Ingar Mørkestøl Gundersen | University of Oslo (original) (raw)

Articles by Ingar Mørkestøl Gundersen

Viking, 2023

Hundorp is considered one of the most important Viking Age sites in inland Eastern Norway. Howeve... more Hundorp is considered one of the most important Viking Age sites in inland Eastern Norway. However, our knowledge of the site is blurred by a mix of fact, fiction, and folklore, and little is known regarding its development and role in the overall power dynamics of the time. In this article, we present a whole new body of antiquarian, geophysical, and archaeological proxies, including the latest pagan burial documented so far in the region, and discuss its relevance in the wider socio-political picture. We argue that its role as an assembly site might go back to the Roman Iron Age, and that monumental burials continued right up to Christianization in the early 11th century. As the site lacks rich finds assemblages, Hundorp contrasts other contemporary power centres, and may have held other functions that are best understood within a wider framework of trade and power relations in the Late Iron Age.

Climate of the Past, 2023

In the Northern Hemisphere, the mid-6th century was one of the coldest periods of the last 2000 y... more In the Northern Hemisphere, the mid-6th century
was one of the coldest periods of the last 2000 years, which
was initiated by volcanic eruptions in 536 and 540 CE. Here,
we study the effect of this volcanic double event on the climate
and society in Scandinavia with a special focus on
southern Norway. Using an ensemble of Max Planck Institute
Earth system model transient simulations for 521–680 CE,
temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation patterns
are analyzed. The simulated cooling magnitude is used
as input for a growing degree day (GDD) model setup for
three different study areas in southern Norway, representative
of typical meteorological and landscape conditions. Pollen
from bogs inside these study areas are analyzed at high resolution
(1–3 cm sample intervals) to give insights into the
validity of the GDD model setup with regard to the volcanic
climate impact on the regional scale and to link the different
data sets with the archeological records.

We find that after the 536 and 540 CE double event, a maximum
surface air cooling of up to 3.5 C during the mean
growing season is simulated regionally for southern Norway.
With a scenario cooling of 3 C, the GDD model indicates
crop failures were likely in our northernmost and western
study areas, while crops were more likely to mature in the
southeastern study area. These results are in agreement with
the pollen records from the respective areas. Archeological
excavations show, however, a more complex pattern for the
three areas with abandonment of farms and severe social impacts
but also a continuation of occupation or a mix of those.
Finally, we discuss the likely climatic and societal impacts
of the 536 and 540 CE volcanic double event by synthesizing

Historical Metallurgy, 2020

The technology of bloomery iron production in Latvia is a little-studied topic. Only a few excava... more The technology of bloomery iron production in Latvia is a little-studied topic. Only a few excavations have been undertaken, mostly during the 1950s and 60s in connection with hydropower development along the river Daugava. Sources from archives and collections have been reviewed, re-studied and re-interpreted in the light of current knowledge, as part of the TechTrans research project. Visual studies have also been performed to clarify whether the slag was tapped, as previously interpreted, or whether production could be related to the more common slag-pit technology. Archaeometallurgical samples from four of the excavated sites have been analysed to obtain information on the technology, development, processes and the quality of production. The results of this study are set in the context of the technical development of bloomery practice in neighbouring regions to identify influences that may have affected the development of bloomery iron production in Latvia during the Iron Age and medieval period.

Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske utgravninger i knyttet til etablering av ny riksveg 3 og 25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet, 2020

Cooking pits constitute a fairly common find at excavation sites throughout Scandinavia, but are ... more Cooking pits constitute a fairly common find at excavation sites throughout Scandinavia, but are rarely analysed in their own right. In this article, we aim at discussing the long-term trajectories in the use of cooking pits in eastern Norway, by comparing large datasets of radiocarbon dates from the coastal region of Vestfold, the inland areas around Lake Mjøsa, and the major inland valleys of Gudbrandsdalen and Østerdalen. Our dataset consist of 987 radiocarbon dates, thus constituting the largest compilation of dates so far from cooking pits in Norway. Our analysis suggests a high degree of regionality involved, since the use of cooking pits emerges and peaks centuries earlier in the coastal region compared to the inland regions. While a significant and sudden decline can be observed in the inland regions around the mid-6th century, suggesting a connection to the AD536/540 climate events, the mid-6th century only represents the end-point of a long process of decline in the coastal region. Therefore, we argue that the decline must be analysed within a multi-causal framework, in
which these climate events might have been one of several instrumental factors.

Primitive tider, 2019

In this article, I have tried to discuss the Fimbulwinter theory in a research historical perspec... more In this article, I have tried to discuss the Fimbulwinter theory in a research historical perspective, in order to disentangle the premises presented by both advocates and critics alike. By and large, the current debate follows the contours of previous discourses on the 6th century transition, at the risk of entrenching the arguments within two defined and established perspectives: material change as a reflection of crisis, and, secondly, material change as an expression of cultural innovation. Neither of these perspectives is satisfactory, as they both run the risk of downplaying either, in the first case, long-term socio-cultural dynamics or, in the second case, environmental factors. In other words, an environmental perspective is inadequate as an analytical framework, since it is liable to provide simplified and deterministic interpretations of past societal change. The roots of environmental disasters must be studied from a social perspective, in which societal preconditions for vulnerability to hazards are analysed. Consequently, an integrated human-environmental approach must be developed, which takes into consideration the importance of both human and natural systems, and the interaction between them. There is, indeed, no contradiction between the two interpretative frameworks of crisis and a change of practice, as both perspectives are required for an in-depth understanding of the spatial and temporal complexity associated with the transition from the Early to the Late Iron Age. Considerable scientific potential might be obtained by employing a human-environmental approach, in which the 6th century transition is analysed at the interface of human and environmental systems, rather than within an explicit social or climatic interpretative framework.

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2019

In the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, corresponding to the southern and western parts of prese... more In the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, corresponding to the southern and western parts of present-day Latvia, an iron industry based on blast-furnace technology, mainly using local bog iron ore, existed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Transfer of knowledge and skill through the recruitment of specialists from other countries of Europe was crucial to the development of this industry; technology was also re-exported to Russia and elsewhere. Recent archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations supplement the written evidence, highlighting the specific local conditions that influenced the development of ferrous metalworking here in the early modern period.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

The E6 project Gudbrandsdalen started up during the summer of 2011 as a direct consequence of the... more The E6 project Gudbrandsdalen started up during the
summer of 2011 as a direct consequence of the establishment
of the new E6 highway through the valley.
The project was in the beginning organised according
to seven different plan areas, with independent budgets
and project plans. This caused several challenges
for the implementation of the excavations, as it gave
little room for flexibility and scientific priorities. The
project was therefore reorganized during the winter
of 2011/2012 in cooperation with the Directorate for
Cultural Heritage, and a common budget and ditto
project plan were developed.
The excavations went on for two seasons, with
the most extensive research being done in 2012. In
2011, 78.8 weeks of work were used, while 226 weeks
were used in 2012. The reports and databases were
thereafter finished in January 2014. Sixty-four sites
were investigated in the three counties Sør-Fron,
Nord-Fron, and Sel. While several agricultural and
settlement sites were excavated in Sør-Fron, the charcoal
pits and pitfalls dominated in the northern parts
of the area. This is largely due to the placement of
the highway in the valley, which in northern parts
mostly goes through forests and steep hillsides, while
the southern part of the pathway is placed in agricultural
terrain. It has, however, some relevance for
the understanding of prehistoric use of the landscape.
This will be further analysed in the following chapters
in this book.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Sixty-four sites were excavated in 2011 and 2012 by the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen. The most signi... more Sixty-four sites were excavated in 2011 and 2012
by the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen. The most significant
results are connected to Iron Age settlement
and cultivation and mediaeval charcoal production.
Twelve settlement and cultivation sites included a
large number of traces from prehistoric farming from
the Early Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, with a
clear concentration in the Roman Iron Age and the
Migration Period. A large majority of the 38 sites
with charcoal production were radiocarbon dated to
the High Middle Ages, while six pitfalls in the same
area were dated to the Iron Age.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Public communication was given high priority during the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen, and a lot of e... more Public communication was given high priority during
the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen, and a lot of effort
was therefore put into building up local networks with
media and community. Cooperation between the E6
project, Gudbrandsdalsmusea (an association of local
museums), and the project owner (the Norwegian
Public Roads Administration) was initiated. It served
as a fundament for the communication strategy
in 2012, and a small exhibition was created at the
storehouse at Dale-Gudbrand’s farm (the Pilgrim
Centre) in the historical part of Hundorp. The exhibition
presented the ongoing excavations and the
projected road-construction work to the audience,
and it became a natural starting point for interviews
with journalists and arranged tours to the archaeological
sites. Whether a public strategy is successful
is, however, dependent on the way you tell the stories
and to what extent the listener identifies with the
message told. Flooding has been a substantial part of
Gudbrandsdalen in both prehistoric and modern times
and was a subject of thorough study at the archaeological
sites. It was therefore also a subject of special
focus in our communication strategy. At Fryasletta,
a 22-metre-long and 3,5-metre-deep trench was dug
during the archaeological excavations at the site. The
section displayed a complex sequence of flooding,
cultivation, and settlement during thousands of years
and was used as a main attraction during visits from
the media, the local community, and the Directorate
for Cultural Heritage.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Few archaeological excavations have previously been initiated in Gudbrandsdalen. During the late ... more Few archaeological excavations have previously been initiated in Gudbrandsdalen. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, several writers described the monumental gravemounds at Hundorp, but the mounds were for unknown reasons left untouched by the early archaeologists of the nineteenth century. Much of our knowledge about the cultural history of the valley was therefore based upon stray finds and the distributions of prehistoric graves in the landscape. A few investigations were, however, conducted from the 1980s and onwards in Sør-Fron, Nord-Fron, and Sel municipalities, including a minor excavation at Hundorp in 2002.
The main scientific issues for the E6 project were the organisation of the prehistoric farm and the agricultural history of the area. It was considered to be of substantial importance to detect farm buildings and farmyards as well as various kinds of farm activities, such as traces of cultivation, clearance, fences, and roads. The numerous charcoal pits are important for understanding the iron production in the region and the overall use of the landscape and are therefore an important supplement to the understanding of the social developme

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

The archaeological investigations in the mid part of Gudbrandsdalen in 2011 and 2012 revealed a n... more The archaeological investigations in the mid part of Gudbrandsdalen in 2011 and 2012 revealed a number of flood/avalanche horizons, of which «Forrskredet» (ca 350–200 BC), «Gammelofsen» (ca 50–1 BC), and «Merovingertidsofsen» (ca AD 600–800) were recognised as the major events at the investigated sites. Local topography and weather conditions (such as extreme weather events) and more long-term climatic trends were most likely the triggering factors for these events. During the time interval for Forrskredet, glaciers in Jotunheimen were in an advanced position, winter precipitation in mountains in western Norway (Jostedalsbreen) was relatively high, and summer temperatures in Scandinavia, as reconstructed from tree rings, were relatively high. Gammelofsen occurred during a period with relatively small glaciers in Jotunheimen as winter precipitation was increasing in western Norway and summer temperatures were rising in Scandinavia. During Merovingertidsofsen, glaciers in Jotunheimen were in an advanced position, winter precipitation was rapidly increasing in western Norway, and summer temperatures were relatively low in Scandinavia. The prehistoric flood and avalanche events in Gudbrandsdalen, such as the subsequent historic flood events, in particular «Storofsen» (1789) and «Storflaumen» (1860), certainly had a severe impact on settlement and farming.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

The archaeological excavations in the lower valley slopes and edge of the floodplain to the river... more The archaeological excavations in the lower valley slopes and edge of the floodplain to the river Lågen exposed several layers deposited by floods and landslides, layers burying older archaeological structures and cultivation. The archaeological evidence was found on several levels separated by alluvial and colluvial sediments. The dating of the archaeological complexes therefore gives important timeframes for the dating of the incidents and suggests periods of considerable instability due to floods in the pre-Roman Iron Age (500–1 BC) and Merovingian period (AD 550–800). Three major incidents have been identified: Forrskredet (ca. 350–200 BC), Gammelofsen (ca. 50–1 BC) and Merovingertidsofsen (ca. AD 600–800).
The incidents are to a various degree found on a majority of the sites in the Fron municipalities, indicating regional catastrophes comparable to the well-known flood disaster Storofsen in 1789, which followed a five-year period with low summer temperatures and increasing glaciers in the high-mountain region. An almost tropical heat in the summer of 1789 combined with heavy rainfall caused a massive flood and numerous landslides in the valley slopes, severely damaging hundreds of farms in Gudbrandsdalen alone. Climate data show indications of similar situations in the Iron Age, which might have caused major floods.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

During the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen, nine agricultural sites and three Iron Age farmsteads were ... more During the E6 project Gudbrandsdalen, nine agricultural sites and three Iron Age farmsteads were excavated in Fron. The sites were located in the lower part of the valley, in an area prone to flooding from the river Lågen and landslides from the hillside. The archaeological finds were found in different stratigraphical layers, isolated from each other by sedimentary deposits. The oldest remains consisted of cultivation layers from the Bronze Age that had been sealed off by several floods in the pre-Roman Iron Age. In the Roman Iron Age and migration period, there is evidence of a long period of stability, with several new sites
including the three farmsteads followed by a general decline in the Merovingian period. The farmsteads were abandoned, and the cultivation layers show evidence of flooding. The sites are never fully recovered, though there is some evidence of sporadic activity in the following periods – mainly in the Middle Ages

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Excavations at Øybrekka revealed a complex history of floods, landslides, and agricultural activi... more Excavations at Øybrekka revealed a complex history
of floods, landslides, and agricultural activity, and
two levels of fossil cultivation layers were uncovered
(Gundersen and Lieng 2013). Sequences of flood
sediments were found superimposing these cultivation
layers. The scientific analyses indicate intensive cultivation
in both cultivation phases, and traces of fertilising
of the soil, with manure from livestock, together
with burnt and unburnt wood, were confirmed. The
radiological dating indicates that the site was cleared
in the late Roman period and was fallowed in the
Merovingian period. The fallowing is probably related
to one or several larger flood catastrophes that
led to a change in the utilisation of resources in the
early Iron Age. The area was then recultivated before
or after the flood Storofsen in 1789. Recultivation
of Øybrekka, together with the construction of the
clearance cairns on the neighbouring farm Rustom in
the post-Reformation period, can probably be seen in
the context of an expansion of the agricultural activity
on the site up to the modern period.

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Viking, 2023

Climate of the Past, 2023

Historical Metallurgy, 2020

Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske utgravninger i knyttet til etablering av ny riksveg 3 og 25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet, 2020

Primitive tider, 2019

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2019

Gård og utmark i Gudbrandsdalen - Arkeologiske undersøkelser i Fron 2011-2012, 2016

Doctoral thesis in archaeology, 2021

Several researchers have claimed that the 6th-century cooling must have resulted in extensive crop failure throughout Scandinavia, followed by famine, plagues, and social unrest. One hypothesis suggests that the population of the Scandinavian Peninsula may have been halved as a result. The combination of prolonged cooling and presumed crop failure is often compared to Norse myths about the Fimbulwinter, but critics argue that the Fimbulwinter hypothesis is rife with the uncritical use of climate data, a lack of source criticism and deterministic conclusions. In many ways, the ongoing discourse follows in line with previous discourses in archaeology, revolving around an artificial dichotomy between crisis and continuity.

In this thesis, I examine the climatic and archaeological premises for the Fimbulwinter hypothesis and discuss it against developing theoretical frameworks within the environmental humanities. By using vulnerability and resilience as analytical tools, the subsistence and settlement patterns of selected landscapes are analysed against the possibility of crop failure and famine, with emphasis on the Gudbrandsdalen valley and the Lake Mjøsa region in the inlands of eastern Norway.

I conclude that climate cooling had the potential to critically impact some areas, while others were seemingly less affected. These results suggest significant regional diversity in the consequences and adaptations in relation to the 6th-century cooling event. The hypothesis of a halving of the population is up for revision, but the crisis narrative still cannot be fully discounted.

by Ingar Mørkestøl Gundersen, Jan Henning Larsen, Ole Christian Lønaas, Atle Nesje, Rebecca J S Cannell, Kristin Eriksen, Lise Loktu, Tina Villumsen, Arne Jouttijärvi, Annine Moltsen, and Richard Macphail

E6-prosjektet Gudbrandsdalen er det mest omfattende utgravningsprosjektet som er gjennomført i Op... more E6-prosjektet Gudbrandsdalen er det mest omfattende utgravningsprosjektet som er gjennomført i Oppland noensinne, og har sin bakgrunn i etableringen av ny E6 gjennom dalføret. I 2011 og 2012 gjennomførte Kulturhistorisk museum utgravninger på 64 steder i kommunene Sør-Fron, Nord-Fron og Sel, og utgravningene avdekket blant annet en frem til da ukjent flom-, bosetnings-og jordbrukshistorikk. Omfattende undersøkelser ble også gjort i utmarka, der et stort antall kull-og fangstgroper ble gravd ut. Det samlede vitenska-pelige materialet fra prosjektet har endret forståelsen av Gudbrandsdalens arkeologi og gitt ny kunnskap om hvordan samfunnet i dalføret utviklet seg i jernalderen og middelalderen. Denne boken presenterer de viktigste faglige resultatene, setter resultatene inn i en større kulturhistorisk sammenheng og gjør rede for kunnskapsstatusen på viktige fagområder innenfor Gudbrandsdalens arkeologi.

Contents AIBABIN A. The Elements of Scandinavian Beast Style of the Brooches from Luchistoye ... more Contents

AIBABIN A. The Elements of Scandinavian Beast Style of the Brooches from Luchistoye
BITNER-WROBLEWSKA A. East European Enamelled Ornaments and the Character of Contacts between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea
DROBER/AR E. On Certain Amulet Pendants in the Shape of Miniature Pots, Occurring between the Black Sea Region (Pontus Euxinus) and Scandinavia
DUSHENKO A. The Finds of Composite Single-Sided Combs of Scandinavian Look in the Territory of Mangup
GAVRITUKHIN I. Cut Glass Beakers within the Con text of Studies in the Connections between the South of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia in the Late Period of Roman Influence and the Great Migration Periods
GUNDERSEN I. M. Aspects of Interregional Impulses: Germanic princely graves in the Early Roman period
ISTVANOVITS E., KULCSAR V. From the Crimea to Scandinavia via the Great Hungarian Plain: traces of Germanic-Sarmatian contacts on the basis of finds of spherical pendants and of other phenomena
KAZANSKI M. Kishpek, Ekazhevo and Varpelev: on the problem of Pontic-Scandinavian relations in the Late Roman period
KHRAPUNOV I. The Northern Barbarians in the Crimea: a history of the investigation
LEV ADAM. To Europe via the Crimea: on possible migration routes of the northern people in the Great Migration period
LUND HANSEN U. Contacts during the Third to Fifth Century AD between South Scandinavia and the Black Sea Illustrated by Late Roman Glass and Jewellery
M4CZYNSKA M., URBANIAK A., JAKUBCZYK I. The Early Mediaeval Cemetery of Almalyk-Dere ne ar the Foot of Mangup
MAGOMEDOV B. The Chernyakhov People's Contacts with Scandinavia and the Crimea
MARTENS /. Diadems? In search for the date, use and origin of the riveted neck-rings from Scandinavia
QUAST D. The Links between the Crimea and Scandinavia: same jewellery from the third century AD princely graves in an international context
SHABANOV S. Glass Beakers with Polished Ovals from the Late Roman Period in the Crimea
STYLEGAR F-A. Weapon graves in Roman and Migration period Norway (AD 1-550)
VASIL'YEV A. Druzhnoye and Thorsberg: same aspects of the study of belt sets from the Late Roman period

A growing body of climate data points towards a significant climate cooling in the northern hemis... more A growing body of climate data points towards a significant climate cooling in the northern hemisphere during the 6th century AD. Linked to multiple explosive volcanic eruptions between AD 536-547, the cooling event is the coldest that has been documented for the last 2000 years and seems to have persisted, to varying degrees, well into the latter half of the 6th century. Several researchers have claimed that the 6th-century cooling must have resulted in extensive crop failure throughout Scandinavia, followed by famine, plagues, and social unrest. One hypothesis suggests that the population of the Scandinavian Peninsula may have been halved as a result. The combination of prolonged cooling and presumed crop failure is often compared to Norse myths about the Fimbulwinter, but critics argue that the Fimbulwinter hypothesis is rife with the uncritical use of climate data, a lack of source criticism and deterministic conclusions. In many ways, the ongoing discourse follows in line with ...

Primitive Tider, 1970

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2019

Call for Papers, 2023

In the face of global warming, pandemics, war, energy shortages and many other challenges, vulner... more In the face of global warming, pandemics, war, energy shortages and many other challenges, vulnerability and resilience are high on current agendas. It is therefore no coincidence that resilience ‒ and more recently also vulnerability ‒ are increasingly being studied in many branches of archaeology, from Palaeolithic huntergatherers to the urban societies of historic times. For all these marvellous societies, archaeologists are considering just how vulnerable or resilient they were to climatic fluctuations, volcanic eruptions, wars, pandemics, environmental degradation or ecological collapse. The diversity of theoretical approaches matches this cultural diversity. Various forms of “Resilience Theory” and disaster risk research are applied, as are the notions of “Adaptive Cycles”, “Political and Cultural Resilience”, “Social Resilience” or “Vulnerability”. Variable qualitative and quantitative methods for the study of these have been applied, contributing with important perspectives and novel approaches. However, the great variety of theories, methods, and data makes comparisons across studies challenging, thus limiting our possibilities for achieving clearly benchmarked, cumulative insights regarding the importance of environmental and socio-political changes for societies of the human past. This session seeks to bring together current research on this topic to discuss, compare and contrast different approaches based on the following questions:

What are the objectives of resilience and vulnerability research?
What overarching questions are driving research?
Which theories and methods are used?
What kinds of data are compiled and analysed?
Are there methodological transfer possibilities,overarching insights, and synergies between the different fields of resilience and vulnerability research?
If so, can we raise new questions or develop new perspectives?
We invite all archaeologists working on resilience and vulnerability in academic research to participate in the discussion with theoretical, methodological, and case study-oriented papers.