Vessel Import to Norway in the First Millennium AD Composition And
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VESSEL IMPORT TO NORWAY IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM A.D Composition and context. by Ingegerd Roland Ph.D. thesis. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, June 1996. ProQuest Number: 10017303 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10017303 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Abstract : More than 1100 complete or fragmentary imported vessels in bronze, glass, wood, horn, clay and silver from the first millennium A.D. have been found in Norway, approximately 80% of them in graves. The extensive research already carried out has produced a vast body of literature, which generally keeps within strict chronological boundaries, concentrating on vessels from either the Roman Period, the Migration Period, or the Viking Age. Two main approaches to the material have traditionally been applied: 1) typo logical studies, on the basis of which trade connections and systems have been discussed from different theoretical perspectives, and 2) imports as status markers, from which hierarchical social systems of a general kind have been inferred. Only very rarely have their function as vessels attracted any serious consideration, and even more rarely their actual local context. After describing the vessels, the thesis studies their geographical distribution at a national level, establish ing broad import patterns in space and time, before relat ing them to a local context using parishes and farms. The status of the farms involved is then established, using farm names and written sources to allocate them to three main groups: A) farms associated with pagan religious activity; B) farms with early Christian churches, and C) farms with other first millennium or medieval centre func tions. Of 538 named farms with imported vessels, approxi mately 30-35% seem to fall into one of these three groups, about 25% are their closest neighbours, while another 25% are two or three farms removed, and only 15% cannot be related to such farms at all using the methodology adopted he r e . Finally, vessel use is considered in relation to finds context, gender association, and possible social and reli gious practices. It is suggested that vessels were im ported mainly because of their symbolic and social mean ing, and that their role as status markers was secondary to and dependent on this meaning. VESSEL IMPORT TO NORWAY IN THE FIRST MILLENNIUM A.D. Composition and Context. Errata: P. 10: 1. 3: read ’three and a half’ for ’3.5’; 1. 4: read ’Professor’ for ’professor’. P. 11: last paragraph, 1. 3: read ’A.D. 1-550/600’ for ’0-A.D. 550/600’; 1. 4: read ’(1-400)’ for ’(0-400)’. P. 12: first paragraph, 1. 3: read ’500-1 B.C.’ for ’500 B.C.-O’; paragraph 3, 1. 1: read ’500 - 1 B.C.’ for ’500 B.C. - O ’; 1. 2: read ’1 - 150 A.D.’ for ’0 - 150 A.D.’; paragraph 7, 1. 1: read ’1 - 50/70’ for ’0 - 50/70’. P. 19: footnote 1: read ’chs.’ for ’ch.’. P. 23: paragraph 3, 1. 9: read ’it as’ for ’it is’; 1. 10: read ’would’ for ’should’; footnote 1: read ’Slomann (I960)’ for ’Slomann’. P. 24: paragraph 3, 1. 10: read ’was’ for ’were’; last paragraph, 1. 1: read ’concordance’ for ’accordance’. P. 25: 1. 5: read ’a’ for ’the’. P. 30: The last paragraph should read: ’The purpose of the study is, therefore, to try and elucidate the background for the continuous import of vessels to Norway during the first millennium A.D., which farms participated in this trade, as well as their reasons for doing so, and whether the continuity of objects is matched by a continuity of context and destination.’ P. 34: last paragraph, 1. 2: read ’chs.’ for ’ch.’. P. 35: paragraph 2, 1. 1: read ’Library’ for ’library’; paragraph 3, 1. 3: read ’up to 1982’ for ’1982’; last paragraph, 1. 3: read ’affiliation’ for ’partition’. P. 42: paragraph 2, 1. 2: read ’be considered doubtful’ for ’be doubtful’; footnote 1: read ’M14 Sandar, C6 Vestfold’ for ’Sandar in C6 Vestfold’. P. 49: footnote 1: read ’Farm No. 102 Langset. Ml Trogstad, Cl 0stfold’ for ’102 Langset. Cl 0stfold’. P. 52: footnote 1: read ’M7 Borre, C6 Vestfold’ for ’C6Vestfold’. P. 57: The missing first line of the first paragraph should read: ’e. Both in the ElA and LIA there are undoubtedly imported specimens’ etc.; footnote 1: read ’M3 Sande’ for ’Sande’. P. 81: paragraph 2, 1. 3: read ’the present work’ for ’the work’. P. 83: paragraph 2, 1. 6, and all following instances : read ’King (+ name)’ for ’king (+ name)’. P. 85: paragraph 2 , 1. 5: read ’god(dess)’ for ’goddess’. P. 90: footnote 1, and all following instances: read ’the Good’ for’the good’. P. 103: paragraph 2, 1. 14 and 16: read ’(’C ’)’ for ’(C)’. P. 133: last paragraph, 1. 1: read ’King Gudrod and Queen Asa’ for ’king Gudrod and queen Asa’. P. 134: paragraph 4, 1. 1, and all following instances: read ’Earl (+ name)’ for ’earl (+ name)’. P. 135: paragraph 6, 1. 7: read ’Normandy’ for ’Normandie’. P. 136: paragraph 3, 1. 11: read ’the Great’ for ’the great’. P. 137: last paragraph, 1. 7: read ’Hâkonsson’s brother’ for ’Hâkonsson’s brother’. P. 139: paragraph 2, 1. 9, and all following instances: read ’Count Skule’ for ’count Skule’. P. 140: first paragraph, 1. 4 and 5: read ’Earl of’ for ’earl o f ’. P. 142: first paragraph, 1. 2: read ’been’ for ’be’. P. 144: paragraph 3, 1. 15: read ’the farm also went’ for ’the farm went’. P. 148: paragraph 2, 1. 1: read ’also became’ for ’became’. P. 150: paragraph 2, 1. 18: read ’hypothetical’ for ’hypo-thetical’. CONTENTS Page List of tables 7 List of figures 7 List of maps 7 List of farms from Map 4 7 List of plates 8 List of finds on plates 10-13 8 Sources for illustrations 9 Acknowledgements 9 Chapter 1. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND RESEARCH HISTORY 11 1.1 Short introduction to research problem 11 1.2 Scandinavian chronological terminology 11 1.3 General vessel research history 12 1.3.1 Research on vessel typology, chronology and provenance 12 1.3.2 Research on vessel trade and exchange patterns 13 1.3.2.1 Gift exchange 15 1.3.2.2 Other exchange mechanisms 16 Chapter 2. RESEARCH ON REASONS FOR VESSEL IMPORT 18 2.1 Status symbols 18 2.2 Drinking customs 21 2.3 Cooking vessels 23 2.4 Cinerary urns 23 2.5 Other reasons 24 Chapter 3. PURPOSE OF PRESENT STUDY 26 3.1 Choice of theoretical subject 27 3.2 Choice of practical subject 27 3.3 Choice of vessels in particular 29 Chapter 4. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH 31 4.1 Definition of imported vessels 32 4.2 Definition of area 33 4.3 Sources 34 4.4 Data manipulation 36 Chapter 5. BRONZE VESSELS 37 5.1 Celtic and Early Iron Age bronze vessels 37 5.1.1 CIA and EIA bronze cauldrons 38 5.1.2 EIA bronze buckets 39 5.1.3 EIA bronze basins/bowls 40 5.1.4 EIA bronze saucepans/ladles and strainers 41 5.2 Late Iron Age bronze vessels 41 5.2.1 LIA bronze cauldrons 42 5.2.2 LIA bronze bowls/basins 42 5.2.3 LIA bronze saucepans/ladles 43 5.2.4 Other LIA bronze vessels 43 5.3 Iron Age bronze vessels 43 Page Chapter 6. GLASS VESSELS 44 6.1 Early Iron Age glass vessels 44 6.1.1 Facet-decorated bowls and beakers 44 6.1.2 Other beakers and bowls 47 6.1.3 Other EIA glass vessels 50 6.2 Late Iron Age glass vessels 50 6.2.1 LIA drinking glasses 51 6.2.2 Other LIA glass vessels 53 6.3 lA glass vessels 53 Chapter 7. OTHER IMPORTED VESSELS 54 7.1 Pottery vessels 54 7.1.1 EIA pottery vessels 54 7.1.2 LIA pottery vessels 55 7.2 Wooden vessels 55 7.2.1 EIA wooden vessels 57 7.2.2 LIA wooden vessels 58 7.3 Horn vessels 58 7.3.1 EIA drinking horns 59 7.3.2 LIA drinking horns 59 7.4 Silver vessels 59 Chapter 8. GEOGRAPHICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF IMPORTED VESSELS 61 8.1 Bronze vessel distribution 61 8.1.1 EIA bronze vessel distribution 61 8.1.2 LIA bronze vessel distribution 62 8.2 Glass vessel distribution 63 8.2.1 EIA glass vessel distribution 63 8.2.2 LIA glass vessel distribution 64 8.3 Wooden vessel distribution 65 8.3.1 EIA wooden vessel distribution 65 8.3.2 LIA wooden vessels 66 8.4 Distribution of other vessels 67 8.4.1 Distribution of other EIA vessels 67 8.4.2 Distribution of other LIA vessels 67 8.5 Summary of vessel distribution 68 8.5.1 Summary of EIA vessel distribution 68 8.5.2 Summary of LIA vessel distribution 69 8.5.3 Vessel import per sub-period 70 Chapter 9. PARISH AND FARM DISTRIBUTION OF IMPORTED VESSELS 72 9.1 Parish distribution of imported vessels 72 9.1.1 Parish proportion with imported vessels 72 9.1.2 Parish continuity in vessel import 72 9.1.3 Vessel quantity per parish 73 9.2 Farm distribution of imported vessels 75 9.2.1 Farm distribution of imported vessels 76 9.2.2 Farm continuity in vessel use 77 9.2.3 Farm participation in vessel use 78 Page Chapter 10.