Out of the Norwegian glaciers: Lendbreen—a tunic from the early first millennium AD (original) (raw)
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Textiles from the peripheries? Upland evidence from Norway
New Perspectives on the Bronze Age Proceedings of the 13th Nordic Bronze Age Symposium held in Gothenburg 9th to 13th June 2015
The Skrivarhelleren site demonstrates the comprehensive range of activities associated with Late Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, in this case at a seasonal, upland rock shelter site in an area commonly deemed as geographically and environmentally peripheral to the Nordic region — but from c. 2400 BC clearly integrated into the North European World. This peripherally located site offers a fascinating set of data concerning early agro-pastoral practices, hunting and fishing — demonstrated by a rich assemblage of non-durable materials like plant remains, bone, antler, resins and shells — and early metallurgy. Located in the rich upland hunting grounds of Sogn in western Norway, the shelter provides access to seasonal pastures as well as a range of other outfield resources. This article examines new evidence pointing to wool or textile production. Using the exploitation strategies of later periods in this remote region as analogy, we argue that production was not limited to the household, but geared towards a market. The implication of this line of reasoning is that there was a focus on exchange-oriented wool-production and that, in a yet wider context, wool-production could be one of the comparative advantages of the Scandinavian uplands.
Dress-accessories from Migration and early Merovingian-period Scandinavia, c. AD 400-650/700
2021
This report presents four groups of dress-accessories from the Migration and early Merovingian-period Scandinavia: cruciform brooches, relief brooches, clasps and conical brooches. The report comprises detailed information about the contexts of the finds presented in the form of a catalogue and a total of 39 tables. In addition, most of the tables containing information about graves and hoards are provided with supplementary text information. The finds constitute the basic data for the publication The Language of Jewellery – Dress-accessories and Negotiations of Identity in Scandinavia, c. AD 400–650/700 (Røstad 2021).
Four persons were buried together in one grave, two children and two young adults. Studies of the skeletons show that the children died at the age of 3-4 and 6-7 years. The two young women were probably 15-17 years old at the time of death 3 . It is still not clear whether any of them were related. The bodies were all dressed in everyday garments. Several layers of clothing show that they were buried in both an over-and an under tunic. In addition, they all wore red mittens. A special feature of three of the bodies was that their skulls were wrapped in linen cloth. Not only the forehead and neck, but also mouth, nose and eyes were covered with linen. These linen wrappings must have been applied especially for burial purposes. The findings from Uvdal thus represent a mixture of special burial garments and ordinary clothes used for burial purposes.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2014
The aim of this article is to investigate the sight, sound, smell and touch of different cloth types in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia and to argue that such an approach provides stimulating new insights into an area of material culture that has previously been studied by archaeologists in a highly empirical manner. The archaeological evidence drawn together in this article points to this as a time when furs and skin products were of prime importance and plant fibres were the basis for knotted nets, looped cloth and basketry. In the archaeological literature these cloth types are usually treated separately and described according to the species of raw materials, such as pine marten fur, or the technology of their production, such as couched button-hole stitch. Using an experiment where participants are asked to handle modern cloth types and answer structured questionnaires, it is possible to create a sensory description of these cloth types. These descriptive results are then used to reconsider aspects of cloth and clothing in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia. By moving from the standard technological description to a sensory description, the Mesolithic cloth types investigated in this article are placed within a sensory and phenomenological theoretical framework. The presentation of these results seeks to provide a new description of these materials and allow archaeologists to revaluate the culturally-embedded nature of cloth and clothing at that time.
The aim of this article is to investigate the sight, sound, smell and touch of different cloth types in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia and to argue that such an approach provides stimulating new insights into an area of material culture that has previously been studied by archaeologists in a highly empirical manner. The archaeological evidence drawn together in this article points to this as a time when furs and skin products were of prime importance and plant fibres were the basis for knotted nets, looped cloth and basketry. In the archaeological literature these cloth types are usually treated separately and described according to the species of raw materials, such as pine marten fur, or the technology of their production, such as couched button-hole stitch. Using an experiment where participants are asked to handle modern cloth types and answer structured questionnaires, it is possible to create a sensory description of these cloth types. These descriptive results are then used to reconsider aspects of cloth and clothing in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia. By moving from the standard technological description to a sensory description, the Mesolithic cloth types investigated in this article are placed within a sensory and phenomenological theoretical framework. The presentation of these results seeks to provide a new description of these materials and allow archaeologists to revaluate the culturally-embedded nature of cloth and clothing at that time.
From Life to Death in Iron Age and Medieval Vinjefjord. Unveiling Burial Practices, Settlement and Landscape History, 2024
This article presents a detailed analysis of textile fragments from three Viking Age womens' graves that were examined at Skeiet and Hestnes, Trøndelag, Central Norway. These fragments form the basis for a discussion about women's burial clothing and the visual functions provided by textiles in burial rituals. The analysis concludes that each of the women wore a traditional suspended dress made of woollen fabric. Traces of outer clothing were also found in all the graves. The woman in the chamber grave at Hestnes was wearing a lined woollen cloak, decorated with embroidery (of uncertain extent) and a braided cord along the edge. In Skeiet Grave 2, the deceased woman wore a lighter shawl-like garment in linen which was fastened together with a ring pin. This woman also had an additional linen cloth attached to a trefoil brooch placed in a small chest at the foot of the grave. Most textile remains were found in the boat grave, Skeiet Grave 11. In addition to the traditional suspended dress, the deceased was wearing an apron-like garment and a woollen cloak. The most spectacular textile find was the remains of a blue-dyed, down-filled woollen blanket which partially covered the deceased. Covering quilts are highly unusual in Viking Age graves in Scandinavia and only one case, from the famous Oseberg Ship, has, until now, been found in Norway.
Lost and found: Viking Age human bones and textiles from Bjerringhøj, Denmark
Antiquity, 2021
The human remains recovered from the famous Bjerringhøj Viking Age burial in Denmark have been missing for more than 100 years. Recently, an assemblage of bones resembling those recorded at Bjerringhøj—some with adherent textiles—were discovered in a misplaced box in the National Museum of Denmark. Here, the authors use new skeletal and comparative textile analyses, along with radiocarbon dating, to confirm that the bones are indeed those from the Bjerringhøj burial. This rediscovery offers new data for interpreting Viking Age clothing, including the presence of long trousers, and emphasises the importance of reinvestigating old archaeological collections housed within museums and archives.
Prehistoric and Medieval Skis from Glaciers and Ice Patches in Norway
Traditionally, ski history has relied on preserved skis from bogs, on rock carvings depicting skiers and on written sources. The ongoing melting of mountain ice has led to the discovery of ancient skis from a new context. In this paper, we present ski finds from glacial ice in Norway, dated from the first millennium BCE to the Medieval Period. The finds of skis from glacial ice shed new light on the ski history of NorthWestern Europe—the development, the context of use in a high-alpine landscape and the skiing technique. One of the finds provides the earliest date yet for the use of fur on the underside of skis.