attending an archaeological field · pdf fileattending an archaeological field school neil...
TRANSCRIPT
Digging in the Dirt
Attending an
archaeological field school
Neil & Karen Peterson
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours
• Do It Yourself
Introduction
• Neil needed a field school for degree
• Karen wanted to dig in the dirt
• Both are into Vikings
• Explored different schools
– Gotland, Dan Carlsson
– Vatnsfjörður, Iceland, NABO (Karen Milek)
– Rousay, Orkney, NABO (Steven Dockrill)
– Achill, Ireland, MIAI (Rory Sherlock)
Why this field school? • Timeframe suited our schedule
• Academically acceptable to WLU
• Content most likely to be Viking
• Run for over 20 years
• Fröjel excavations
• Accepts non-students
• Mostly positive reviews
Field school details • Housing at residential school
• Meals included
• Breakfast at school
• Lunch at local hotel
• Supper at local hostel
• Transport from school to dig included
• Tour transport included
• Booze you had to buy yourself
– Archaeologists drink like fish
Gotland Background • Inhabited since stone age
• 380 bronze age stone ships
• Stone mounds
Gotland Background • Inhabited since stone age
• 380 bronze age stone ships
• Stone mounds
• 2000+ Iron Age houses
• Roman sites (7000+ coins)
Gotland Background • Inhabited since stone age
• 380 bronze age stone ships
• Stone mounds
• 2000+ Iron Age houses
• Roman sites (7000+ coins)
• Medieval Sites
– Houses
Gotland Background • Inhabited since stone age
• 380 bronze age stone ships
• Stone mounds
• 2000+ Iron Age houses
• Roman sites (7000+ coins)
• Medieval Sites
– Houses
– Visby (city & battle site)
Gotland Background • Viking, Viking, Viking!
– 400+ picture stones
Gotland Background • Viking, Viking, Viking!
– 400+ picture stones
– 250,000+ Viking coins
– Silver hoards
– Fröjel
– Paviken
– Houses
– Graves
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours
• Do It Yourself
First Dig: Slite
• Why Slite?
– Few Viking ports, all on west coast
– Existing Viking graves in town
– 17th century maps identify
• Barlastplats [ballast place]
First Dig: Slite
• Why Slite?
– Few Viking ports, all on west coast
– Existing Viking graves in town
– 17th century maps identify
• Barlastplats [ballast place]
• Gamla Hamn [old harbor]
– 2m rise in land since V.A. (isostasy)
– Dig focused on places
• Above 2m elevation
• No construction since 1600
First Dig: Slite
Map of Slite with tentative settlement location (Petterson 2009, fig 20). Image Copyright Dan Carlsson, 2009
First Dig: Slite
• Goal:
– Identify depth and parameters of Viking layer
• Student groups in multiple locations
• Test pits (1m x 1m, up to 2m x 3m)
• Champagne for first Viking coin
• Result:
– Complete & Utter Failure
First Dig: Slite • Teams
– Set by length of dig
– Scattered in town
• Kinds of instruction
– Digging
First Dig: Slite • Teams
– Set by length of dig
– Scattered in town
• Kinds of instruction
– Digging
– Sieving
First Dig: Slite • Teams
– Set by length of dig
– Scattered in town
• Kinds of instruction
– Digging
– Sieving
– Cleaning
– Cataloguing
First Dig: Slite • Teams
– Set by length of dig
– Scattered in town
• Kinds of instruction
– Digging
– Sieving
– Cleaning
– Cataloguing
– Patience
• Ask Questions!
First Dig: Slite • What we found
– Nothing definitely Viking
– Pottery (and porcelain)
First Dig: Slite • What we found
– Nothing definitely Viking
– Pottery (and porcelain)
– A 1940s midden
• With Viking shoe cream
First Dig: Slite • What we found
– Nothing definitely Viking
– Pottery (and porcelain)
– A 1940s midden
• With Viking shoe cream
– Viking Grave
First Dig: Slite • What we found
– Nothing definitely Viking
– Pottery (and porcelain)
– A 1940s midden
• With Viking shoe cream
– Viking Grave
• No wait – 1800s well
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours / Lectures
• Do It Yourself
Intermission: the hoard • Finished Slite early
• CRM Archaeology
• Field to crayfish pond
• First level - walk field
– 10m lines with metal detector
• Result: 10 localized Viking coins
– More than 2 is a hoard
• Requires more detailed work
Intermission: the hoard • Backhoe
– 10cm levels, 20m2
• Remove soil – scan spoil
• Scan new ground
• Remove coins
– Record location (GPS)
• Look for habitation
– Post holes
Intermission: the hoard • Results
– 70 coins, 2 pieces jewelry
– 1015-1020 AD
• Original deposit intact
• 2-3 cm below ground
– Still visible
– Lost or sacrifice?
• No habitation (farming)
• Archaeology or
treasure hunting?
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours
• Do It Yourself
Second Dig: Helvi • Why here?
– Mask found 30 years ago
• Illegal metal detecting
– ‘Corner’ of known house
– Odd Iron Age house
• Usually 2 houses, here 1
• Why a roman mask?
– Museum Dig
• 10 people, 1 week
– Fieldschool help
• 24 people
• 2 weeks
Photo: Dr. Martin Rundkvist, Aardvarchaeology
Second Dig: Helvi • Museum dig
– 1 x 8m trench – east wall
– Covered 2 corners
– Test pit in center 1m x 1m
• Understand habitation layers
• Test pit found artefacts
– Expanded several times
Second Dig: Helvi • Fieldschool dig
– 4 x 8m trench - west wall
– Covered other 2 corners
• No find in any corner
– Check inside house
– Check outside (refuse pit)
Second Dig: Helvi • What we found
• Lots of animal bones
Second Dig: Helvi • What we found
• Lots of animal bones
• Silver spiral
Second Dig: Helvi • What we found
• Lots of animal bones
• Silver spiral
• Beads
Second Dig: Helvi • What we found
• Lots of animal bones
• Silver spiral
• Beads
• Migration Era Knife
Second Dig: Helvi • What we found
• Lots of animal bones
• Silver spiral
• Beads
• Migration Era Knife
• Blackware pottery
• Stone wall
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
– Silver ingots, horn mounts
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
– Silver ingots, horn mounts
– Arm ring
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
– Silver ingots, horn mounts
– Arm ring
– Stick pin
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
– Silver ingots, horn mounts
– Arm ring
– Stick pin
– Bone spindle whorl
Second Dig: Helvi • What they found
• A bronze/silver hoard
– Via the test pit
– Silver ingots, horn mounts
– Arm ring
– Stick pin
– Bone spindle whorl
– Hearth
– Wooden post
Second Dig: Helvi • What was it
• Hoard: Roman Iron Age
– 200-400AD
• Other finds: Migration Era
– 400-550 AD
• Retirement home of
Roman soldier??
• Likely long habitation
– Possible other houses
– Pre-roman?? Photo: Dr. Martin Rundkvist, Aardvarchaeology
Second Dig: Helvi • Medieval House
– Found 2 stone boats & medieval house
– One afternoon (done early)
– 1 x 2m trench across wall
– Found:
• Nails, ceramics (1600-1750), flint
• Clay pipe stem (1720-1750)
• Wall, possible floor bits
– Not on 1695 map
• Conclusion: 1720-1750 house
The Digs: What we learned • De-turfing, re-turfing
• Layers and levels
• Sieving
• Object identification
• Basic classification
• Basic cleaning
• Profile drawing
• Theodolite
• Patience
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours
• Do It Yourself
Tours • ‘Most of you are tired of the Viking sites’
• Four tours, on weekend
• Optional addition
• No charge
– Except for meals, purchases
First tour • Visby museum
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
• Fröjel
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
• Fröjel
• Vallhagar
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
• Fröjel
• Vallhagar
• Ange farm
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
• Fröjel
• Vallhagar
• Ange farm
• Gervide
First tour • Visby museum
• Högklint (foggy)
• Three stone ships
• Fröjel
• Vallhagar
• Ange farm
• Gervide
• Bara Parish
Second tour – File • Field walking
• Possible dig site
• Abandoned farm
• Looking for early house
• Studied contours, land use
Third tour - Larbro • Field walking
• Possible dig site
• Multi-use site
• Stone Age graves
• Iron Age houses
• Viking houses
• Medieval houses
Fourth tour • Trullhalsar
Fourth tour • Trullhalsar
• Tjelvar’s Grav
Fourth tour • Trullhalsar
• Tjelvar’s Grav
• Fornborgar
Evening Lectures • 7 evening lectures
• Christoph Kilger – Hoards & gender
• Gunilla Runesson - Mounds & settlements
• Johan Norderäng & Margreta Christon – Västergarn
• Michael Jonsson - Coins
• Joakim Wehlin - Stone ships
• Gustaf Svedjemo - Iron Age landscape
• Dan Carlsson - Eastern connection
Agenda
• Introduction
• First dig: Slite
• Intermission: the hoard
• Second dig: Helvi
• Tours
• Do It Yourself
Digging in Yourself • Be flexible details are last minute
– School details just going up now
• Budget/plan
– Airfare to Sweden (Icelandair): $1200
– Train to Ferry, Ferry: $160
– School Fee: $3000
– Additional Money: ????
• Weekend lunches, hotel layovers
• Layover in Iceland?
• Layover in Stockholm?
Digging in Yourself - Resources • Our trip
– http://www.treheima.ca/Gotland_2011.html
• Review of this fieldschool
– http://www.darkcompany.ca/articles/fieldschool.php
• Gotland fieldschool website
– http://www.gotland-fieldschool.com/
Digging in Yourself - Resources • List of Fieldschools
– http://www.shovelbums.org
• Other Fieldschools – http://www.nabohome.org/fieldschools/VatnsfjordurFieldSchoolFlyer2012.
– http://www.achill-fieldschool.com/faq/