strike the fieldhead on.



there was also time for amusements;these also point to links with the rest ofthe Norse world, where board gameswere common.

The interior environment in thebuildingThe building complex was a culturallandscape occupied by living beings atvarious levels. At the top were humanbeings and farm animals, but at a lowerlevel there were mice and a richmicrofauna favoured by the interiorenvironment, darkness, quantitiesof refuse from animals and people,and not least the huge potential forthriving in turf walls, belowfloorboards on the earth floor,behind board cladding, inbedclothes etc. People appear tohave thrown their food remains onthe floor, and when this became toomuch planks were laid across it tofacilitate moving around in thehouse. Analysis of the various

species of parasites has not yet beenconcluded, but lice and vermin that onlylive on farm animals have beenidentified.

During the excavation we got someidea of the stink that there must havebeen in the complex. When the heat ofthe sun thawed out the permafrozenlayers, at the same time it released asmell of ammoniac that almost made the

excavators’ eyes water. The occupants ofthe Farm beneath the Sand lived withvarious degrees of this stink. Theirresponse to the hygienic we only knowin the form of combs, which were a verycommon find category, but from otherNorse farms in the vicinity we know ofbath-houses. Whether there was one atthe Farm beneath the Sand is unknown,but if there was, it has now been erodedaway by the river.

The farm is abandonedThe C14-datings show thatthe Farm beneath the Sand

was occupied from about themiddle of the eleventh until some timeinto the fourteenth century. The primaryresource of the farm was an extensivewetland and clear watercourses in itsimmediate proximity, as well as ahunting area in its hinterland thatsupplied the farm with caribou and birdgame. The results so far suggest that thefarm had its greatest volume in the last70-odd years it was occupied, whichdoes not directly suggest any period ofdecline, although perhaps only a smallpart of the farm was occupied in the lastperiod.

However, it is a fact that the mostimportant resource became poorer. Forthe climate became colder around themiddle of the fourteenth century. Theice sheet advanced, and there was thus askewing of the balance such that thewetland gradually became a lake withglacier water that was unfit to drink forboth humans and animals because of

heavy sedimentation. The subsistencebasis simply gradually disappeared. Theoccupants had to abandon the farm andthe plain was now uninhabited for atime.

The Thule Eskimos reached the nowdeserted Western Settlement in the1300s, and some of them went caribouhunting inland. Certain finds of Eskimoobjects in the upper layers suggest thatthe caribou hunters sought refuge in theempty building and lit fires in there.Sparks from these fires jumped into aturf wall and burned the farm downlittle by little. Then the fire site wasflooded and the culture layer wascovered by sediments deposited instagnant water. Later the waterwithdrew, the culture layer froze topermanent ice, and gradually the windhelped to level everything with metre-thick layers of shifting sand. The farmvanished, and with it the memory of thepeople who had lived and worked on theplain for more than three centuries.

Translated by James Manley

Canine tooth from a polar bear with asuspension hole in the root end. It wasprobably worn around the neck. Magic,superstition or decoration?

The end of a smallmortised wooden chestwith a carved animal head,perhaps a dog or lion.

About the authorJoel Berglund has a Master ofPrehistoric Archaeology from theUniversity of Copenhagen, and hasworked on the Norse history ofGreenland since 1970. He wasdirector of the Qaqortoq Museumfrom 1981 until 1991, a curator atthe Greenland National Museum &Archives from 1992 until 1998, andsince 1998 he has been DeputyDirector of the same institution. Hisfields of work are primarilyarchaeology and antiquities.

E-mail: jjbbnnaattmmuuss@@ggrreeeennnneett..ggll

LLiitteerraattuurree::Man, Culture and Environment in AncientGreenland. Editors Jette Arneborg andH.C.Gulløv.

The Danish National Museum & DanishPolar Center. Copenhagen 1998. (Variousarticles on The Farm Beneath the Sand).

Joel Berglund: Two Dogs and a Dragon.Fifty Years of Arctic Research.

Publications of The National Museum.Ethnographical Series vol. 18

The National Museum of Denmark.Copenhagen 1997.



By Florian W. Huber

In September, a small team ofinternational archaeologistsfrom Canada, Germany,Iceland and Scotlandinvestigated the area aroundSeljaland farm in VesturEyjafjallahreppur, SouthIceland. The “SeljalandProject”, led by CanadianKristján Ahronson, isconcentrating investigationson the man-made cavestructures at Kverkarhellir andSeljalandshellar/Papahellir.The project hopes to date thefirst construction andunderstand the later use ofthese sites.

Kverkarhellir and Seljalandshellar/Papahellir are but two of a large numberof man-made caves in South Iceland,some of which are mentioned as early asthe 11th and 12th centuries. It isinteresting to remember Adam ofBremen’s fantastic 11th century accountthat the people of Thule/Iceland“...dwell in underground caves, glad tohave roof and food and bed in commonwith their cattle”.

With a few exceptions, the cavestructures of South Iceland have been

largely ignored in the archaeology ofIceland – we do not know who usedthem or when they where built. It ispossible, however, that these caves holdthe key to understanding the earliestsettlement of Iceland.

While there is as yet no secureevidence of human occupation on theisland prior to the Norse Landnám,several historical sources includingÍslendingabók (The Book of Icelanders),Landnámabók (The book of Settlements)and Dicuil’s Liber De Mensura Orbis

Terrae suggest that Gaelic Papar (earlyChristian communities) may have livedon the island before the Norse.

To date, however, no reliablearchaeological or paleoecologicalevidence of pre-Norse setttlement hasbeen found!

Cross carvingsIn some of these caves, cross carvingshave been found which appear to beparalleled by carvings in Argyll, onScotland’s West Coast, the Hebrides andShetland. Several distinct styles found inIceland are strikingly similar to thosecross carvings in Argyll which seem to beassociated with pre-Viking-Age Christiansettlements centred around Iona. Onepossible hypothesis could be that theearliest of the Icelandic caves are relatedto the pre-Viking-Age Ionan tradition.

Place-name studyOther interesting aspects to consider arethe place names with papa-elementfound across the Scandinavian-settledNorth Atlantic littoral. Specifically fromthe Hebrides, through to Orkney,Shetland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland.

Cave culture in South

The man-made cave `Kverkahellar´ withpossible structure on the exposed floor.Photo: Huber



The papa-elements are understood toderive from papar, the Old Norse termfor the poorly documented and poorlyunderstood Gaelic Christiancommunities of this region at the time ofScandinavian settlement. An example isthe small island Papey, off the coast ofEast Iceland.

Excavating the cavesIt is likely persistent use as animalshelters over many centuries has left littleundisturbed material remains on thecave floors. In front of the caves,however, aggrading sequences do occurin which the soft palagonite rock cut outin the first episodes of cave modificationwill have been deposited.

The landnám tephra produced by avolcanic eruption in 871 +/- 2 ADcovered much of Iceland at the time ofthe initial Norse settlement, effectivelymarking the beginning of Norseoccupation. Consequently, if cave spoiloccurs significantly below this tephra, itis likely to predate 871 AD, making thecave occupation of great archaeologicalinterest!

This season’s fieldwork may haveidentified the cave spoil in relation to asequence of early volcanic ash falls,perhaps including the landnám layer.The results of this work are pendinganalysis and verification in next season’sfieldwork.

On July 7, 2000 at the VancouverMaritime Museum, the British ColumbiaViking Ship Project officially launched theViking Ship “Munin”. One year in thebuilding, “Munin” measures 40 feet inlength and is a true half scale replica of theGokstad Ship (read about the buildingproject in VHM 2/01).

The day arose with near perfectweather: a little overcast to keep the heatdown and not too much wind. A largecrowd of spectators enjoyed the antics andpageantry of the project members inperiod costumes. The event was graced bythe presence of the Ambassador of

Norway and the Consuls General ofNorway and Sweden. Four television crewscaptured the moment for posterity.

The name of our proud ship was thewinning entry of our naming contest. Ateam of costumed children and grandchildren of the builders christened“Munin” by splashing mead on the stem.

“Munin” then launched free and clearand rode proudly in the water. The first set

of oarsmen and -women then rowed herover to the dock at the VancouverMaritime Museum, her home for thesummer.

“Munin” rows well and is responsive toher rudder, especially after enlarging itbelow the water line. With 3000 pounds oflead ballast, she handles her sail very well.She is much stiffer (heels less) than onewould expect. This is fortunate, becauseViking Ship rigging in out times is basedprimarily on educated guesswork.

So please join me in a round ofappreciation for this great team and a jobwell done with the Viking Ship “Munin”, amagnificent addition to Canada’s maritimehistory.

Preben Ormen,Chairperson BC Viking Ship Project

IcelandCross carvings from the cave `Seljalandshellir´.The crosses are between 5 and 10 cm high.Photo: Huber

About the author:Florian W. Huber studiesArchaeology, ScandinavianLanguages and Anthropologyin Kiel, Germany.

E-mail: fflloohhllyyss@@yyaahhoooo..ddee

The BC Viking ShipProject Launches“Munin”



By Unn Pedersen

Twelve hundred years ago Kaupangwas a busy urban settlementcharacterised by craft activities andexchange, encircled by hundreds ofgraves. In the 10th century thesettlement by Viksfjord, near Larvikin southern Norway wasabandoned. Kaupang became aquiet farmland and as time went byno remains of the Viking Agesettlement were visible aboveground.

In May 2000 twenty archaeologists arrived atKaupang equipped with a mechanical excavator,spades, trowels and computers. A large excavationcampaign in the settlement area from 2000 until2002 will unveil Viking-Age Kaupang and givemore knowledge about life in the Viking Age. TheKaupang excavation project is met with greatenthusiasm locally, nationally and internationally.Once again the Viking-Age settlement has broughtthousands of visitors to Kaupang.

New excavations at Kaupearliest urban settleme

Pottery from the Baltic. Photo: Kaupanginvestigation.

Aerial view ofKaupang towardssouthwest. Thesettlement area isthe ploughed fieldbetween the roadand the bay. Photo:Dagfinn Skre,Kaupanginvestigation.



BackgroundKaupang is one of the richest Viking-Agesites in Norway. The ongoing excavation isnot the first large-scale archaeological

investigation at Kaupang.The Norwegian pioneerarchaeologist, NicolayNicolaysen, excavatedover 80 grave mounds atKaupang during a month

in the summer of 1867. In the 1950s and1960s Charlotte Blindheim carried outlarge excavations in one of the cemeteriesand in the settlement area. Blindheim’sexcavations proved that Kaupang was thetrading place Sciringes heale, mentioned bythe chieftain Ottar from Northern Norwayin Alfred the Great´s translation of Orosius’Histories. The documented structures fromthe excavation in the settlement area wereinterpreted as belonging to a temporarysettlement without a clear structure. Solidhouses with permanent hearths wereabsent; thus the material gave no evidencefor winter habitation at Kaupang.

New excavations in other Viking-Agesites like Hedeby in Schleswig, Birka in thebasin of Lake Mälaren and Ribe in Jutlandhave yielded quite a different picture ofcontemporary Viking-Age towns. Theyshow an urban area divided into permanentplots of land, more solid houses and winter

habitation. AfterBlindheim’sexcavationKaupang seemedto be the odd oneout. But less than2% of thesettlement area atKaupang wasexcavated duringBlindheimscampaign. Aquestion that cameup after herexcavation waswhetherexcavation in amore central partof the settlementwould give apicture moresimilar to theother Viking-Agetowns. Thisquestion couldonly be answeredby newexcavations.

Research orientationThree years of excavations will provide uswith important information about thecharacter of the urban community atKaupang. We intend to figure out whatkind of settlement Kaupang was, especiallywhether Kaupang was a seasonal or apermanent settlement. The excavation willshed light on the size of the settlement area,dating the site, and the density andstructure of the settlement. We areespecially eager to determine whetherKaupang had houses suitable for winterhabitation or if it was divided into plotslike other known Viking-Age towns. Wewill also learn more about what kind ofactivities that took place in the settlementarea and how they were organised.

The excavationThe excavation was preceded byintroductory fieldwork in the settlementarea at Kaupang in 1998-1999. Surveys ofthe tilled fields, magnetometer mapping,test screening of the plough layer andmapping of the depth of the preservedcultural deposits were done to find the areawith best potential for a new excavation.During the new fieldwork period we willexcavate a total of about 3500 sq.m. Largerescue excavations were conducted in year2000 prior to the building of a sewerpipeline and a new pavement. The longand narrow trench throughout the lengthof the settlement area gave an interestingoverall picture of the activities in theViking Age. The main excavation site ofabout 1100 sq.m. is located centrally in thesettlement area.

The cultural deposits at Kaupang aredivided into numerous and often barelydistinguishable layers that must bedocumented separately. Water screening ofall the cultural deposits yielded a largenumber of artefacts and faunal remains. Asa result of water screening, small fish bonesand glass beads only a few millimetres indiameter can be collected. A new computersystem, Intrasis, developed by the SwedishCentral Board of National Antiquities forthe documentation of archaeologicalexcavations, is of tremendous help insystematising and analysing all the datafrom the excavation.

In the area that has been excavated thereare preserved cultural deposits up to 0,5meters deep. During the excavations in2000 and 2001 several houses, latrines,wells and ditches were uncovered, togetherwith large amounts of artefacts. In the

ang, thent in Norway

Water screening thecultural deposits. Photo: Morten Rakke.



waterlogged wells and latrines, wood andother organic material like bones, seeds andinsects remains has been preserved. Severalwells and latrines have remains ofconstructions either wattle, verticalplanking or quadratic timber constructions.

Preliminary results indicate that thesettlement was divided into plots byditches. Several solid houses, some of themwith identified hearths suggest winterhabitation at Kaupang. All of the datablecoins found at Kaupang so far are olderthan 900 AD. The oldest dated artefacts arefrom the late 8th century. This suggeststhat the settlement can be dated to theperiod between the late 8th century andabout 900 AD. In the project’s research andpublishing period from 2003 until 2006 allthe data from the excavations will beanalysed and evaluated. We have to wait forthe final analyses of the material and the2002 field season to confirm thepreliminary results. Hopefully the last yearof excavation will also give us importantinformation of how it all started. WasKaupang divided into plots from theearliest stage of the settlement, or were theplots a later development?

International connectionsArchaeologists and archaeology studentsfrom France, Germany, the Netherlands,United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark,Sweden and Norway have participated inthe excavations. The participants havecontributed to an international andchallenging milieu, together with thesupervising research group. Many differentlanguages were also heard at Kaupang inthe Viking Age. Both people and objectscould travel over large areas.

Many artefacts in the settlement areareveal trade links and cultural contacts withthe outer world. The silver coins fromKaupang are mostly Arabic dirhems.Fragments of jet-bracelets and severalcarnelian, rock crystal and amethyst beadswere exotic imports at Kaupang. Jet ishardened charcoal from the British Isles,carnelian is a semiprecious stone from theCaspian sea. Beads of amethyst might havebeen produced on the continent and thoseof rock crystal in Asia. Some glass beads areproduced in the Caliphate, others in theMediterranean area, on the continent andin the Viking-Age town of Ribe. Largeamounts of imported pottery vessels havealso been found in the settlement area. Thematerial consists of shards from theRhenish and Baltic region as well as fromJutland. A closer study of the exchangedgoods will give a better understanding oftrade during the Viking Age and of

Kaupang’s connections with the NorthEuropean cultural community.

Production centreKaupang has usually been described as atrading place. The material from theongoing excavation shows that it also wasan important production centre. The widevariety of finds from the settlement areaprovides important information about thedifferent crafts that were carried out atKaupang in the Viking Age. Unfinishedbeads of glass and amber, production wasteand raw material indicate that both glassbead production and amber work tookplace at Kaupang. A considerable numberof the over 2000 glass beads found so farmight have been produced locally. Severalloom-weights and spindle whorls of clay,lead and soapstone indicate that textileproduction took place at Kaupang.

Large amounts of iron slag and a fewfurnace stones originate from the activitiesof blacksmiths in the settlement area. Ironartefacts such as a pair of scissors, keys,knifes, nails and frost nails for horses wereprobably produced in the forge. Moulds,crucibles, raw material and waste fromcasting prove that metal casting took placeat Kaupang. A few soapstone moulds andsome fragments of clay moulds reveal thatingots and jewellery like tortoise broocheswere cast. Lead models for moulds of clayshow a varied production of differentbrooches and mountings. Analyses of thematerial will give better insight into theorganisation of crafts in the Viking Age and

the role of craftsmen in Viking-Age society.

Public archaeologyThe Kaupang Excavation Project hasplaced great emphasis on informing thepublic about the results from theexcavation. Schoolchildren in the districtare invited to special education activities.During the summer season the excavationis open for visitors. Guided tours aroundthe excavation area are given every day bythe project staff. Weekly reports from theexcavations and notes about the finds areprinted in local newspapers every week andpublished on the project’s own homepage.On this homepage you can find moreinformation about the excavation. Duringthe winter you will find small updatednotes about the progress with the analyses.You will be able to follow the excavationsby reading the weekly reports from Mayuntil September 2002.

About the authorUnn Pedersen B.A. is ResearchAssistant at the Institute ofArchaeology, History of Art andConservation at the University ofOslo. She is responsible for thefinds unite of the KaupangExcavation Project.

Email: uunnnn..ppeeddeerrsseenn@@iiaakkkk..uuiioo..nnoo

hhttttpp::////wwwwww..kkaauuppaanngg..uuiioo..nnoo

Mathieu from France is trying to delimit a layer. Photo: Morten Rakke.



On the island of Langeland in Denmarkmany localities of Viking-Age burials withwell-preserved skeletons which naturallyattract attention have been examined. Onemore grave-site now joins the number, at thesame time adding to our knowledge.

In 1885 the merchant Jens Winther,founder of Langeland’s museum, was calledto a small hillock, called Kumle mound,where there is a view towards Lindelse Nor.

While digging for gravel, humanskeletons, proving to be six individuals intotal, were found. One of them was foundwith riding equipment: spurs, bridle, a horseand a dog. A number of years later, rightbeside the mound, a well-preserved Arabicsilver coin minted in 801–02 AD during thereign of Harun al Raschid was found.Investigations with a metal detector in the1990’s resulted in two more coins of the samekind. They are now believed to be a part of asilver treasure from the Viking Age that hasbeen ploughed up.

In 1998, as a follow-up to these findsLangeland’s Museum undertook anarchaeological excavation. It proved to be atthe last minute, before ploughing destroyedthe remaining graves completely. Let it besaid right now: the excavation did notmanage to find any more coins or locate apossible treasure find. But it did show that

the burial ground was founded at the foot ofan until-now unknown megalith grave fromthe Neolithic period – probably the reasonfor the name Kumle Høje (mound). Duringthe excavation skeletons and skeleton partsfrom 12 individuals were found and they arenow being analysed anthropologically. Thereare six men, three women and three ofundetermined sex. Some of the graves deservecloser mention.

The most unusual grave was situated onthe edge of an enclosure, a double grave,where two men were laid front to front ontop of each other. On top were the remainsof a man, 20–25 years of age, about 184 cmin length, lying on his stomach. Below him,slightly displaced, were the remains of man ofthe same age lying on his back. This man hadbeen about 169 cm in length. Their feet werelying so close together that it appears as ifthey were tied together when buried. Theabsence of one of the skulls and thedestruction of the other may be explained byploughing. What was peculiar is that a wholearm, complete from the shoulder joint to thefingers, was found in the bottom of thegrave. It is a mystery how the entire armended up in the grave without traces ofcutting. Various archaeological observationsmay suggest that some kind of physicalpunishment have taken place before death.

Double-layered graves with the bodies laidon top of each other occur quite rarely in theViking Age. “Etage graves” are known fromLejre and the burial ground Bogøvej, close toKumle Høje (Skalk 1989:3), while the twoothers buried in places like Kågård andStengade (both in Langeland) are lying sideby side. Both in Lejre and Stengade it may bea case of the graves of a master and a thrall.

In another grave lay a well-preservedskeleton of a man, about 188 cm in lengthand about 55 years old. His mouth wascharacterized by tooth loss and caries andtraces of osteoarthritis could be observed. Ahealed injury at the back of the skull showsthat he had survived a very violent blow.Discussions were held whether it was aquestion of trepanation (cranium operation),but that does not seem to be the case. Theman was lying on his back in an outstretchedposition with a 17-centimetre long iron knifeas his only grave goods.

The next grave with the skeleton of amiddle-aged man, between 40 and 55 yearsof age and about 170 centimetres in lengthshows how grim life could be in the VikingAge. There are traces of osteoarthritis both inthe maxillary joints of the jaws and the spine,and additionally all four lower bones of thelegs were broken. Healed fractures were alsoseen in the pelvic bone and in a bone from

Legend from a closely-situatedmound“There are also some people whohave heard a coffin lid slam in thehillock. This is heard when thetrolls, who guard the treasure, havebeen counting the money in thecoffin and thereafter shut the lid. Tobe able to hear this you must putyour ear on the ground, and alsoyou have to be a Sunday child(born on a Sunday ed.note).

TheKumleMoundBy Inge Kjær Kristensen

and Pia Bennike



one foot. All injuries had healed showing thatthe man survived but he must have beenhandicapped. Here too, this man had only aniron knife with him in the grave.

A woman, 40-55 years of age, was foundlying on her back underneath three largestones. It is possible to believe that the stoneswere meant to prevent her from coming backto haunt, but apart from that nothing elsewas unusual. Once again the only gravegoods was an iron knife.

The richest grave contained skeletalremains from a middle-aged or older woman

Our image of the proud Vikings is, withoutdoubt, quite different to these pitiful skeletonfinds.

The people living in Klæsø, close toKumle mound, have perhaps always knownthat the mound was something very special.A teacher, Carlin Klæsøe informed the DanskFolkemindesamling (the Danish FolkloreArchives) in 1946: “On Kumle moundbetween Klæsø and the main road to the southof the Klæsø road 60 years ago there was a thornhedge where it was very dangerous to travelbecause a cockatrice lived there. A cockatrice is acock with a grass snake’s tail. If a cockatricehisses at us, we will die – If we stay away fromits territory, it won’t harm us”.

And further: “There, where the Klæsø roadmeets with the main road, there is something

else that isn’t right. This place is haunted. Atleast people thought so 50 years ago. Here themain road is a gorge and you got a strangefeeling walking there after the approach ofdarkness. There was something indescribable,and people would rather not speak about ghostshere. Though I have never heard that anyonehas seen anything in this place”.

Until the end of the 1950s, the childrenwere told not to play in the enclosure (wherethe double grave was situated), because theplace was haunted, and “here you walked onskeletons”.

Now it is not that simple to draw astraight connection from the folklore to thearchaeological excavations. The story aboutthe cockatrice normally means connectionswith evil, and in Christian art a cockatrice is

The double grave from Kumle Mound. Notice how the feet are lying close together (tied together?)

The man’s skullwith a veryapparent inwarddent in the backof the head. Theinjury washealed and thusit was not fatal.

lying on her back in an outstretched position.In this grave lay several objects made of ironand one unfinished piece of amber. It wasunusual to find, close to her left shin, areworked piece of gilded bronze that mighthave come from a cup-shaped dress buckle ofdouble-headed construction, thus a recycledpiece.

Aside from the rider, who must be seen torepresent the uppermost class, it is an quiteunusual burial ground. Two older men havesurvived serious injuries, two young menseem from an archaeological point of view tohave been punished, one woman had to bekept from haunting and another had to becontent with a recycled piece of jewellery.

The recycledpiece ofjewellery.



understood as the devil itself. On thecontrary there are ghost stories in manyconnections, and here at the burial ground aconnection between the woman's gravecovered with stones and the strange doublegrave cannot be ruled out. The very nameKumle Høje reminds us of the Viking Age,and “kuml” ( Kuml – an old Nordic wordmeaning a memorial site or a raised stone) iswhat comes out of it, both archaeologicallyand in the folklore.

This article was originally published inSkalk 3, June 2001-11-07.

About the authorsAssoc. Research Professor PiaBennike, Ph.d. at the Laboratory ofBiological Anthropology, ForensicInstitute, University of Copenhagenand curator of the osteologicalcollection at the Museum of MedicalHistory, Copenhagen. President ofEuropean Anthropology Association.Field of research: Numerous studieson human variation and diseasesthrough the ages based on Danishskeletal material from archaeologicalexcavations.

Email: bbeennnniikkee@@aannttrroollaabb..kkuu..ddkk

Inge Kjær Kristensen. B.A. inprehistoric Archaeology withspeciality in the Funnel Beakerculture, late Stone Age. Freelancework for museums since 1988. Hasbeen directing many archaeologicalexcavations, exhibitions and otherinformational activities. At presentworking as curator at the SkiveMuseum, Archaeological departmentin Højslev, Denmark.

Email: bbhhnnkkjjaaeerr@@ppoosstt66..tteellee..ddkk

November 5 was a special day for MikaelKarlsson, who operates a tractor digger,when he found a picture-stone nearly 2.5-mhigh close to the scrap yard in Bro parishon Gotland.

Mr Karlsson was digging a trench for thenew broadband cable. All of a sudden therewas an unexpected interruption in his workwhen the bucket hit something in theground. This “something” turned out to bea large picture-stone on which a pattern of asail could be discerned. The HistoricalMuseum of Gotland will now make furtheranalysis of the stone.

The tradition of erecting picture-stoneson Gotland was active between the 6th–11th

centuries, about 450 have been found. Thestone now found in Bro parish is probablyof the type that was common during the8th– 9th centuries. A longboat-type ship withsail is usually depicted on the lower part ofthe stones and on the upper part you find ahorseman and a Valkyrie – maiden of war.

The symbolism of these stones and their

pictures has been the subject of muchscholarly debate. In any case the stoneshave been regarded as monuments inhonour of deceased individuals belongingto the elite of that time on Gotland. Themotif on the upper half of the stones hasbeen interpreted as a depiction of the deadperson arriving at the war god Odin’s hall ofValhalla, where the god gathered all themen who had fallen in battle.

Picture-stones are unique for Gotlandand should not be mixed up with rune-stones that are slightly younger; the latterare mostly from 11th century and within aChristian context. The nearest equivalentpicture-stones, that are roughlycontemporary, are the Pictian stones fromScotland and the Hornhausen stones withhorsemen from Germany.

In the next issue of Viking HeritageMagazine you will be able to read moreabout the unique Gotlandic picture-stones.

Sources: Gotlands Tidningar 2001-11-06and Viking Heritage.

The broken and healed leg bones of themiddle-aged man.

The newly found picture-stone is lifted up with the help of a trenching machine.Photo: Gunilla Wickman-Nydolf.

A picture-stone was found witha trenching machine on Gotland

LETTER TO THE EDITORWe pass this letter on to you readers:I have been a subscriber for a long time, and really enjoy the magazine! I write screenplays, andhave written a historically accurate script about Vikings and their raids on EnglishMonasteries. The story: a Viking warlord enslaves a monk, and is later baptized by that monk.The script is endorsed by the Christian Film & Television Commission in the United States.

Question: are there any movie producer readers of your magazine who might be looking for ascript about Vikings?!

Thanks, Brad Catherman, Atlanta, Georgia USAE-mail: mmvveerrttrr@@bbeellllssoouutthh..nneett



By Gunilla Wickman-Nydolfand Nils-Gustaf Nydolf

The Russian city of Azov is today atranquil, quite prosperous country town. It issituated strategically on a height on the bankof the Don River in the enormous delta areaa few kilometres from the outlet in theAzovian Sea, which is a part of the Black Seabeyond Crimea.

This is the border area between Europeand Asia where important trading routesonce crossed each other. Here the Silk Road,on which exotic goods from the East weredistributed out over Europe, ended.

Here the Sermatic people, a branch of theoriginal nomadic population, ruled, as well asGreeks and Romans, Italians, Genoese, Turksand the Mongolians’ famed Golden Horde.The Vikings sailed by here on their way tothe Black Sea. This is the heart of the DonCossacks’ native country.

Today not much remains to be seen toremind us of the many facets of the city’spast. Only the fort at the river, built by Peterthe Great when Azov became the homeportto the Russian Black Sea navy in the end ofthe 17th century, reminds of the history of thetown.

Here in the centre of present Azov, anarchaeological project started in April thisyear (2001) aimed at trying to clarify thehistory of Azov. The project has beeninitiated and funded by Thor Heyerdahl, theman who became world-famous when hecrossed the Atlantic with his balsa raft, Kon-Tiki as early as 1947.

Heyerdahl has always been interested inand done research on how people havemoved over long distances. This interest andstudies of texts by the Icelandic historywriter, Snorre Sturlasson from the 13th

century, are the basis for the Azov project.

Snorre gave a very exact geographicaldescription of the country around Azov,probably using Ptolemaios’ map from thesecond century AD as a source. He tellsabout a chieftain called Odin, who livedthere with his people. When the Romanarmy was approaching, Odin and hisfollowers had to flee northwards. Accordingto Snorre’s description, this must havehappened around the year 60 BC.

Odin settled down in Sweden where hebecame a great and respected man. He was sorenowned that after his death he received amystical status and later on came to beregarded as a God by the Vikings.

Heyerdahl’s hypothesis is that Snorredescribes an actual historic course of eventsand that through archaeological examinationsin Azov it will be possible to support anddate the developments that can be connectedto Snorre’s statements.

Under the direction of Professor SergejLoukiashko, the chief archaeologist

Old gods are still alive

Azov and the site of the “Nordic” investigation.

The excavation in the backyard visitedby Thor Heyerdahl.



appointed by the Russian Academy ofSciences in Moscow, two Norwegian and twoSwedish archaeologists as well as oneNorwegian student, together with fiveRussian archaeologists and 25 students fromthe university in Rostov, dug test pits in 10different localities around the city. One of theobjectives of Nordic participation was theopportunity to do an investigation usingwestern excavation methodology and also toestablish contacts between Russian colleaguesand students.

The Russians are experienced excavators,but in terms of methods they have not keptup with modern western progress. They digwith spades and don’t sieve anything at all.The Nordic contribution was not in terms oftechnology such as total station anddigitalisation, but rather digging methods,where we used a single context method, thatconfused our hosts to start with, and sieving.Gradually they gained a more positive view ofthe foreign methods. Especially the studentswere interested in the innovations.

The Nordic participants formed their ownexcavation team together with some Russianstudents. Since the modern city is situated on

top of the antique settlement, there was alimited choice of excavation areas. Ourshaft lay in a small backyard of a blockof single-family dwellings close to thePeter the Great’s fort, which came toinfluence the result of theexcavation. The area was heavilyaffected partly by modernactivity in the form of waste pits,partly by activity that could beconnected to the fort in the 17th

and 18th centuries. Our colleagues were struck with

obvious wonder at seeing usdigging and documentingeverything from the ground surfaceand downwards with the same highlevel of ambition, our reasoningbeing that even modern material is apart of the history of the place.

Together with the modern material ontop, fragments of Greek amphorae werefound from the time after the birth of Christ,as well as ceramic ware from the Middle Ages.

Surprisingly, both for the matruska(woman) in whose strawberry garden we weredigging, as well as ourselves, we found severalskeleton graves from the 17th and 18th

centuries, that could be connected to thefort. At a depth of around 3 metres some fineremains of cultural layers still remained fromthe oldest known settlement on the localityfrom the first century AD.

The finds were mainly both local andimported ceramics from the century beforeand the second century after Christ, as well asfrom the Middle Ages and later, the lattercalled “Cossack wares”. In the chronologyestablished by the Russians, there is athousand-year leap from the time of theGreek amphorae to the local medievalceramics.

One difficulty for us in our task ofinterpretation was that, because of the shortexcavation period, we couldn’t get deeperinsight into the ceramics and therefore had torely on our colleagues’ established knowledge.Spontaneously it was hard to accept a timeloss of one thousand years at this place,which had been colonised by so manydifferent cultures both before and after thisthousand-year period. We hope that morethorough studies of the stratigraphicconditions and an accurate analysis of theceramics will improve and also bridge the“findless” era.

Among the other finds of interest fromthe oldest, intact layers can be mentioned afibula with high bow and a small clayfigurine that could not be interpreted.Thanks to the thorough excavation method,remains of a house construction consisting ofpostholes could also be pointed out in thedeepest deposit layers.

One of the Russian excavation teams,that had its pit barely fifty metres from ours,was not as lucky as we were. It turned outthat they happened to land in the middle of afilled-up moat and they didn’t reach thebottom until eight metres deep, causing

Newly-washed findsfrom one ofthis year’sexcavationsin Azov,observed bymembers ofthe Nordicarchaeologistteam,BjørnarStorfjell,GunillaWickman-Nydolf andNils-GustafNydolf.

The burnt clayfigurine. Photo:B. Storfjell

Wooden vesselwith cross. Photo: J. F. Vasiljev, Ed. by Sergey Toropov.



them a great deal of practical troubles withprofiles falling down and similar problems.

In three of the test pits east of the oldsettlement area, other Russian excavationteams found a graveyard where 10 skeletongraves with grave goods from the first andsecond century AD were examined. Amongother things three ring pins, similar to thetype of ring pins used during the NordicViking Age, were found. The shape iscommon and cannot be construed as a signof cultural contacts with the Nordic.

In a more central place in today’s Azov,excavation is being done in a bigger area ofmedieval settlement, where among otherthings, a baking oven has been found.

There still haven’t been any final resultsfrom this year’s excavations, but thepreliminary results are so good that not onlya continuation of the already begunexcavations is planned for the coming season,but they can also result in the establishmentof a Nordic-Russian Institute, connected tothe University in Rostov, that will promotecommon projects and student exchange.

About the authorsGunilla Wickman-Nydolf, B.A.Archaeologist with the SwedishNational Heritage Board, mainly onGotland 1974-1997. At presentemployed as archaeologist by theCounty Museum of Gotland.

Email: gguunniillllaa..nnyyddoollff@@ggoottmmuuss..ii..ssee

Nils-Gustaf Nydolf, B.A.Archaeologist with the SwedishNational Heritage Board, mainly onGotland 1975-1997, and at theCounty Museum of Gotland 1997-2000. At present he handlesarchaeological matters, churchesand preservation of ancientmonuments at the CountyAdministrative Board of Blekinge,Sweden.

Email: nniinnyy@@kk..llsstt..ssee

The main goods that Rusa purveyed both forhome and foreign markets was salt.Archaeological data implies that the oldestsettlement preceding the town appeared nearsalt springs. This early settlement is dated tothe late 10th–early 11th century.

Staraya Russa is a place of great interest toboth archaeologists and historians.Archaeological excavations have been carriedout in Staraya Russa for the past 35 years.Among the remains investigated by scholarsare many buildings and pavement of ancientstreets. The pavement was made of wood asin other Old Russian towns. The culturallayer reaches 7 m in the oldest part of thetown. Thousands of different things havebeen foundhere. Wood, leather, bones, fabricsand metals are all well preserved due to thesoil’s high humidity. The archaeologicalinvestigations have provided data solving a

lot of questions connected with the historyand life of a medieval town.

The summer field season of 2001 inStaraya Russa lasted from July 19 untilOctober 4. Students of archaeology fromNovgorod State University, GotlandUniversity (Sweden) and Polotsk StateUniversity (Belarus) took part in theexcavations.

The fibula. Photo: B. Storfjell

Staraya Russa –

By Elena Toropova

The Russian town of Staraya Russa, situated south of LakeIlmen, was one of the greatest and economically prosperouscenters of the Novgorod country in the Middle Ages. It wasnamed Rusa until 16th century. The waterways, the Polist andLovat rivers and Lake Ilmen, allowed the local population totake part in long-distance trade.

Map Novgorod area. Drawn by SergeyToropov.



This summer works have been completedat the Borisoglebskiy excavation located inthe oldest part of the town. The excavationarea covers 225 sq. m and the cultural layer isup to 5,5 m thick. The remains of theancient Borisoglebskaja street and partialremains of two homesteads were revealed.Archaeologists could retrace the history oftheir existence from the 11th to the 17th

centuries. The collection obtained during theperiod of investigation consists of more than5000 findings. The mass-finds collectioncounts thousands of fragments of ceramics,animal, bird and fish bones, pieces of leather,nutshells, nails, thick felt and so on.

In the summer season of this year theearliest layers, dated from the starting stage ofthis place’s settlement in the beginning of the11th century, were examined. It is obviouslythat the excavated area was a part of adomestic zone. Plough traces, cow hoofimprints and some holes indicating a woodenpalisade were revealed on the subsoil level inthe opposite parts of the excavation.

To all appearances the settlement spreadout quickly. Soon the first buildings hadappeared in this place. One of thosediscovered was a dwelling house. All thatremains of it is a row of oak logs. Thebuilding had a stove at the western wall and aporch made of planks. Lots of wood, ironand bone artefacts were found. Among themthere is a large wooden vessel turned on alathe, a spearhead and an arrowhead, as wellas ornamented wooden spoons and pins fromstringed musical instruments.

Another building was situated at theopposite side of the street. Only one logremains from it. This building was muchlarger and an extremely interesting complexof church antiquities is connected with it.

There are thin church candles, fragments ofwax and a small wooden vessel (probably ascoop) with a cross on the bottom and richornamentation on the rim.

Among findings from the earliest layers,there are an incredible number (211) ofdifferent wooden counting sticks and aFriesian comb case, all things of greatinterest.

At present we are working on a scientificreport. The excavation materials are now being

prepared for publication. Also we plan to startinvestigations at new plot (480 sq. m).

The financing of the excavation wascarried out within the federal program of“State support of the integration of highereducation and fundamental science for theperiod of 1997–2001” that enjoys presidentprogram status. The investigations are alsosupported by the Russian Humanist ScholarsFund and by the Administration of StarayaRussa.

An ancient town in the earlymedieval principality of Novgorod

Excavation of Borisoglebskiy, field season 2001. Photo: Sergey Toropov.

About the author: Elena Toropova has been head ofStaraya Russa archaeologicalexpedition of Yaroslav the Wise -Novgorod State University since1999. She is a member of staff atthe archaeological laboratory ofNovgorod State University. She isauthor of published works inarchaeology and the history of amedieval town.

Email: eevvtt@@nnoovvssuu..aacc..rruu

The exhibition “Full Circle” nextyear in Montreal and Vancouver

The exhibit profiles L’Anse aux Meadows on Newfoundland as the onlyauthenticated Viking settlement on the American continent. L’Anse aux Meadowsis a Canadian National Historic Site and an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stunning Viking artefacts made of gold, iron, ivory and wood from Nordicmuseums will be exhibited alongside intricately made Aboriginal artefacts made ofbone, stone, ivory and wood from Newfoundland Museum and other Canadianmuseums. Viking sagas and Aboriginal oral history combine to tell the story ofhumanity.

The exhibition Full Circle has toured around Canada and is now on display atMcCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal until April. Then theexhibition will be opened at Vancouver Museum in April and continue untilOctober 2002.

For more information: wwwwww..ggoovv..nnff..ccaa//ffuullllcciirrccllee



By Carina Dahlström

This year’s excavation of the Viking-Age harbour andtrading place at Fröjel on theisland of Gotland, Sweden, isnow finished. At the ancienttrading place there has beenvigorous activity all summer.Altogether there have beenfour field courses and at least120 students from Sweden,USA, England and other partsof the world have uncoveredremains from the Viking Age.During the field seasonparticipants andarchaeologists have exposedan area in total 210 m2, andthus contributed to the on-going research about theharbour and trading place.

Earlier investigations andinterpretations Previous research has shown that theharbour and trading place were inhabitedfrom 600-1100 AD, with its era ofprosperity in the 11th century. Througharchaeological prospecting methods wealso know that the settlement area coversabout 60.000 m2. Of this huge area only1200 m2 have been excavated. Three gravefields have been located and about 100graves have been uncovered. A largequantity of artefacts have also been foundand at this time approximately 24,000finds are registered in Fröjel´s database.About 500 constructions have beenexposed, consisting of both settlementremains and graves.

A current issue has been to determinehow the houses, market stalls andhandicraft sheds were arranged in relationto each other. We have now found outthat the buildings were laid out in aregular pattern between streets and alleys.This kind of building plan is known fromearly urban settlement, like Birka in LakeMälaren.

The summer of 2001One aim within Fröjel DiscoveryProgramme has been to “open up” theexcavation to the general public. Thereforeeveryone was welcome to visit theexcavation site during the summer. Thishas been done through guided tours, ledby archaeologist Alexander Andreeff. Thevisitors had the opportunity to experiencean excavation site at close quarters and tosee the artefacts that had just been found.The guided tours were highly appreciatedand this year saw a record number ofvisitors.

The excavation took place in a fieldthat has been cultivated land for centuries.It was located in two different areas some200 metres from each other, one of thegrave fields and the other settlement area.Parts of both the settlement area and theburial ground have been excavated earlierand about 50 graves and a large amount ofbuilding remains have been recovered.

Initially we had to find out more aboutthe central part of the harbour settlement.The aim here was to excavate moreremains, which could be related to thebuildings and alleys that have been foundduring earlier investigations.

The second excavation area was situatedat the northern grave field, dated to the 9th

to 11th centuries. This area also containssettlement remains from 1000–1100 AD.Here the graves and traces from thesettlement are mixed together at the samelevel in the ground. Even if the remains ofbuildings overlap the graveschronologicaly, occasionally it iscomplicated to interpret what came first.

The settlement area Most of the remains from the central partof the harbour are dated to the 11th andthe 12th centuries. In this region weexcavated an area of 60 m2. The

The excavation at Fröjel had a greatnumber of visitors during the guidedtours. Here is a group of tourists beingguided by the article’s author at the northgrave field. Photo Åke Hultsten

The Viking Age harbour andtrading place at Fröjel, GotlandA summary of the excavation during the summer of 2001



excavation resulted in approximately 15constructions. Most of them were stone-lined postholes, both smaller and biggerones. The small postholes probablybelonged to drying racks for fishnets or,for instance, backyard fences. The biggerpostholes most likely belonged to housesand sheds.

Wood remains and clay packings thatoriginally had been foundation for floorsinside the buildings were another type ofconstruction that could associate tohouses. In one of the trenches we alsofound an empty space where there were noconstructions at all. The empty surfacewas about three meters wide and extendedin north-south direction through thetrench. We interpreted this space to be analley because there were settlement tracesalong both sides of it. The otherconstructions consisted of dump wastesand hearths. The remains show that thebuildings have covered only one timeperiod. This can be compared with thesituation on the north grave field.

The north grave fieldIn this area we excavated about 150 squaremetres. As I mentioned before this localitycontains both settlement remains andgraves. The building traces have the samecharacter as at the settlement area but thisyear we found a construction that stood outin the crowd. Down under a heap of bigstones we found a well. See the photo onthe front padge. It turned out to be abouttwo meters deep, with its wooden interiorconstruction still preserved. It was built oflogs dovetailed at corners and on the timberyou could still see the cuts of the axes. Inthe mud inside the well we foundtremendous amounts of animal bones and,among other things, pieces of a leather shoefrom the Viking Age. At the moment theshoe has been sent for preservation and wewill soon know more about it.

Twelve graves which contained fivemales, five females and two ofundetermined sex have been excavated.Most of the graves were inhumationburials but two consisted of cremationburials. The custom of burning the deadon a funeral pyre was common during theVendel period, 550–700 AD. In one ofthe cremation burials we found gamingpieces typical for the Vendel period. Wealso found bear claws and skeletalfragments belonging to a dog. Thedeceased had probably been burnt on abear hide with his/her dog as a companionfor life after death.

One of the inhumation burials was

unusual. It consisted of a male who hadbeen buried in a pitch, lying on his leftside. The skull was missing but that wasbecause a later posthole had been dugdown right through his head. Theremarkable phenomenon was that hishands looked like they had been boundbehind his back. If they were tied up whenhe was still alive or after death, we don’tknow. Maybe he had offended the law andreceived a punishment or perhaps it was asymbolic act that was connected to theViking’s pagan religion.

We also found graves of a more gentlenature, for example one of the femaleinhumation burials. The female had beenput into the ground on her back, probablydressed in her finest clothes, jewellery andtools. She wore the typical Gotlandicbronze jewellery from the Viking Age. Justbelow her chin there was a box-shapedbrooch and next to each arm lay an animalhead-shaped brooch. The brooches hadseveral functions, both for decoration andfor holding different garments together.Two dress pins were found, one on eachshoulder. On her chest we also found atool brooch with chains from which there

hung a big iron key and a needle box. Thewoman had also two knifes that had beenhanging from her belt and a comb madeof bone. Around her neck she wore anecklace with glass beads and right besideher head lay two spindle whorls made ofstone.

Can the artefacts tell us somethingabout the woman? Maybe they symbolisethe woman’s life. Perhaps she worked atFröjel as a textile craftsman. The objectsmay also be grave gifts from her relatives.Anyhow, the objects probably had a verystrong symbolic value both for the deadperson and for her survivors.

The findsDuring the summer, objects that havebeen hidden in the soil for more than1000 years have once again been broughtinto daylight. Almost 3000 artefacts ofdifferent materials and tremendousamounts of animal bones, burnt clay,pottery and slag have been found.

The biggest category of artefacts wasmade of iron. A large number of rivets andnails, tools associated with handicrafts likeknifes, semi-manufactured products and

A close-uppicture from theupper part of theskeleton in grave20 from 2001.The female wasburied withmany ornamentsand tools. PhotoCarina Dahlström



the harbour at Fröjel was quite a peacefulplace where most of the inhabitationconsisted of craftsmen and merchants. Forsome reason the people who lived andworked here didn’t need to defend the siteand themselves against external threats. Itseems as though most of the inhabitantswere here for the same reason – to make,buy and sell products.

The early cremation burial shows thatthe north grave field has been used over anextensive period. Perhaps a few estatesused the grave field and together set up afishing village at Fröjel. Maybe it was thepeople at those farms who contributed toestablishing what later became one of thelargest Viking-age harbour and tradingplaces on Gotland.

Read more about the Fröjel DiscoveryProgramme on our website:

hhttttpp::////ffrroojjeell..hhggoo..ssee

About the authorCarina Dahlström is anarchaeologist living at Gotland.Since 1998 she works withinFröjel Discovery Programme asa Research assistant. Togetherwith Tove Eriksson she has alsobeen vice-director and fieldassistant during the fieldcourses at the excavation sitein Fröjel.

E-mail: ccaarriinnaa..ddaahhllssttrroomm@@hhggoo..ssee

Eddan is set tomusicNow you can listen to the two-hourpreview of the suite called The InvincibleSword of the ElvSmith, based on thecomplete Nordic mythology of Eddan onthe Internet.

The composer, Mats Wendt. has beenworking on this gigantic project since1999 and he plans on a further eightyears to complete the work.

Enjoy this powerful composition atthe site:hhttttpp::////ww11..445555..tteelliiaa..ccoomm//~~uu4455550033339966//eellvvssmmiitthh//iinnddeexx..hhttmmll

ErrataThe book, Viking Discovery, written byJoan Horwood and reviewed in VHM3/01, is published by Lee Tizzard, andnobody else.

The book can be ordered from LeeTizzard, 25A Cochrane Street, St. John’s,NF Canada. Tel: (709)722-6524 or email: llttiizzzzaarrdd@@rrooaaddrruunnnneerr..nnff..nneett

Heimløsa Rus soldto museumThe Finnish Viking ship, Heimløsa Rus,has a new owner at last. Recently theFinnish Museum of Ostrobothniadecided to buy the ship with theintention of later making an installationabout ancient sailing in their facilities inVasa, Finland.

The ship, which is a replica of theLapuri find, was built in 1995–96 on theisland of Replot, Finland. Its buildingmaterial is spruce, total length 12,3metres, width 3,2 metres, and weightabout 1000 kg.

This ship has made many adventurousvoyages over the years 1996 – 2001 andhas a great history. Read more on the site: hhttttpp::////wwwwww..qqnneett..ffii//rruuss--pprroojjeecctt//

Drakkar – VikingPhotogalleryTake a look at pictures of the everydaylife of the Vikings. Here you can also readabout Vikings in Spanish:hhttttpp::////wwwwww..mmaarr--ddee--ccrriissttaall..ccoomm//hhttttpp::////wwwwww..mmaarr--ddee--ccrriissttaall..ccoomm//ddrraakkkkaarr//pphhoottoogg

A plan drawing of the skeleton in grave 46from 2001. The male’s hands had probablybeen bound behind his back. Photo ToveEriksson

One of the moremagnificent finds wasthis Viking-Age strapend made of bronzewith gold gilding. Atthe lower part of thejewellery a face of amale is visible. Thisface can be looked atfrom two directions.When the strap end isturned upside downyou can still see theface but itscharacteristic featurehas changed. PhotoDan Carlsson

raw material have been found. Anothermajor material category was bronze. Mostdress ornaments and mountings, forexample belts and knife sheaths, weremade of bronze. Other artefacts that werecommon are beads made of glass orprecious stones. In addition to this a largequantity of objects associated to bone andantler crafts have been excavated.

SamplesDuring the excavation we collectedcharcoal and wood samples from thesettlement remains and graves forradiocarbon dating. By doing this we mayget answers about the length of time thathas passed between the burials and thesettlement. We will also find out moreabout the difference in time betweenvarying settlement remains.

Another analysis that is going to bedone is a dendrochronological dating ofthe logs from the well. This is reallyinteresting because with this method wemight get a more precise dating.

This year we also collected macrofossilsamples from the skeleton. This was doneby the taking soil from the region aroundthe individual’s stomach. By analysing thesamples we may clarify what kind of dietthe people at Fröjel had.

ConclusionsNow we have to put this year’s resultstogether with earlier excavations and try tointerpret how all those constructions fittogether. In this way we may form aclearer conception about the settlementpattern and the function of each separatebuilding.

As in previous years we haven’t found alot of offensive weapons. Most of the findsare connected with trading andhandicrafts. This seems to indicate that

Heritage News

populated areas, but rather in thebacklands where they could go about

their work without beinginterrupted.

After the first discoveries, theVikings came back to set upiron production andshipyards. They repaired andrenewed their sailing fleet in

America, where shipbuildingmaterials were abundant. That is

probably why the land was namedVinland the Good. The newfound

land had key raw material to sustain thecommunity in Greenland.

The sleek curved lines of a traditional Norwegianlongboat or “Folks boat” has become the symbol of thesuperior iron riveted lap-strike vessel the Vikings usedto roam the northern world. This craft, from the 1870s,belong to the last generations of boats built when

people were dependent on this type for transport andwork. Photo: Olaf T. Engvig



Only iron rivets could keep an ocean-goingViking ship together. The fact that theVikings used iron rivets in their lap-streakship construction made them able to makelight and swift sailing vessels that couldtravel far, take a lot of punishment, and stayafloat on the high seas. But a ship's lifecould be short and the vessels always neededrepairs and renewing. That is why Vinland,more than 500 years later renamed America,was such an important destination. TheVikings were the firstIron Age, or modern,men to establishproduction sites of anindustrial type in thisStone Age world.

The nativeinhabitantsoutnumbered

the Vikings, but they had no use for whatthe Vikings needed the most. The mossymoorland with bog iron ore and woodenareas including old pine trees the Europeanswere looking for were not to be found in

This paper will focus on theGreenlanders’ need for ships and supplies.Their skills and ventures were crucial tomaintain a good standard of life in thisoutpost of the world. Their search for newopportunities led them to aim theirexploration westwards. These were the onlyunknown areas to the mariners thatemigrated from Norway.

The proposal of this paper is that theVikings’ voyages west were not to “raid,pillage and plunder” or to trade like theydid in the rest of the known world.Relatively few artifacts have been found.This indicates that the main purpose of thetravel was not trade. What could these IronAge men be trading with Stone Age peoplethat had more or less a similar environment?

The native skrælings lived basically in thesame way as the Vikings' ancestors did inNorway 2000 years earlier. TheGreenlanders were exploring the west forother reasons, first and foremost to findresources needed to build and maintaintheir fleet of longboats and Viking ships.

Greenland was a good place to live forthe immigrants from Norway and Iceland.They had good houses, domestic animals,fish and game, and plenty of marinemammals to hunt. They had all the foodthey needed, and we believe they had no

The First Shipyard in AmericaBy Olaf T. Engvig

The Ingstads’ excavations atL’Anse aux Meadows showedthat the Norse settlers, morecommonly named the Vikings,established a permanentsettlement at this site. Theyconstructed a bloomery andproduced iron. Mostimportantly, they set up ayard for shipbuilding and shiprepairs. They needed irontools and advanced skills tomake such an outstandingvessel as a Viking ship.

Woodworking and shipbuilding in America a thousand yearsago with a smithy and a nearby bloomery by the brook. The

camp with temporary and permanent dwellings and the denseforest with good wood in the background. Ships are coming

and going. Depicted by fourteen-year-old Håkon Engvig after avisit to L’Anse aux Meadows so far the only documented

Viking Age settlement in North America.



neighbors that bothered them. They huntedand traded local goods and prized itemswith ships that came from Europe. But theylacked a few very important items thatcould not be shipped overseas without greateffort and cost.

Shipbuilding timber and wood forconstruction was in high demand and inshort supply. In order to produce the ironthey constantly needed, they had to seek outplaces where fuel was plentiful. The womenwould not likely accept that the men use thewinter fuel, gathered for heating andcooking, to make iron. To produce iron theVikings needed lots of particularly goodfirewood that could produce the right heatin the furnace.

These items were all found in Vinland, aconsiderable way to sail, but far shorter thanto their former homeland. Going there theyhad to cross the North Atlantic Ocean.Vinland was coastal sailing a greater part ofthe way, which could bee done even insmaller ships. If they stayed close to the icethey would have had escape to thestarboard.

The Vikings who came to the East Coasta thousand years ago would likely constructiron production plants with furnaces wheregood fuel for this enterprise were abundant.L’Anse aux Meadows gives us the clue. Thisis similar to what happened in thePittsburgh area some 8-900 years laterwhere coal supplies for a large-scale iron andsteel production existed. The Great Lakesbecame a major shipbuilding district andDetroit the city where early automobileswere made.

For people living on a remote island likeGreenland it was crucial to have good shipsand boats. They needed numerous classicViking faerings. They were always used fortrips across the fjord or to the islands forgathering driftwood, fishing and hunting,egg and down collecting, socializing or othertasks. The faering was the Volkswagen of theViking age. In Norway it was used as suchcontinuously until well into the last century.

For coastal visits, expeditions and longervoyages along the coast of Greenland, biggerboats would be employed. They were alsoneeded for collective transport or heaviertasks, such as ferrying herds of domestic

animals over to a green and grassy island inthe fjord where they could get fat over thesummer.

For ocean voyages the largest ship in thecommunity was needed. Going to Vinlandthey could have used bigger ships but alsotaken medium-sized boats along to restoreand repair old ones and built new ones atthe destination.

I am convinced that lumber splitting andwoodworking, iron-making, blacksmithingand tool-making, as well as ship repair andshipbuilding, were key activities young boyslearned while growing up. Several persons inthe community had to be in command ofthese skills. Logging and shipbuilding in theViking manner has been handed down tonew generations, over the years up until the1900s in Norway without drawings andrulers.

The basic technique was this: A “slowworking” older man and the young studentbuilt a faering together. They always builtone side each so they were not in eachother’s way. The youngster had to copy theold man exactly for the port side to mirrorthe starboard side.

In some districts with good shipbuildingmaterial most of the farms would makefaerings and bigger boats on request, evenproducing the iron rivets and roes in thefarm smithy.

The blacksmith was the wizard of theancient Norwegian world. His work was anart infused with myths and superstition. Infairytales he was the only human that couldplay with the devil. He was obviously animportant person. Knife making the Viking

way is still a distinguished art in Norway. For the iron production processes, the

same intricate and exact knowledge had tobe acquired by each new generation. Notuntil 1782 was the ancient bloomery ironmaking processes recorded in writing inNorway by Ole Evenstad. Traditionalshipbuilding of smaller longboats was notrecorded properly until our own time.

On the northern tip of Newfoundlandthe Vikings had established a permanentcommunity where between 50 and 100persons are believed to have stayed over aperiod of 30 years. Many of them wouldlikely have been occupied in theshipbuilding industry. Lots of shavings andold broken rivets found on the excavationsite indicates that they worked on boats. Inmodern day terms they would have beenshipyard workers.

The area close to L’Ance aux Meadowsmust have had good shipbuilding material.According to scholars, this was also a Vikingbase camp. More Norsemen would have setout from this spot to investigate the area tothe south. Others might have been passingthrough on their way to and from otherlocations along the coast. They wouldobviously use boats as the best and safestmeans of transport along the seaboard andrivers of America. This all creates a highdemand for new tonnage.

The site at L’Anse aux Meadows mightwell have been an early Vikingencampment, but the area would soon havebeen drained for its bog iron ore. Ironproduction teams would set out to find newlocations to produce more iron as analternative to costly import from Norway orIceland.

This stopover was abandoned forunknown reasons. Since their homeland wasGreenland and the people at home werewaiting for “the new boat” or more suppliesof iron or other goods from Vinland, theywould probably set up temporary camps atvarious production places.

Several bloomery production sites inNorway from the pre-Viking, Viking andMedieval ages have few remains of a majorsettlement. It is the factory site and thedifferent furnaces that are the distinctiveremains, not to mention the slag heaps.After the bog iron ore was utilized or thefuel supply was exhausted, the Vikingswould move on and leave the slag heaps andthe round indents from the furnaces in theground as a landmark vignette of theiractivities. Yards for the building of boats andocean going vessels leaves fewer visualremains of this activity.

The Vikings are believed to have been too

Tools and equipment from theMästermyr find. The smith in Americawould have used such tools makingrivets and shipbuilding equipment. Thesame types of tools are used in somesmithies in Norway even today. Photo:The Museum of National Antiquities,Sweden.



few to colonize Vinland. The land wasinhabited. Any settlement had to bedefended against hostile takeover. Also, apreferred area for settlement would probablybe where other people would like to live,and where people are living today. If theyever tried to settle in a popular area, whichmight have happened, any distinct Vikingremains would likely have been destroyedlong ago.

When looking for new Viking sites inAmerica, we should not primarily try to findother settlements like L’Anse aux Meadows,but look for remote areas that would havehad good pine forests with moorland wherebog iron could have been collected. Thatwould be the natural production site for aViking-age bloomery. Ships could be builtat any suitable location near the water withgood shipbuilding material close by.

The Iron-age Norsemen would come,stay for a while and leave. They were alwayson the move. That is part of the Norwegianspirit even today. It is a culture with restlessand adventurous people who like to explorenew places.

Exploration of the new world startedwith Leif Eriksson a thousand years ago andit ended when the whole planet had beenmapped. The last great discoverer was RoaldAmundsen. He mapped greater parts of theonly white spots left in our world, namelythe Polar Regions. Between these twoexplorers 900 years apart, almost all thegreat discoveries on this planet took place.

I’m convinced there are more ironmanufacturing sites and also remains ofViking shipyards on the American continentthan the single one that has been excavated.Hopefully, they would be in more remoteareas that have not been developed.

The preferred bloomery fuel was a drypine tree. The furnaces were set up along abank by water where fuel was plentiful andiron ore could be found and where theycould haul ships ashore close by.

A camp at such a site could be quiteprimitive and leave few traces manyhundred years later. But the old slag heapsfrom the iron production would all be there.They would be genuine proof of theVikings’ activities. It should be noticed thatthe further north they could work, thecloser to home they would have been.

I encourage the next generation ofarchaeologists in America to look for slagheaps and round traces of furnaces in orderto beat the treasure hunters. Newsophisticated tools and instruments wouldbe of great help in pinpointing theselocations. Pieces of forgeable iron, remainsin the slag, odd broken tools or discardedold rivets could be signature items to look

for. Such iron fragments could still bepresent, as wrought iron is a relativelylasting product.

I believe my line of thought would alsoindicate why the Vikings named the land:“Vinland the Good”. It gave the Iron Ageman from Europe the thing he needed themost for everyday life in Greenland. Thatproduct was iron.

The sharp iron tools with a steel edgewere needed in everyday life. They cut thegrass and the trees, split logs and built ships.They were used for protection, in hunting,on the farm and in the kitchen. The Norsedescendents used their iron tools to makewonderful artwork, superior ships andsturdy houses.

They were the nice Vikings that sailed toVinland. Some wild youngsters might haveeven jumped ship to try it out on their own.Native girls could be tempting. What aboutsome Viking-Indian lore? (Pocahontas'sboyfriend could well be a “Johnny comeslately” compared to a young Norsemanbeing adopted into their native society, andthe Chief's beautiful daughter could havebeen madly in love with a blonde, blue-eyedbearded young man that came from the sea).

But first of all, we want the archaeologistto do more research and excavation. Onlytomorrow’s archaeology will help usunderstand more about the first modernmen on this continent. They came not tohunt for gold, but rather to secure andexplore possibilities of a better life. That iswhy they established the first modernshipyard for ocean-going tonnage on theAmerican continent a thousand years ago.

The Norse settlement in Greenland wasfounded before the year 1000. It existed foralmost 500 years. Boats were in highdemand. An average Norwegian longboatwill usually last 30–40 years, sometimeslonger. Many boats had a shorter life. Wecould simplify this and state that each newgeneration needed new boats.

As far as we know there was not a greatexport of boats from Norway to Greenlandduring the Medieval Age. To supply thecommunity with this crucial item it wouldhave been natural to use the resources inAmerica for the production of boats. Boat-making as well as iron production would, inmy opinion, be a main reason for theGreenlanders trying to keep contact withthe newfound land to the west.

Typical finds from the rich Viking dig in York. The three whetstones in the small boxcame from Eidsborg in Norway and were exported in quantities during the Viking- andMedieval Age. They were crucial for sharpening iron tools. Whetstones from the samequarry are still being used a thousand years later. Photo: Olaf T. Engvig

About the author:Olaf T. Engvig grew up in Rissa,Norway. He holds a Cand. Philol.(graduate) degree in maritimehistory from the University of Osloand has a deck officer's license. Hisarea of research is marinearchaeology, shipbuilding, shipping(trade) and square sailing withconnections to the Vikings. He haswritten articles and several bookson maritime topics. He presentlylives in Burbank, California.

E-mail: oommeennggvviigg@@hhoottmmaaiill..ccoomm



By Carl Löfving

The starting point for this article is the“Vikingar” exhibition at the historicalmuseum of Stockholm, which opened inJune 2001 and was reviewed in VikingHeritage nr 3/2001. The reviewer wassearching for a discussion about where thefirst area of a unified Sweden originated. Inprevious works I have expressed the opinionthat consistent administration and rule isdependent on competent administrativemachinery, something that was suppliedonly by the church, which was introducedfrom the West. A second argumentativetheme is that around the year 1000 ADthere was still a heterarchy – segments ofsocieties had separate internal hierarchies –with a constantly changing distribution ofpower in Scandinavia.

Geographical concepts were different anddid not always refer to territorial areas, butcould just likely refer to base systems used bya chieftain. The famous chronicler Adam ofBremen, who finished his History of theArchdiocese of Hamburg in 1074, states thatthe Götar live in a wide area extending toBirka and if you travel the land route fromSkåne through the land of the Götar andover Skara, Tälje and Birka you will reachSigtuna in one month.

Therefore, the name Gothia is defined asthe central part of the two present Götaprovinces and the route leading from themto the northwest Mälaren district, includingSigtuna and districts west thereof, but notUppsala.

In one way or another, the kings andchieftains of coastal Norway and Gothiaincluding parts of the Lake Mälaren districtwere dependent on both the Danish kings,Harald Bluetooth and Sven Forkbeard, andhis son Cnut the Great, king of England andDenmark. In the more distant wilderness,petty kings were more prevalent. Harald andhis successors all had claims laid on theirauthority by German emperors. Thiscoincides with claims made by theHamburg/Bremen archdiocese to run theecclesiastical organisation of Scandinavia and

memory. I also emphasise literacy as thecrucial change that led to new possibilitiesfor establishing lasting societies.

Social ideology – differences in religionbetween the agricultural society with its godsof fertility and the warrior society thatbelieved that a fallen warrior was assured acomfortable existence. A kingdom was notdefined by its territorial limits, but rather thepower of the king was dependent on supportfrom his followers. The legal system wasbased on customary rules and lacked anexecutive authority. Property ownership didnot exist; if by that one means that thesociety should protect the claims of eachperson. Might was right. Stationary courts –things – did not exist, instead law wasadministered by the chieftain in power.

This is an example of heterarchy and therewas no hierarchy with obligation to obey,nor was any system of military obligations,like the ledung, forced on the peasants. Wefind the same institutions in Scandinavia asthe ones we find documented in other pre-state societies: the king/chieftain, hisfollowers and chiefs under him with their

the imperial claims to supremacy over thechurch.

The following five basic components forsociety are my prerequisites:

Social structure – society was divided intoa) agricultural societies, consisting ofsmall chiefdoms, approximately 25x25km in size, part of constantly changingsystems andb) warrior societies stretching over vastdistances across the sea or other routes,including settlements and market placeslike Hedeby and Birka, but notcontrolling the territories in between.

Population density – 1–2 persons per km2

across regional entities. Danish land had agreater population density and consequentlybetter-developed power structures.

Food production and patterns of settlement– farming and livestock-raising were themain source of income in a landscape thatwas primarily woodland and where theaverage distance between the settlements wasa few km. The warrior society had a produceexchange, including the market places.

Sources of information – the spoken word,exclusively, in combination with human

Government in Scandinaviaaround1000 AD

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followers. Successful chieftains couldmobilise great forces of men. Subordinatespaid tribute to the chieftains and carried outgiven duties. The personality of the leaderwas essential. His most crucial ability was toprovide protection, honour and booty to hisfollowers. Harald Bluetooth is a goodexample of a king who succeeded in tyinghis chieftains to himself, while Olav Digre atStiklastad in 1030 is an example of a kingwho failed.

The Stockholm exhibition’s declarationthat overpopulation was one of the reasonsfor the Viking raids seems unlikely since thepopulation density in the Scandinavianpeninsula was only 1-2 persons/km2.

Ownership rights were limited to theproperty one could defend alone or togetherwith allies. Ancestral bonds were manifestedin land that could not be transferred toothers without approval of kin and chiefs.There were no “free” farmers. If the kingwished to transfer landed property he wasnot likely to be exempt from the restrictionsregarding transfers of family land. In the caseof acquired land given away by the king, wemay be led to believe that a surviving chief,ousted and deprived of his land by the king,would take any chance to get his land back.

In the case where the king had committedmurder with robbery, which was a highlyprized deed in the skaldic poems, there wererelatives who had a duty to avenge theproprietor and recover the land. From thisfollows that there was no “crown estate” thatremained intact independent of who wasking and no “crown estate” could be built upas long as these kinds of battles lasted. Ifland acquired by violence still remained in aroyal family some generations later, it wasonly because they had managed to keep theproperty away from the families whoclaimed their family rights. Transferring

landed property did not become commonuntil the Scandinavian Middle Ages whenthe church claimed the importance of giftsand last wills.

The estate “Uppsala öd” in Sweden musthave its origin in the Middle Ages and not inprehistoric times. Regulation in the youngerlaw of Västergötland (late 13th century)follows the principles in German imperiallaw from the 12th century.

Along the east coast of the Skagerrak sea,and along the route through Östergötland tothe Mälaren district and up to the Gulf ofFinland there is a series of villages calledTegneby (Map 1). These villages are ascribedto Harald Bluetooth as part of his routecontrol stretching from Hedeby to theseareas. They were founded at about the sametime as the “trelleborg” ring fortresses thatare dated by dendrochronology to a lastphase ca 980. It is proposed that, while KingHarald was taking control over Denmark,these fortresses functioned as his beachheadson the Danish islands and the western coastof Scania.

Finds of coins and trophy objects ofDanish origin – the Hiddensee findings –can connect the Tegnebys, like Sigtuna, toHarald. Harald Bluetooth’s conquering ofthe eastern Skagerrak coast is dated after 970AD by historical sources and the tegnebysalong the route through Östergötland mayhave been established in the same period.King Harald had a representative – thegn –in each village. Västergötland had long beenunder Danish influence and a similar basesystem was not necessary there.

Two generations later we find runicstones with the formula harda godan thegn ordræng in Gothia, Scania and on Jutland(Map 2). They are ascribed to SvenForkbeard’s followers and the thingalid, theroyal forces of Cnut in England, showing

that a connection between Gothia andJutland still existed in the beginning of the11th century.

The formula harda godan does not existin the Mälaren district. A conclusion drawnfrom the existence of the two Tegnebys, theHiddensee findings and runic stones withthe title dræng in the Mälar area, is that thearea from Sigtuna westwards held a uniqueposition in the Mälaren district. In this areathere is also a runic stone at Kolsta, only 20km from Uppsala, where a member of thethingalid called Gere boasts with this fact.

Just as Harald, Cnut had, a certaininfluence on a region northwest of LakeMälaren. In a letter from 1027 Cnut entitleshimself king of some of the Svear. Althoughmany reports of journeys to England andgelds are spread on runic stones throug houtthe entire Mälaren district, these refer toconditions before Cnut became king ofEngland and Denmark. After that, he endedhis conquest forces. Apparently, no king ofSvealand joined his activities. Instead, the“harda godan” thegns and drængs of therunic stones in southwest Scandinavia signedup voluntarily for Cnut’s thingalid, in hopesof gaining glory and property. Unlike thethegns at the tegnebys, they were not Cnut’sagents in their home regions, where theirstones were raised, but they proudlyrecognised Cnut’s superiority.

There are no examples from those daysto show any constant national powerstructure in the areas that later became thethree Scandinavian kingdoms. The“Swedish” king Olof Skötkonung (ca 995-1022) had his base in Västergötland but hestruck coins marked with crosses in Sigtunawith English moneyers like his “stepfather”Sven Forkbeard in Denmark.

In map 2, I have depicted how the powerchanged in the years before 1030. In thebattle of 1026 at Helgeå, located in Uppland,the harda godan thegns and drængs wereimportant to Cnut’s forces and many of themwere from Denmark. Among the opponentswere Cnut’s relative Ulf, also from Denmark,king Anund from Sweden and king OlavDigre from Norway. Ulf was killed soon afteron Cnut’s orders. Olav roamed around inScandinavia and Russia until he was killed inthe battle of Stiklastad in 1030. After that hebecame an important saint, but as a king hehad significant influence in Norway onlybetween 1015 and 1026.

Scandinavia between 1026 and 1030.The areas of the runic stones with hardagodan thegns and drængs (HGT), thelocations of Helgeå and Stiklastad andsome movements of the kings and theirfollowers.



Even though Danish kings had a crucialinfluence on the development of Scandinaviaand the North Sea region, there are nosources to tell us how Sven and Cnut usedtheir power within the Danish regions. Inthe Viking exhibition in Stockholm it isstated that during Cnut’s time Englandbelonged to Denmark. On the contrary Svenand Cnut conquered England and Cnutbecame king of England. He is supposed tohave visited Denmark only a few times andit is unknown how he ruled Denmark.

Obviously the leaders in Viking-ageScandinavia had a good knowledge of howto rule. Many of them had been to royalcourts in other parts of Europe and musthave known about administration and taxcollection. What did not exist in paganScandinavia was the infrastructure for suchadministration. The only organisation withsuch a structure was the church. Newleaders, like Olav Digre in Norway, also usedthis to destroy the old power structure whenpagan chieftains had to give up theirpositions as leaders including the cult.

The Christian church is the onlyorganisation with a structure that can befollowed through the centuries. It lastedsome 330 years from the first knownGerman missionaries in Slesvig and Birka ca830 AD until a Scandinavian division withan archdiocese in each country wascompleted in 1164 with the archdiocese ofUppsala in Sweden. Pagan and Christianfaith coexisted during most of this time andthere were influences from the English aswell as the Byzantine Church (Map 3).

The conclusion is, that around 1000 AD,there was still a heterarchy in Scandinaviawith constantly changing distribution ofpower. Kings and chieftains of Norway andGothia, including parts of the lake Mälarendistrict, were associated in one way oranother with the earlier mentioned kings ofDanish extraction, most of the time between980-1035 AD.

During this period, there is no sign in anysource of a Swedish kingdom with its centreamong the Svear of Uppsala. In fact theSvear in Uppsala resisted the new forms ofgovernment, which appeared from the West.Not until the ecclesiastical organisation,independent of who held office, wascompleted could the Scandinavian kingsobtain more consistent control over theirlands by cooperating with the church.

Uppsala as the centre for an old Swedishkingdom may be a learned construction ofthe medieval chroniclers who presupposedthat the organisation of their days wasancient.

The medieval ideal Christian prince,striving for justice and peace on Earth intheory, was irreconcilable with the Vikingtheoretical and practical ideals of capturingproperty, killing opponents in battle and

hence providing carrion-eating animals withplenty of food.

In theory medieval royal justice wouldreplace the need for powerful protectionfrom a chieftain that existed in prehistorictimes. The peasants who had to pay taxes tothe church, lords and the king paid the pricefor this restructuring. For the peasants therewere two main changes that emerged fromthe organised rule:

• Instead of conducting their religiousceremonies at some local chieftain’splace within a tolerant, polytheisticsystem they would take part in acommon Christian ceremonial in achurch that was part of an establishedsystem with its centre in Rome.

• Instead of an exchange of tributes forprotection by their chieftain, they hadto pay fees to a vague authority inexchange for only hopes of a better lifeon the other side.

These fees, gathered internally among thepeasantry, replaced the tribute king’sceremonial payments, in part externally

gained, to the superior kings.Hierarchy was introduced on the national

level. This was enforced in Swedenapproximately one century after the VikingAge, not during the time as proposed in theStockholm Viking exhibition.

The development of the organisation of the Church from 950.

About the authorCarl Löfving PhD and a lawyer,works as a legal adviser in the CityPlanning Authority of Gothenburg.His dissertation Gothia somdansk/engelsk skattland. Ettexempel på heterarki omkring 1000.(Gothia as Danish/English tributaryland. An example of heterarchyaround the year 1000 AD) waspresented in May 2001.

E-mail:ccaarrll..llooffvviinngg@@ssttaaddssbbyyggggnnaadd..ggootteebboorrgg..ssee



By Geir Sør-Reime

The North Sea Viking Legacyproject is over. 20 partnersfrom five countries and anumber of associate partnershave achieved their purpose.Around 100 Viking sites andattractions have been openedto the public as a direct resultof the project. Illustrative andinterpretative signboards havebeen erected at these sites.Most of them have also beenpresented in leaflets, bookletsetc.

A number of Viking exhibits have also beenproduced, and the Viking legacy ofthe North Sea region has reallybeen brought into focus again.

Now you can wander throughparts of Norwich, England, andexperience the Viking legacy ofthat city through explanatorysigns and well-illustratedguides. You can drive throughthe county of Norfolk andvisit a number of round-towered churches. Here yourchildren can discover thesmall bronze plaques thathave been set up and, bymaking rubbings of these, they can receive aNorth Sea Viking Legacy “gold” coin inexchange.

Outside Bergen, Norway, you can walkinto a boat-building yard. Here you can firstwatch actual boat-builders at work on boatsvery similar to the boats used by the Vikings,and then you can visit the interestingexhibition about Viking boat-buildingtraditions on the first floor of the workshop.

North of Bergen, in the area of Nordfjord,you can now visit Viking sites in allmunicipalities of the region. These sites arepresented on a very exciting and newlydeveloped website(hhttttpp::////wwwwww..nnoorrddffjjoorrddhhiissttoorriiee..nnoo),especially designed to appeal to children (ofall ages).

West of Bergen, an impressive moraineterrace with a number of huge burial mounds

with rich Viking finds has been presented ina wonderful new book. A number of newlyresearched and designed signboards havebeen put up around the site, and through co-operation between the land-owners, themunicipal and regional authorities, this sitehas been made available to the general public.From the terrace, there is a wonderful viewover the inner parts of the Hardanger fjord,one of the most famous of the Norwegianfjords.

In Denmark, a huge number of runicstones in northwest Jutland have been sign-posted and presented in a well-researched andinteresting book. At the Viking Centre inRibe, new developments are continuouslytaking place.

In Sweden, in the municipality of Ale, theNorth Sea Viking Legacy project has reallysparked off a huge new Viking project.Currently, a Viking house is being erectedthere (see notice elsewhere in this magazine).During the project, intensive research hasbeen carried out to document the Viking

legacy of Ale, which was really a borderregion between Norway,Sweden and Denmarkduring the Viking Age.

On Unst, thenorthernmost island ofShetland, there are numerousremains of Norse settlement.As a part of the North SeaViking Legacy project, anumber of these, foremostViking longhouses, have beensign-posted and made accessibleto the public.

And this is only a glimpse ofwhat we have achieved. Our partners in Sør-Trøndelag, in Sogn og Fjordane, inHaugesund, on Karmøy, in Vestfold and ourassociate partners in the Netherlands, onGreenland, the Faroes and Iceland and on theIsle of Man, as well as our partners in the ViaViking project in the Baltic Sea, have allcontributed to making the Viking legacy ofthe north ready to receive visitors from allover the world.

The Western Viking Route guidebookThe grand finale of the North Sea VikingLegacy project is a guidebook entitled“Western Viking Route”. Here all the sitesdeveloped by the partners of the project arepresented. In addition, some sites in adjacentareas have been included to complete thepicture.

The book will be launched throughoutthe region towards the end of November, andwill be available to the public shortlyafterwards.

The book is meant as a companionvolume to “Follow the Vikings”, the bookpublished by Viking Heritage and presentingthe European Viking Routes. This bookincludes 50 major Viking attractions and anumber of other attractions adjacent to themajor ones. Very few of the sites from thearea covered by the new Western VikingRoute book are included in the Follow theVikings book, so they really complementeach other. Therefore they will normally beoffered as a pair, but, of course, those of youwho already have the Follow the Vikingsbook will be able to order the new volumeseparately.

The book will be available from ourpartners; more details will be published later.

The project lives on: Destination VikingAlthough the Western Viking Route book isthe final stage of the North Sea VikingLegacy project, the project lives on, nowunder a new title: Destination Viking. Andwhat is even better, the new project willencompass the whole of the core area of theVikings, both their homelands inScandinavia and the areas west, north andeast of Scandinavia where their influence wasstrong and long lasting.

Partners are currently working out detailsof the new project. The first partner meeting,this time primarily for potential Swedishpartners, will be held in Gothenburg on 22November. Similar partner meetings willthen be arranged in a number of othercountries. We intend to present anapplication for funding the Baltic Sea Regionpart of the project in April next year, whilethe application for the North Sea Region partwill be presented in June 2002. We are alsolooking into the possibility of organising sub-projects in the Northwest Europe region(Ireland, Britain, Northern France and theBenelux countries) and in the NorthernPeriphery region, which comprises Scotland,Greenland, Faroes and the northern parts ofScandinavia and Russia.

New partners are still welcome to join ourproject, and are invited to contact the projectco-ordinator, Mr Geir Sør-Reime atggssrr@@rrffkk..rrooggaallaanndd--ff..kkoommmmuunnee..nnoo

The Grand Finale of the NorthSea Viking Legacy project



By Ieva Pigozne

When young people in Latvia come togetherand enthusiastically discuss dying yarn withlichen, use of ancient tools, construction ofancient musical instruments or how torestore the traditions of the 9th century,chances are that they are from the ”AncientEnvironment Workshop”. It is anorganisation that unites people who areinterested in ancient Latvian history,traditions, crafts and the philosophical valuesof our ancestors. ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” is an experimental archaeologygroup that studies, reproduces and ”lives” thelife of the ancient Balts. Activities of theWorkshop cover a very wide spectrum, from

Because of their wide spectrum ofactivities, ”Ancient Environment Workshop”deals not only with pure folklore. Theyconcentrate a lot on its context – theenvironment folklore comes from. The aimof the Workshop is to study and investigateall the forms of our ancestors’ life. Thereforeeverybody who becomes involved in theWorkshop, temporarily turns into an ancientBalt who has to possess many skills, managevarious crafts (every member specialises inhis/her own field) and know many things likemythology, traditions, etc. This is why themusical aspects of folklore – singing, dancingand playing instruments – are a part of all thedaily and festive activities, which are carriedout by a person from the 9th century (andthus by the members of the Workshop).

The fourth ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” experimental archaeologysummer camp took place last summer. Themain purpose of the camp is to relive anadventure – to experience how it is to livetwo weeks (day and night) in the conditionsof the 9th century. To achieve this, one needsto gather all the available information on thelives of the people of that time: their spiritualbeliefs, as well as the practical livingconditions, like housing, tools, weapons,ceramics, food, and clothing. Everything hasto be made by hand by the Workshopparticipants. There are five professionaljewellers in ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” who do all the metal works.Moreover, using methods of that time, theyhave to build a dwelling-house. Duringearlier camps people used to live in a hut, butthis time erection of the first house ofhorizontal logs was begun.

Another task is to prepare all the necessaryeveryday objects and clothing, which takes alot of time and energy. Most of the girls of

the Workshop are engaged in this work. Allclothes are sewn by hand and they look likeauthentic clothes of those worn by the peopleof the 9th century. Shoes, bone articles (likeneedles, awls, knives and sash-weavingbricks), as well as ceramic and wooden dishesare made in the same way.

In their experimental archaeology campsthe participants of the ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” try to live like people did in the9th century. That means that everything –houses, clothes, shoes, jewellery and weapons– are handmade of natural materials: linen,wool, leather, wood, bronze and iron. Foodconsists of everything that a person of thattime could grow, gather in the woods orhunt. Clothes and dishes have to be washedwith ashes and gravel. Men chop the woodwith the help of a narrowblade axe, forgejewellery or are engaged in the constructionworks.

Both man and the gods of the 9th centurylived in nature and belonged to nature. Byliving in a camp that is located in the middleof a forest, ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” tries to achieve an environmentwhere they are integral part of nature.

One could wonder why modern youngpeople have such an unusual and specifichobby. The ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” consists of people who have adeep and genuine interest in their folkculture, history and lifestyle in harmony withnature. Besides, living in a ”settlement” ofthe 9th century is also a great adventure.People have always dreamt of travelling intime to experience the past or the future. Theactivities of ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” are a form of time travel, back tothe 9th century, a special time in Latvianhistory. Discovering the people of the 9th

“Senãs vides darbnîca”

“Ancient Environment Workshop”

During the process of filming the AncientEnvironment Workshop for CNN WorldReport at the reconstructed Araisi LakeFortress, 2000.

Weaving in the warp-weighted loom.

making basic clothing and tools and playingtraditional music, to exploring the worldviewof ancient Balts.

People of the ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” talk about the 9th century as”their century”. They have chosen to focuson one particular century in Latvian historybecause this enables them to create as real ahistorical environment as possible. One canobserve rather big differences in clothing,tools, ceramics and weapons of our ancestorsof the 8th and the 13th centuries. Therefore, bychoosing one particular century, ”AncientEnvironment Workshop” has achieved acertain historical preciseness when a mandressed in the clothes of the 9th century buildsa house of the 9th century with an axe of thesame era.

Our 9th century settlement. Building thefirst house of horizontal logs. August2001.



century means discovering the true ancientBalts before neighbouring cultures such asthe Vikings or Germans had influencedthem. Nevertheless, local culture andeconomy were highly developed.

The idea to establish the Workshopbelongs to the skilled and enthusiasticadornment-forger Aris Alsins who passedaway two years ago. Due to his enthusiasm hemanaged to bring together several peoplewho were interested in the ancient Baltichistory and crafts. More than eight years agoAris started to build an ancient Latgalliansettlement, win iron and forge metal.Gradually more and more people joined thisgroup.

In 1999 ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” was officially registered as a non-profit organisation, and Uldis Brinkmaniswas elected its president. There are 18members in the Workshop at this moment,and they all take part in the studies andreconstruction of the 9th century Balticsurroundings and lifestyle.

When joining the group, every memberhas to invent his or her ”9th century name”.Thus people temporarily become, i.e.Lapainis (Deciduous Tree), Babrulis (Beaver),Akis (Fishhook), Magone (Poppy) or Rasa(Dew). The new image also requires a storyabout where this person comes from, what heor she has been doing ”so far” and how istheir life ”now”.

In addition, ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” tries to recreate historical eventsand carry out archaeological experiments notonly by organising experimental archaeologycamps and excursions for themselves but alsoby taking part in many cultural events, whichpromote people’s knowledge of history andculture of our ancestors. ”Ancient

Environment Workshop” as a form of ”realancient Latvians” has been observed in manyplaces in Latvia and abroad.

They have taken part in the followingevents:

Medieval Days in Bauska castle (1999)

Ancient Crafts Days in Sauliai, Lithuania(2000 and 2001)

The European Day of Parks in the GaujaNational Park (2000)

International Festival of Knights”Navahrudak” in Belarus (2000)

International Folklore Festival ”Baltica” inRauna and Riga (2000)

Kuldiga City Festival (2000 and 2001)

Cesis City Festival (2000)

Viking Festival at the Araisi Lake Fortress(2000)

International Festival of Masks in Daugavpils(2001)

International Day of Museums in Dole(2001)

First Baltic Medieval Festival in Cesis (2001)

Ventspils City Festival (2001)

Riga 800 Central Celebration ”Riga Throughcenturies” (2001)

etc.

During all these events and festivalsmembers of ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” have explained and demonstratedeverything they have learned about the worldof ancient Balts. And they have proved thatthis world has been a very interesting place tolive in.

Members of the ”Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop” are proud to point out that in2000 they were even featured in a specialreport on CNN World Report – the world’smost watched TV channel.

Still, they think that the most importantthing is that mastering cultural heritage oftheir ancestors – worldview, songs, dancesand crafts – has very much enriched andstrengthened them.

About the authorIeva Pigozne works at the LatvianInstitute that promotes theknowledge of Latvia abroad. Shehas a M.Phil. degree in PeaceStudies from the Trinity College,Dublin, Ireland and has also studiedat the Latvian Academy of Culture inRiga and at the University of Bergenin Norway. Since 1999 she is amember of the Ancient EnvironmentWorkshop.

E-mail: ppiiggoozznnee@@llaattiinnsstt..llvv

Dying cloth with the natural colours.This time we used the bark of alder andmarsh water.

Demonstrating medieval metal works atthe First Baltic Medieval Festival inCesis, 2001.

The Ancient Environment Workshop atKuldiga Town Festival, 2000.

Viking sword found in Oslo, NorwayA sword dated to about 850 has been found in central Oslo. When a bicycle rackwas set up in an apartment block courtyard this Viking Age sword wasunearthed. The finding shows that you can still make archaeological discoveriesin the busy central parts of Norway’s capital.

The sword is from Oslo’s pre-urban time and the find indicates the presenceof a burial mound of a high-ranking man. Authorities are unsure if the swordwas produced locally or imported, at any rate it is typical for the time period andwas common in the areas around Oslo.

Source: wwwwww..aafftteennppoosstteenn..nnoo



By Jan Paul Strid

Collecting source material is atime-consuming part of allresearch, not least in thehumanities. Data often has tobe gathered from rows ofdifferent records, dispersed innumbers of archives, museumsand libraries. Imagine havingaccess to all the informationyou need on your screen!

Topolinguistics denotes a branch oflinguistics that studies languages and dialectsin relation to society, social environment, andculture. In the field of topolinguistics,dispersion in time and space is important,whether place names, runes, or dialects.Language is seen as a special aspect of thecultural landscape, a dimension formed by theinteraction between humans, society, andnature.

Exploiting this interdisciplinary field, theuse of information technology and newgeographical methods, such as digital maps(GIS), is important. This way, large collectionsof material can be gathered, handled andanalysed in a way hitherto impossible bymanual methods.

Topolinguistic research is conducted withinthe framework of the ORD-projects(wwwwww..tteemmaa..lliiuu..ssee//oorrdd//) at the University of

Linköping, which, like Gotland UniversityCollege, is situated at the centre of a culturallandscape where history is evident everywhere,not least in the linguistic heritage. Runestones, old place-names, medievalmanuscripts, dialects, not to mention balladsand folklore, all contribute to make thesurroundings a mine of information aboutcultural and language history from prehistorictimes to present day.

Until now, we have been working withthree separate, but closely linked projects: theBjärka-Säby-project, the Östgöta Dialects project,and “the talking Östgöta dictionary”- project.Of these, the two first mentioned have nowbeen completed; the Östgöta dialects-project –the main object of our interest here, to whichwe shall return in a moment – just thisautumn. First, however, a few words about itspredecessor: the Bjärka-Säby-project.

The primary aim of the Bjärka-Säby- projectwas to create a prototype for multimediadatabases based on digital maps (GIS). Ouraim was to demonstrate the ease with whichyou can access relevant source material aboutany geographical entity, be it a farm, a villageor a prehistoric burial mound, by just“clicking” on the name on a digital map.

Different kinds of source material werelinked to the place-names on a map of the

central part of the Bjärka–Säby estate, knownfor its oak meadows and its beautiful scenery.As well as the derivation of the names,information about the earliest historicalrecords of the places or settlements inquestion, the early owners of the estate,vegetation, geology, geography etc., maps,drawings or photos and a few recordings of thelocal dialect were provided. We also providedsome examples of how data of this kind can becombined with data from other databases suchas the demographic database, in order to give aclearer picture of the living conditions in thepast. The Bjärka-Säby prototype, which waspresented on CD-Rom in 1998, covers only asmall area but contains an immense amount ofinformation.

The Östgöta Dialects project deals withdialects in the region of Östergötland. In thisproject which is based upon comprehensiverecordings made in the region from the 1930’sonwards by the Dialect Archive (ULMA) inUppsala, we made use of the experience gainedby the Bjärka–Säby project to make thisunique, but practically unknown materialpublicly accessible.

Clicking on a map of Östergötland, youcan choose among recordings from differentplaces. There are also search facilities forsubjects such as crafts, cooking, traditions,

Viking Weapons & WarfareWritten by J Kim SiddornPublished by Tempus Publishing Ltd The Mill, Brimscombe PortStroud, Gloucestershire, UKISBN 0 7524 1419 4

During the last 20 years or so the urge to learn more about historicalperiods has increased dramatically among so-called ‘ordinary people’. It isnot a new phenomenon however; the Viking Age has captivated theinterest and imagination of both ordinary people and scholars for at leastthe last 200 years. This interest has assumed many shapes and expressions.

One vivid and growing part of these manifestations is living history, or,more commonly, re-enactment. For readers who have not yet encounteredthis worldwide movement it can be described as a mixture of an ongoinghistory lesson, boy scouting for grownups (?) and in many cases a highlydeveloped level of craftsmanship in various crafts connected to the re-enacted period.

The very core of almost every re-enactment group is the battles.Despite efforts among the more crafts-orientated re-enactors to shiftgeneral interest towards more profane and non-violent practises, fightingcontinues to make up the backbone of re-enactment, for better and worse.When people visit a re-enactment show they come to see fearsomeVikings with sword in hand, peddlers and craftsmen just add a bit of extraflavour.

When an activity such as re-enactment fighting goes on for such a longtime it is bound evolve in some direction. One important urge has been,

and still is, to develop weapons and equipment in line withup-to-date archaeological research. To do soyou need to have goodsources written in a way thatdoes not require an academicdegree to understand andapply. This is where MrSiddorn’s book comes in handy.

For eleven chapters thereader is guided through theViking warrior’s most importantpieces of equipment, such as thesword, the spear, various armouretc. The author states that most ofthe written material in the book isderived from various articles andcompilations written and collectedby members of his own re-enactmentsociety, Regia Anglorum. The chapteron shields however, is mainly an

ORD – topolingu



short text describing different points ofinterest as regards archaeology, settlementhistory, the building of the church etc.

Of course, there are other ways to approachthe interviews. Since most interviews deal withmany different topics, the texts are dividedinto separate parts, each with headlines.Thanks to this, you can go “the other wayround” and look for items of interest: a clickon e.g. fishing, cattle breeding or ghost storiesin the list of topics will take you to thecorresponding interview in no time.

Unfortunately, our CD Östgötamål“Östgöta dialects” is bilingual only in the sensethat it contains both dialect- and standardSwedish. In other words, there is no Englishtranslation, not even a summary. Still, wethink that you ought to be able get at leastsomething out of it, even if your knowledge ofmodern Scandinavian is limited. As a matterof fact there are a samples of medieval andRunic Swedish on the CD, so if your interestslie more on the historic side, this shouldappeal to you.

Should you think it worthwhile to acquirea copy, the CD is available from Östergötlandslänsmuseum, Box 232, 581 02 LINKÖPING,Sweden/oossttggoottaammaall@@llaannssmmuuss..lliinnkkooppiinngg..ssee,at a price of 160 SEK.

easier for you to find what you are looking for.Reading is far quicker than listening.Furthermore, written text gives you all thetraditional tools for linguistic analysis (footnotes, cross-references, commentaries).

Consequently we have linked text andsound to each other so as to provide forsimultaneous reading and listening withthe facilities just mentioned.

Secondly, we think it is important forany student of local linguistic habits toget an image, or at least an impressionof the local surroundings, i.e. the mileuin which the informants spent theirlives. As was pointed out initially, thetopolinguistic concept emphasizes ageographical approach.

Dialects, in Sweden andelsewhere, are to a large extentdependent on the framework ofsociety, with its territorialdivisions and subdivisions. Theparishes, “socknar” (cf. OE sôcn),

have played an important role in the formingof dialects. In many parts of Sweden, dialectschange from parish to parish. For this reasonwe use the parish names as entries on the map.Every parish is presented with photographs ofthe church and (or) its surroundings and a

ghost stories etc. The project is aimed at thegeneral public, but has a scientific bias.

Our conception of the ideal conditions forlinguistic studies of this kind can be expressedin just one word: attainability.

First of all it is essential to haveimmediate access

to the recordings. But transcriptions of themare also necessary. Besides facilitating listeningto the recordings, a transcription makes it

adaptation of Dr Peter Beatson’s comprehensive andsummarising article on the subject, publishedelsewhere earlier and currently available on theInternet.

Much of the information given in the book isdifficult to obtain elsewhere without considerableeffort. For example the chapter on scabbards is quiteimpressive with a large listing and description ofarchaeological finds.

A most important and valuable element apparent throughout most ofthe book is Mr Siddorn’s own experience of the various weapons andarmour he describes. His comments are interwoven in a natural way withthe descriptive texts. In addition to the text there are several good colourphotographs.

The book is far from perfect though. One of the most notabledrawbacks from a Scandinavian perspective is the apparently non-existentfact and language check. It seems as if the book was published in hurry;Havamel instead of Havamál and other typical misprints. Some of thesemisprints require a degree of knowledge to identify as errors. This couldprove misleading for re-enactment beginners with a weak concept of theViking Age who have to rely on the information given in the book.

Further: In the chapter on armour Mr Siddorn states that there are noevidence whatsoever for lamellar armour being used during the Viking Age(p. 59), even though there is a drawing of just such a piece of armour on thefollowing page. It is called scale armour, but is clearly made up of lamellae.

Another questionable feature is how written sources arehandled and presented to the reader. Referring to writtensources in a text is commendable, but if these sources arenot included in a book’s bibliography there is not muchpoint in including them. Unfortunately this is the case

with several of the written sources referred to in the chapter onscabbards.

Of course these errors are rather harmless in the long run, but theycould easily have been avoided with a simple proofreading.

It is another matter altogether that Mr Siddorn somehow forgot animportant chapter: The one on axes. If this is a slip by the editor or by MrSiddorn himself is of subordinate interest. Excluding a chapter on axes ina book dealing with Viking-age weapons is more than serious; it is nearlycriminal! It is probably unintended, but is still quite censurable and such achapter ought to be included in the next edition. That the author and theeditor would knowingly exclude axes is out of question, considering thethoroughness reflected in the description of the other weapon types.

On the whole ‘Viking Weapons & Warfare’, despite its shortcomings,gives a fairly good impression and it will probably become a valuablesource for re-enactors interested in the more violent aspects of the VikingAge.

Ny-Björn Gustafson,archaeologist and re-enactor

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istics and multimedia



Some time ago I was asked to give myviewpoints on the article Give us themyths by Hjalmar Olsson, published in

VHM 1/2001, and particularly concerning hiscriticism of the Old Uppsala HistoricalCenter.

I have nothing to defend regarding the finalformation of the exhibition, but firstly as aDirector-General of the CountyAdministration of Antiquities and thereafterDirector of the County Museum of Uppsala,Sweden, have taken part in all the inquiry andsteering groups that been working to bringabout a museum since the middle of the1980s. A short background description mayprovide an explanation of the aim anddirection of the exhibition.

BackgroundThe Old Uppsala ancient monument site withthe three so-called Kings’ mounds, theTingmound, the large gravefield, the churchfrom the 10th century, the oldest archbishop'sdiocese as well as the terraces of the demesneof the Crown, is nationally, and eveninternationally, the most well-known site in

Sweden. Anyway during my schooldays in thetextbooks we were led to understand that OldUppsala was the cradle of Sweden and thus tobe revered.

As an archaeology student in the end of the1950s and beginning of the 1960s, I becameacquainted with Sune Lindqvist’s greatmonography Uppsala högar och Ottarshögen(The mounds of Uppsala and the mound ofOttar) from 1936. It told about theexcavations of the East and West mounds in1847 and 1874 and connections to the“Ynglingasaga” (the History of the Kings of theYngling Dynasty) and “Ynglingatal” wereclearly made. But Old Uppsala was hardly thecentre of our interest at that time. SuneLindqvist was a man of respected authorityand there was a tendency to accept everythinghe said as being conclusive.

Archaeological research also took a totallydifferent path at that time – the nationallyfocused archaeology of the interwar model wasdead. With irony we students spoke of BirgerNerman’s demands to know the names of thekings buried in the different mounds. Nowresearch was focused on settlement historicaldevelopment and the course of colonisation.In the course of conversation, Bo Gräslund has

characterised the situation as “no archaeologistbefore the beginning of the 1990s got a crownfor digging in a big mound”.

As newly appointed Director of the CountyAdministration of Antiquities in 1976, I cameacross Old Uppsala once again – now as anobject for preservation of ancient monuments.Care of the ancient site, haymaking andrepairing wear and tear, laid claim to almosthalf of the annual state grant designated forthe whole county. The need to keep it in goodcondition was inevitable – despite the lack ofgood signs, exhibitions or any otherinformation the site was visited yearly by atleast 250,000 persons, which was documentedin visitor statistics. Criticism about poorinformation occurred regularly, but hardly in

the form of a heavy storm of protest that wasable motivate means to make improvements.When I tried to enlist the support of themunicipality of Uppsala, I got the reply thatthey considered Old Uppsala a state matter.

A marginal improvement was made in1986 when the County museum of Uppsala,the National Heritage Board and UppsalaUniversity together set up a text and pictureexhibition on the ground floor of the now-demolished teachers’ house close to the Eastmound. Of course an artefact exhibition couldnot to be displayed in an old wooden house!

However what got things moving at lastwas an initiative from the hotel and touristbusiness in Uppsala in the middle of the1980s. Their aim was to get more tourists tocome to the city and increase the guest nightsin the hotels. This can be worth noting, aseven now the Old Uppsala Historical Center isreferred to in debate as a national projectbased on ideas from the National HeritageBoard.

A group of persons in these branchesquietly worked out a recommendation for aViking-Age village that would be located a fewkilometres northwest of the mounds on theother side of the Fyris river. The proposal was

presented at a tourist fair and immediatelyattracted a great deal of attention in themedia. We archaeologists, museologists andculture workers were dismayed, to put itmildly. The idea of building a false Viking-Agevillage with a palisade and artificial grave fieldsfor commercial purposes felt like a profanationof Old Uppsala – and the idea certainlydisturbed us also because it in facto implied afully well-grounded criticism of our owndisability to tell the history of the site in anexciting way. What was also obvious was thatwhile myths may not have existed in the literalsense of the word there were quite a lot ofmisconceptions of what Old Uppsala actuallywas.

Regarding the idea of Vikings and VikingAge it also became clear that the oldHollywood movie, The Vikings, had a greaterimpact than all the archaeologists’ well-meantefforts to tell the facts.

The Viking-Age village proposal failed. Inthe tourist business elementary culturalhistorical credibility is a selling argument andthey didn’t have it.

However the proposal of the Viking-Agevillage resulted in a number of interestedparties finally meeting in a first conferencegroup to improve the information and perhapseven create a museum. The group was madeup of representatives from the Central Boardof Antiquities, Uppsala University, the CountyMuseum of Uppsala, the CountyAdministration, the Municipality of Uppsala,Old Uppsala parish, Old Uppsala HistoricalFolklore association and delegates from thetourist business and merchants.

Later on this group came to vary over theyears. The leading groups that were finally ableto bring the Old Uppsala Historical Center tofruition had Margareta Biörnstad,the ex-director-general of the Central Board of theSwedish National Antiquities’ (now NationalHeritage Board) Margareta Biörnstad and thepresent director-general of the same, ErikWegraeus as chairs. The project had becomefirmly established at last.

Many have contributed to the content. Thefirst concept of the exhibition was worked outby Bengt Edgren and Frands Herschend fromthe National Heritage Board and thearchaeological institution of Uppsala University,later on by Jan Erik Sjöberg and with thesupport of special expert groups as well as the

The Old Uppsala Histor– about myths and mis

Viking Viewpoints



exhibition architect Stefan Ahlenius.The contentHjalmar Olsson exclaims “Give us the myths!”The aim of the exhibition was, if anything, “Giveus the facts!” However in the discussion leadingup to the exhibition it was clear that the mythswere an obvious part of the history of OldUppsala from the oldest times until now.Conceptions of the site’s meaning have theiroldest bases in the sagas and over time symbolicacts have been added, giving new meanings orconfirming old ones.

When Hjalmar Olsson calls attention to therather brief information about the Nazis’ abuse ofthe site in the 1940s as a good thing, butobviously perceives this as something peripheralin relation to desired story of the myths, he hasmisunderstood the point.

When the Pope visits Old Uppsala in 1990and performs a mass and when the SocialDemocrats hold a large summer meeting on thesite in 1954, it is a matter of the same kind ofhistorical use as Gustav Vasa’s speech to theUppland farmers from the Tingmound and CarlXIV Johan’s visit when he allows himself behonoured by the students from Uppsala on thesame site. I think that the encounter betweenarchaeological facts and narratives or at leastquoted myths, is quite distinct in the exhibition.This is also a scientifically correct way of goingabout it.

Hjalmar Olsson also criticises the lack of newinformation techniques in the exhibition. This isclearly a lack today. However we have toremember the starting-point. The exhibition hallin Old Uppsala is – believe it or not – a low-budget project and there was a lot on the wish listthat could not become reality. When themunicipality of Uppsala after many politicalfights decided to support the projecteconomically there was one high prioritydemand: the original artefacts should bedisplayed, the charred remains of the magnificentburials in the mounds, the original artefacts fromVendel and Valsgärde. The primordial was thesesymbolic objects, not an attention to newinformation techniques.

Hopefully the exhibition in Old Uppsala willbe renewed and changed. When this happens Iwill be happy to see that there is space for thenarrative forms that Hjalmar Olsson is pleadingfor.

Stig Rydh

ical Center conceptions

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Encyclopaediaof the Viking AgeEncyclopaediaof the Viking Age

The author gives us the Viking world in a broad perspective. Asa Scandinavian reader it is interesting that the book also allows much roomfor a discussion of the Viking impact on the Anglo-Saxon world.

The book is an encyclopaedia with short but fully informative articles about differentsubjects from the archbishop and chronicler Adam of Bremen to the archaeologicaluncovering of Viking Jorvik, present-day York.

Here you discover not only how the Vikings successfully and brutally conquered vastareas of eastern and western Europe but also how they dressed, spent their leisure time,farmed and cooked, raised their children, used animals to heat their homes, and buriedand celebrated their dead.

Entries explain how they built ships that could carry them across the Atlantic Ocean,established trade routes to Constantinople and Baghdad, and eventually converted frompaganism to Christianity.

The book also provides biographies of leading personalities of the age, both Vikingsthemselves and those who opposed them.

The illustrated material is of high quality and gives a picture of everything fromwoodcarving tools to Gotlandic picture stones.

N e w

b o o k !

Olle Hoffman, Therese Lindström, Alexander AndreeffMia Göranson, Dan Carlsson, Marita E Ekman

At the time of the photo Maj-Britt Andersson was on holiday.

The Viking Heritage Staff wishes all of our members and readers

AA MMeerr rryy CChhrr ii ss ttmmaassaanndd

AA HHaappppyy NNeeww YYeeaarr

Welcome to Viking Heritage Magazine in 2002!

Postal address: Viking Heritage, Gotland University, Cramérgatan 3, S-621 67 Visby. Sweden.Phone: +46 498 29 98 30, Fax: +46 498 29 98 92

E-mail: [email protected]: http://viking.hgo.se Webmaster: Olle Hoffman, [email protected]

Website Gotland University: http://www.hgo.se

Publisher and Editor-in chief: Dan Carlsson, [email protected] Editor: Marita E Ekman, [email protected]

Editorial staff: Alexander Andreeff, Mia Göranson, Olle Hoffman, Therese LindströmSubscriptions: Maj-Britt Andersson, [email protected]

Language and translation check where others are not mentioned: Luella Godman, [email protected] and printed by Godrings Tryckeri, Visby, Sweden 2001.

ISSN 1403-7319

Viking Heritagemagazine

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As a new subscriber you will as a special giftreceive the guidebook Follow the Vikings.Highlights of the Viking World. The book contains50 of the most important destinations in differentcountries, selected by an international group ofarchaeologists and is richly illustrated in fullcolour.

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viking heritage 4-2001 heritage...artefacts found both in kaupang and fröjel and also those from...

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