Attending an archaeological field · PDF fileAttending an archaeological field school Neil...

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.

pdf

– http://www.achill-fieldschool.com/faq/

Questions?

neil@treheima.ca

kitten@golden.net

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