skre dagfinn by Project Excavation Series,Publication 2 Volume XXIII Oldfunn Norske Edited means of exchange

2 means of exchange system. weight-unit 978 87 7934 308 5 øre isbn ,!7II7H9-dedaif! within a commodity-money areas, trade took place within tight rural Oldfunn, Norske and in with Carolingian regions declined and After the mid-9th century, trade led the These studies demonstrate that urban communities like Kaupang been based mainly on silver currency has previously The study of Viking trade goods seem to have come to In the early 9th century, long-distance Aarhus University Press series in the Published History, of Cultural Museum of Oslo University measures. was easily convertible into Carolingian in trade with the Baltic. The greater supply Kaupang was more heavily involved via eastern Scandinavia, of Islamic of silver resulting from the importation, in most of Scandinavia of standardized weights coins, as well as the introduction the way for an increasing use of silver in pay- of probably Islamic origin, paved ment from then on. in Viking-age way in the development of means of payment and types of trade Scandinavia. In earlier times locally produced lead weights, and possibly also From c. 825 silver weighed using on a limited scale. The old Western coins, was used as currency and prices were social networks where economic agency was socially sanctioned of such net- fixed by tradition. Urban long-distance trade was less dependent openly to display works and therefore provided space for traders and craftsmen the urban environ- their economic agency. This development was encouraged by on numerous ment, which housed a non-food-producing population dependent on the econo- daily transactions to survive. By easing the traditional constraints contributed my and so allowing for economic expansion, the Viking towns culture and significantly to the fundamental transformation of Scandinavian society around the turn of the millennium. in the Viking-period town concerning the excavations This second volume in economic transactions: examines types of find used Kaupang in 1998–2003 Changes in the types and hacksilver, balances and weights. coins, silver ingots, in Scandinavia are discussed, transactions at Kaupang and volume of economic craftsmen and traders explored. thought-world of Viking-age and the economic study of the types of finds noted, in light hoards. In this volume, the integrated finds from sites such as Kaupang, sheds of the detailed chronology of settlement and exchange. completely new light upon economy world. In the earliest phase, transactions Kaupang mainly from the Carolingian payment were made using commodities as a Side 1 29/07/08 8:05 63076_om_kaupang_bind2_r1.qxd

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Means of Exchange Dealing with Silver in the

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Means of Exchange Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age Edited by Dagfinn Skre

Kaupang Excavation Project Publication Series, Volume 2

Norske Oldfunn XXIII

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Means of Exchange Dealing with SilverSilver in in the the Viking Viking Age Age Kaupang Excavation Project Project Publication Publication Series, Series, Volume Volume 2 2 Norske Oldfunn XXIIIXXIII

© Aarhus UniversityUniversity Press Press & the Kaupang ExcavationExcavation Project, Project, University University of of Oslo Oslo 2007 2007 Published as partpart of of the the series series Norske Norske Oldfunn, Oldfunn, Museum of Cultural History,History, UniversityUniversity of of Oslo Oslo English translation: JohnJohn Hines Hines Language revision: FrankFrank Azevedo, Azevedo, John John Hines Hines Technical editing: DagfinnDagfinn Skre Skre Map production: Julie K.K. ØhreØhre Askjem, Askjem, Anne Anne Engesveen Engesveen IllustrationIllustration editing: EliseElise Naumann, Naumann, Julie Julie K. K. Øhre Øhre Askjem Askjem Cover illustration: Coins,Coins, silver silver and and weights weights found found at at Kaupang. Kaupang. Photo, Eirik I. Johnsen,Johnsen, KHM KHM Graphic design, typesettingtypesetting and and cover: cover: Jørgen Jørgen Sparre Sparre Type: Minion and LinotypeLinotype Syntax Syntax E-bookPaper: PhoeniXmotion production:Production: Narayana Xantur, Press, 135 g Denmark Printed by Narayana Press, Denmark ISBNPrinted 978-87-7124-432-8 in Denmark 2008

CopyrightISBN 978-87-7934-308-5 maps: Contour distances 1 meter: The Muncipality of ContourCopyright distances maps: 5 metres: Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Autority Scandinavia,Contour distances Europe: 1 meter: ESRI The Muncipality of Larvik Contour distances 5 metres: Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Autority Scandinavia, Europe: ESRI

Weblinks were active when the book was printed. They may no longer be active

The University of Oslo wishes to thank the financial contributors to the Kaupang Excavation Project:

Ministry of the Environment The Anders Jahre Humanitarian Foundation

Ministry of Education and Research County Council

Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs The Municipality of Larvik

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Contents

1 Dagfinn Skre Introduction 9 1.1 Rethinking the substantivist approach 9 1.2 The present volume 10 1.3 Future volumes 11

2 Lars Pilø, Dagfinn Skre Introduction to the Site 13 2.1 Exploring Kaupang and Skiringssal 1771–1999 13 2.2.1 The cemeteries 14 2.1.2 The settlement 15 2.2 Fieldwork in the Kaupang settlement 1998-2003 17 2.2.1 Research questions 17 2.2.2 Overview 17 Surveys 17 Excavations 18 Method of excavation 18 2.2.3 Contexts 20 2.3 Investigations in Skiringssal 1999–2001 23 2.3.1 Fieldwork at Huseby 1999–2001 24 2.4 Main results 1998–2003 24

Part I: The Kaupang Finds 27

3 Mark Blackburn The Coin-finds 29 3.1 The coin-finds: discovery and context 30 3.1.1 The earlier finds, 1950–1974 30 3.1.2 The new finds, 1998–2003 30 3.2 The interpretation of site finds 34 3.2.1 The need to determine typical patterns of loss 35 3.2.2 A sample of single finds from Southern Scandinavia 36 3.2.3 Date of production versus date of loss 38 3.2.4 Changes in the currency in the early 10th century 39 3.2.5 Considering changes in the size of the coin-stock and the wastage rate 41 3.2.6 Are the hoards representative of the local currency? 43 3.2.7 Is the archaeological evidence from Birka inconsistent with the hoard evidence? 45 3.3 The Kaupang finds: their significance for the chronology of the site 47 3.3.1 The Islamic dirhams 47

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3.3.2 The 9th-century Western coins 56 3.3.3 The Roman, Merovingian and Byzantine coins 58 3.4 The spatial distribution within the site 62 3.5 Fragmentation, graffiti and other secondary treatment of the coins 63 3.5.1 Fragmentation 64 3.5.2 Whole coins and pendants 66 3.5.3 Bending and nicking 66 3.5.4 Graffiti 67 3.6 The coins found at Huseby 68 3.7 Summary and conclusions 69 Appendices: Data on which find histograms are based 72

4 Gert Rispling, Mark Blackburn and Kenneth Jonsson Catalogue of the Coins 75

5 Birgitta Hårdh Hacksilver and Ingots 95 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 The Kaupang silver finds of 1998–2002 96 5.3 Silver finds from Charlotte Blindheim’s excavations 1950–1974 97 5.4 Silver as currency 97 5.5 The hacksilver 99 5.5.1 Analysis of the hacksilver by weight 100 5.6 Ingots 103 5.6.1 The large Kaupang ingot 106 5.6.2 The small Kaupang ingots 107 5.6.3 A local production of ingots? 108 5.7 Spiral-striated rods 108 5.8 Fragmented jewellery 113 5.9 Hacksilver from well-dated contexts 114 5.10 Discussion 115 5.11 Summary 118

6 Unn Pedersen Weights and Balances 119 6.1 Graves and settlement – two different worlds? 120 6.1.1 Types of weight at Kaupang 121 6.1.2 Types of balance at Kaupang 126 6.1.3 Representativity 127 6.2 A radical change from the 9th to the 10th century? 130 6.2.1 The chronological distribution of weights in the settlement 130 6.2.2 Dating of the weight-types 131 6.2.3 A chronological change? 132 6.2.4 Two different groups of weights? 136 6.3 Weight-standard 138 6.3.1 Accuracy 138 6.3.2 Standards 140 6.3.3 The weight of well-preserved weights from the settlement 144 6.3.4 Punched-dot decoration on the weights from the settlement 148 6.4 The weights – function and meaning 155 6.4.1 The spatial distribution of weights in the settlement 155 6.4.2 Tools of trade 159 6.4.3 Weights and metalcasting 166 6.4.4 Weights and symbolic meaning 168 6.5 Summary 177 Appendices 179

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Part II: Silver, Trade and Towns 197

7 Christoph Kilger Kaupang from Afar: Aspects of the Interpretation of Dirham Finds in Northern and Eastern Europe between the Late 8th and Early 10th Centuries 199 7.1 Introduction 200 Dirham finds from Kaupang 201 The early Viking-period trading sites as dirham zones 205 The dominant 10th century 207 The questions 208 7.2 Phasing 208 A general summary of the finds 209 Geographical terminology 209 Methodological principles 210 7.3 The Caucasian link (Phase I, t.p.q. 770–790) 211 An inverted view of transit trade 211 Conclusions 214 7.4 The establishment of the dirham network in Eastern Europe (Phase II, t.p.q. 790–825) 214 The North African signature 215 The West Slav and Prussian dirham paradox 218 The early Gotlandic find-group 220 Conclusions 221 7.5 The establishment of the dirham network in the Baltic area (Phase III, t.p.q. 825–860) 221 The reduction of minting in the Caliphate 222 The Khazar imitations 224 Structural changes in the dirham hoards 225 The re-use of dirham silver 226 Conclusions 227 7.6 The Abbasid find-horizon after AD 860 (Phase IVa, t.p.q. 860–890) 228 The concept of a great silver crisis 230 Silver crisis or silver glut? 232 Dirham finds from the North-West of Europe 233 Conclusions 234 7.7 The Samanid find-period after AD 890 (Phase IVb, t.p.q. 890–920) 235 The Samanid transitional phase according to hoard-finds 235 The Samanid find-period in archaeological contexts 238 The dirham network in the Samanid silver period 239 Conclusions 240 7.8 The quantitative jump after c. 860 240 7.9 Final conclusions 242 The dirham finds from Kaupang revisited 243 Kaupang as a site for the handling and melting down of silver 245 7.10 Check list of dirham hoards found in Europe and the Caucasus region (t.p.q. 771–892) 247

8 Christoph Kilger Wholeness and Holiness: Counting,Weighing and Valuing Silver in the Early Viking Period 253 8.1 Introduction 254 The northern route, and three different concepts of silver as currency 254 Bridging disciplinary clefts 255 8.2 Exchange, money, and value 256 A singular world of chieftains and gifts 257 Means of exchange in non-monetized contexts 258 The exchange of values 259 Material and non-material aspects of monetary value 261 8.3 Coins and coinage around the North Sea 263 Counting seeds and coins – an Antique and medieval way of reckoning 264

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The use of silver coins in the Frankish realm 267 The Frankish commodity-money economy 270 Dorestad – a hub for coin silver in the North Sea region 271 “Give us this day our daily bread…” 272 The snake, the long-haired man, and the monster: the use of coin outside the Romano-Christian orbit 275 Conclusions 278 8.4 Traces of the eyrir-standard at Kaupang 279 Gold coins and the concept of aurar 280 Reckoning aurar according to the Early Scandinavian law-codes 282 Evidence of weighing practices in the Norwegian Merovingian Period 283 Weights with mounts and armrings with a cross 285 Looking for aurar in ring hoards 286 Dirhams as weights, and grivnas 288 ’s inalienable property: the stable and eternal gold ring 292 “Aurar-sites” in Southern Scandinavia 293 Verdaurar and vadmál – Commodity-money in Late Iron-age Scandinavia 296 Conclusions 297 8.5 Ertogs, pveiti and fragments 298 Two models of Early-medieval silver economy 299 Commerce and fragmentation in the Caliphate 301 Reflexes of the Islamic weight-system in Northern Europe 304 Weights with a copper-alloy shell and pseudo-Arabic characters 307 A new time of threat: the fragmentation of silver objects 309 One set and two systems of weights 312 Wholeness, holiness and dissolution 315 The early use of hacksilver around the North Sea and at Kaupang 318 Conclusions 320 8.6 Summary 321

9 Dagfinn Skre Post-substantivist Towns and Trade AD 600–1000 327 9.1 Substantivist emporia 329 9.2 Substantivist economics – some flaws 330 9.2.1 The economy of Norway c. 1000–1500 330 9.3 Post-substantivist economics 333 9.4 Typologizing sites of trade and craft 335 9.4.1 Hodges’s concept emporium 335 9.4.2 An alternative typology of sites 337 9.5 Kings and trade 338 9.6 The significance of long-distance trade 340

10 Dagfinn Skre Dealing with Silver: Economic Agency in South-Western Scandinavia AD 600–1000 343 10.1 Silver and sites AD 600–1000 344 10.1.1 Central-place markets before AD 700 344 10.1.2 Local and nodal markets in the 8th century 346 10.1.3 Towns in the 9th and 10th centuries 347 Western coins c. 800–840 347 Danish coins and fragmented silver c. 825–860 348 Islamic silver c. 860–890 351 Economic agency and commodity-money in towns 352 10.2 Production and long-distance trade AD 700–1000 352

Abbreviations 356 References 357 List of Authors 378

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Introduction 1

dagfinn skre

The first element in the place-name Kaupang is kaup, the word for ‘a deal’ or ‘trade’. As that word is incorporated into the name of the town, it is evident that striking deals and trading were cen- tral activities there, perhaps the dominant ones. But what sort of trade was it that was so characteristic of this town? Was it trade in exotic goods over the gunwales of Frisian merchant ships, or maybe in the houses of permanently settled traders? Was it the sale of foodstuffs, fuel and other necessities to the inhabitants of the town? Or was it trade in the jewellery, glass beads, weapons or tools which were produced by the various craftsmen in the town? And what did people pay with in a town which did not mint its own coins? Was payment made using foreign coin, or fragmented and weighed silver, or did people perhaps make payment in kind, at rates of exchange determined by tradition, as was common in Norway in the period 1000–1500? These questions, and others concerning Viking-period trade, are discussed in the present volume.

Archaeology’s ability to identify the places of produc- tant than their production (see Skre 2007b:16–18). tion and deposition of objects draws attention natu- The approach is rather a reflection of a new tendency rally to the movement of such objects through space. in archaeological and historical research, namely the In archaeological research into the Viking Period, dissolution of the dichotomy that has dominated the when the movement of goods rose to a higher level perception of economy and the exchange of goods than in any earlier time, the natural consequence is since the 1970s. In the tradition following Polanyi that trade has been attributed major significance (1944, 1957, 1963, 1968) a choice has had to be made amongst the explanations of material diffusion. This between a substantivist and a formalist approach to is thus one of the classic subjects for archaeological the economies of pre-industrial societies. Because of research of the Viking Period. the massive influence of social-anthropological re- In this book, however, the starting point for the search of the last 40 years or so, most archaeologists investigation of the phenomenon of trade is not the preoccupied with economy have opted for the for- goods that were traded. Studied here are the most mer. The substantivist position has also held a domi- important items that were used when payments in nant position in research into the inception of urban- silver were made (Chs. 3–6). In the final chapters in ization in Norway (e.g. Christophersen 1989a, 1991; the book (Chs. 7–10), this material is discussed in the Saunders 1995). context of certain general questions and theoretical When Polanyi introduced his substantivist ap- issues. These are outlined in what follows. proach, it provided two fundamentally new elements in relation to the dominant economic theory of the 1.1 Rethinking the substantivist approach time. In the first place, Polanyi saw long-distance By focusing on the items used to make payment, and trade as the root of market trade, in contrast to neo- by making trade the subject of this book, the editor is classical economists who believed that trade was not overlooking the significance of other forms of originally local and gradually expanded in scale. In exchange of goods, such as the payment of tribute, the second place, Polanyi considered that pre-indus- theft, and gift exchange. Likewise, as subsequent vol- trial societies were not subject to the classic economic umes in this series will show in full, there is no pre- laws concerning, for instance, the determination of sumption that the exchange of goods is more impor- prices according to supply and demand because all

1. skre: introduction 9

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their economic transactions were fundamentally em- The substantivist mode of thinking does not rec- bedded in social relations; therefore, production, ex- ognize the economy of prehistoric society as having change and consumption could never be independ- its own dynamics. Therefore, it locates all the causes ent of social control. The price of an item was fixed by of economic change outside of economic life itself, social conventions unaffected by supply and dem- and rather in changes in the social structures and and. (A summary of the position can be found in relations within which it considers the particular Kilger, this vol. Ch. 8:256–7; see also Skre, this vol. economy to be embedded. This substantivist mode of Ch. 9:328–33.) thinking has, for example, led scholars to identify The substantivist perspective has carried the socio-political (critically discussed in Skre, this vol. understanding of pre-industrial societies a long way Ch. 9), ideological or religious phenomena (critically forward. Its essential premiss, that the economic discussed in Skre 2007j:446–52) as the sole forces mechanisms of these societies functioned differently behind the expansion of the Western European econ- from those in modern society, superseded a rather omy in the period c. 600–1000. With that, they have simplistic back-projection of contemporary explana- more or less ignored the significance of the dynamic tory frameworks that characterized much of the power that is inherent in production and consump- archaeological literature of the 1960s and before tion as well as in trade. As several scholars have point- (Hodges 1999:227). From the 1970s onwards, it there- ed out in more recent years (e.g. Moreland 2000a, fore became difficult to write about the exchange of 2000b; Gustin 2004c; Sindbæk 2005), throughout goods in pre-industrial societies without including this period, and indeed earlier, we have to account gift exchange amongst the modes of distribution. for the fact that in Western and Northern Europe Scholars no longer took for granted that autonomous there was production of goods for sale, trade using merchants were a feature of the Scandinavian Iron silver or gold as forms of currency, the determination Age. of prices according to demand and supply, together As the substantivist approach became conven- with other economic phenomena which substan- tional, it became evident to some scholars that the tivists would characterise as market-economic. Also, view of prehistory as Other, to use Moreland’s term researchers who have not taken up an explicit posi- (2000b:2), had become over-dominant in relation to tion in relation to the substantivist–formalist split the formerly widely held idea of it as Same. Was it have, on empirical grounds, developed comparable really possible that people in pre-industrial societies approaches to the economies in this period (e.g. always exchanged goods free of self-interest and Clarke and Ambrosiani 1995; Verhulst 1999; Lebecq altruistically? One aspect of the substantivist ap- 2000; Näsman 2000; Callmer 2002; Verhulst 2002; proach, namely its neo-evolutionist mode of think- Ulmschneider and Pestell 2003). ing, eventually led it up a blind alley. In Polanyi’s own work the formulation of this model is often 1.2 The present volume more subtle than one finds is the case in the work of As already noted, two objectives have governed the some of his disciples (e.g. Service 1971; Sahlins 2004). structure of this book. The first of these is to publish Due to neo-evolutionist currents in Social Anthrop- empirical analyses of the media of exchange excavat- ology, Polanyi’s various forms of exchange became ed at Kaupang (Part I: The Kaupang Finds). The items linked to specific socio-political formations. Gift- that are linked with the making of payment and that exchange, for instance, was associated with primitive are presented and discussed in Chapters 3–6 are coins, societies, while market trade was associated with hacksilver, silver ingots of regulated weight, weights and modern society. balances. Naturally, most emphasis is placed upon In this way the understanding of prehistoric eco- the finds from Kaupang, but the authors incorporate nomy became stereotyped and governed by a model comparative material to be better able to identify and with little space for nuance and variation. Such uni- interpret the patterns and features of the media of versal, stadial models made it difficult to conceive exchange at Kaupang. that several forms of exchange could exist side-by- The second objective has been to discuss trade side in a community; if that could be entertained at and urbanization in the Late Iron Age and Early all, it was only in the form of marginal phenomena or Viking Period of South-Western Scandinavia from transitional situations between one period and both a theoretical and an empirical perspective (Part another. The economic life of the Viking Period, for II: Silver, Trade and Towns). Both an empirical and a instance, was readily treated as a transitional stage theoretical mode of developing an understanding of between the gift economy of the Iron Age and the prehistoric economy are explored along the lines later market economy (e.g. Samson 1991; Carelli outlined above. In this part of the book, attention is 2001). Stadial models of this kind are an obstacle to a moved to a wider perspective than Kaupang alone, to full grasp of the complexity and dynamism of prehis- encompass a Scandinavian view. In Chapter 7, the toric economy; moreover, they blur regional and chronology of the importation of dirhams to Scan- chronological variation. dinavia is discussed, while in Chapter 8 the funda-

10 means of exchange

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mental structures of thought that underlay the vari- the contributors harmonize their conclusions but ous uses of silver as a form of currency from the pre- rather, that they should take account of each others’ Viking centuries down to the end of the 1st millenni- conclusions, let them inspire their own discussions um are examined. In Chapter 9, an alternative ap- and arguments, and point out disagreements. While proach, the post-substantivist approach, to prehistoric the editor has taken care that there should not be any economy is developed, while the various categories of inconsistencies between the chapters in respect of specialized sites in Scandinavia concerned with craft empirical information about the finds from Kaup- and trade in the period c. AD 600–1000 are analysed ang, no attempt has been made to harmonize the var- and typologized. Finally, Chapter 10 contains a dis- ious authors’ methods and views. Thus the reader cussion of currency and economy agency in connex- will find that Blackburn, for instance (Ch. 3:41), in ion with the various types of specialized sites for craft assessing the factors which influence the composi- and trade. tion of the currency, places a confidence in the This emphasis on both empirical analysis and “wastage model” that Kilger does not share (Ch. theoretical discussion is based upon a firm convic- 7:210–11). The reader will also find both parallels and tion that both approaches are of equal value in the some clear disagreements between Kilger’s conclu- enterprise of understanding the distant past. There is sions in Chapter 8 concerning the development of a major difference between these two, in that while currencies and Skre’s conclusions presented in empirical analyses do not need an explicit theoretical Chapter 10. It is hoped that the reader will agree that basis to produce crucial and valuable contributions, such disagreements add to the interest and stimula- it is only when theoretical reflections are applied to a tion this book offers. body of empirical data that such analyses can con- tribute to a concrete understanding of the past. Con- 1.3 Future volumes sequently, the value of the post-substantivist ap- Since the publication of Volume 1, the schedule of proach to the understanding of prehistoric economy publication that was presented in that volume has developed in Chapter 9 stands or falls by the results been modified (Skre 2007b:16–18). The projected that are produced through its encounter with the Volume 6 (referred to in Vol. 1 as Skre, in prep.) has empirical material as attempted in Chapter 10. been removed from the schedule and the material The work on the various chapters in this volume intended for it has been redistributed to the current has only partly been undertaken concurrently. As far volume (Skre, this vol. Chs. 9 and 10) and the forth- as possible, however, the drafts were circulated coming Volume 3. amongst the authors. It has not been the aim to make

1. skre: introduction 11

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Introduction to the Site 2

lars pilø, dagfinn skre

To make full use of this book, it will help the reader to know the most important results of the work at Kaupang. A comprehensive account of the results of the archaeological excavations and recording undertaken there from 1998 to 2003 has been published in volume 1 of this series (Skre 2007a). Also found there are summaries of the previous excavations and research findings, with references to earlier publica- tions. In that volume, Kaupang is additionally set into its local context of Skiringssal, and its relationship with south-western Scandinavia more widely is outlined. The main emphasis in what follows falls upon a description of the archaeological contexts of the artefactual finds from the fieldwork of 1998–2003. The fieldwork of those years was the first stage of the Kaupang Excavation Project, which has been directed from the University of Oslo – also with the financial support of those institutions listed on the colophon page of this volume. In 1998–1999 only surveys and minor trial excavations were carried out. A major excavation of 1,100 sq m was carried out in the settlement area of Kaupang from 2000–2002, in addi- tion to several minor excavations. From 1999 to 2001 the project undertook survey work and excavations at the neighbouring farmstead to Kaupang, Huseby. Finally a small investigation was undertaken of the har- bour sediments of Kaupang in 2003. In 2003 the second stage of the project also got underway, with a group consisting of thirty scholars from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany working on Kaupang and Skiringssal. Besides the publication of the results of the excavations themselves (included in Skre 2007a), the aim of this phase of the project has been to publish the most significant aspects of the artefactual finds, to pick up some of the most important questions posed by the finds and the results of the excavations, to construct a comprehensive picture of Kaupang and Skiringssal, and to place Kaupang in its contexts of Scandinavia and the North Sea region. A conspectus of the studies that are in preparation can be found in Skre 2007b:18. The present volume is one outcome of the work of these specialists. It is not the aim of the project how- ever to publish the artefactual finds in their entirety; the material is available in its entirety to any interested scholar. An overview of the finds can be found in Pedersen and Pilø 2007:180–4.

2.1 Exploring Kaupang and Skiringssal 1771–1999 been a temple at Skiringssal, and that the , The study of Skiringssal in the 19th century was the legendary royal dynasty of Norway, had had their shaped by the gradual adoption and examination of royal homestead there. The name Skiringssal was no new sources (Skre 2007c). The antiquarian and tex- longer extant in the time of Munthe, but in two let- tual sources were first collected by the cartographer ters from the early 15th century he found it in use. It and antiquarian Gerhard Munthe in 1838, and the then designated parts of Tjølling parish in the far location of Skiringssal was established by his work. south-east of Vestfold. Munthe visited the place and Munthe concluded that the Sciringes heal that is down by the sea he found hundreds of barrows at the referred to in Ohthere’s travelogue of c. AD 890 was farm of Kaupang. Munthe concluded that both the the same Skiringssal that was named in of the name of the farm, which means “market place”, and early 13th century and in from c. AD 900 the good harbourage at the site, were evidence that (Skre 2007h). These sources indicated that there had this was where Ohthere’s port, the trading site he had

2. pilø, skre: introduction to the site 13

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Helgefjell Vítrir / Vettrir

Þjóðalyng

Huseby

Kaupang

visited on one of his journeys, had lain. In 1850 the Figure 2.1 The most important elements in the Skiringssal historian P. A. Munch put Munthe’s results into a central-place complex as they are identified in Skre 2007a. wider Dano-Norwegian context, and went further in Kaupang is the urban settlement surrounded by cemeteries. linking the site to the legendary royal dynasty of The northernmost cemetery, excavated by Nicolaysen in Norway, the Ynglings. 1867, was located by the main road which led to and from Kaupang. This cemetery was probably where the petty kings 2.2.1 The cemeteries of Skiringssal and their followers were buried. One kilome- The plea for archaeological work at Skiringssal made tre along this road from Kaupang, at the farm of Huseby, by Munthe and Munch was taken up by Nicolay the remains of a Viking-period hall were excavated in Nicolaysen, the first Norwegian field archaeologist. 2000–2001, probably the hall that gave Skiringssal its name. In 1867 he made Skiringssal his first major archaeo- The road is likely to have continued further north to the logical project. He excavated 79 barrows at Kaupang, site of Qjóealyng. Just north of the assembly site was 71 of them in what appeared to be the main cemetery the lake Vítrir/Vettrir, whose name indicates that it was called Nordre Kaupang (Fig. 2.2). All graves from this considered sacred. On the south-eastern shore of the lake lies cemetery are cremations. Nicolaysen employed local the small but distinct hill called Helgefjell. This name also workmen, and this affected the quality of the excava- denotes a sacred location. tion. The workers found a large number of small Settlement area is marked in yellow, cemetries in red, artefacts, such as weights, but we have to assume that known barrows in black. The level shown for the lake is its some nevertheless went missing, and that the grave assumed original level. The sea-level shown has been raised assemblies from the excavation of 1867 are probably 3.5 m from today’s level to show its level in the early Viking incomplete. Age. Illustration, Anne Engesveen. With Charlotte Blindheim’s excavations of buri- als and settlement remains at Kaupang from 1950 to

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1974 there was a new surge in Skiringssal research. It probably indicates that the cemeteries at Kaupang was Blindheim who revealed the remains of the stopped being used regularly for burials somewhat urban site at Kaupang and retrieved a significant col- before this time. Thus the apparently equal numbers lection of archaeological finds which provided a basis of 9th- and 10th-century graves really conceal a much for dating the site and for assessing the craft, trade higher burial frequency in the later period. The bar- and connexions evident there. row cemetery at Nordre Kaupang is distinguished by Blindheim discovered the cemetery of Bikjhol- having a clear majority of graves from the first half of berget, consisting entirely of flat graves except for the 10th century. one small mound. The original number of graves To avoid the confusion resulting from the many there is assumed to have been around 160 (Stylegar different numbering systems that different excava- 2007:77). In the years 1950–7 Blindheim excavated 74 tors have applied to the Kaupang graves, a new series of these. Forty-eight of these burials were in boats – of numbers, each starting with Ka., has been allocat- 33 boats in all. Thus several boats had more than one ed in the complete catalogue of excavated graves body in them; in two instances, four. Both the large published by Stylegar (2007:103–28). This catalogue number of boat-graves and the fact that all of the provides cross-references to all earlier numbering burials were inhumations makes Bikjholberget dif- systems. In the present publication all references to ferent from all other cemeteries in the Oslofjord area. graves use Stylegar’s numbering. For reference to a The graves at Bikjholberget were also more richly specific artefact within a grave a letter is added to the furnished than those at Nordre Kaupang, and the number, the same letter as in the original catalogue. amount of imported material was higher. Blindheim therefore drew the conclusion that Bikjholberget was 2.1.2 The settlement the merchants’ cemetery; the site where the traders of Prior to 1956 there had been no reported finds from Kaupang were buried. Her excavation technique was the settlement area. (This section is based on Pilø more careful than Nicolaysen’s, and her excavation 2007a.) In 1956 Blindheim started excavations in team better qualified. The ratio of grave goods re- what was later seen to be the northern part of the set- trieved was presumably greater as a result. However, tlement area, and excavations continued here on as was normal at that time, the fill was not sieved. almost an annual basis until 1967, leading cumula- Thus some smaller objects may have been lost. Many tively to the excavation of a site of 1,350 sq m. A few of the graves were disturbed by later burials, but in minor excavations were conducted in other parts of some areas the stratigraphical relationships were the settlement area until 1984. The settlement excava- extremely complicated. In consequence, the associa- tions up to that year were published in full by Roar L. tion of some objects with specific graves can be un- Tollnes (1998). These excavations documented struc- certain. tures that at the time were interpreted as the remains A total number of 204 graves and stray finds that of houses, wells and jetties. In light of the more recent probably derive from graves are known from the excavations however, those interpretations can now Kaupang cemeteries. If one includes the empty bar- be questioned (Pilø 2007a). The main change is that rows and barrows containing nothing but layers or the structures interpreted as houses are now consid- patches of charcoal, the number of excavated graves ered to represent fences and stone foundations and is 237. If one includes unexcavated burial mounds, supports at the lower ends of plots. Thousands of 407 graves (i.e. buried individuals) can be document- artefacts were recovered, including large quantities of ed – assuming that the unexcavated mounds contain imported material from most of northern Europe one grave each. Based on various types of informa- and from the Middle East. tion a total of 700 graves can be estimated in all For the times, the excavations of 1956–1984 were (Stylegar 2007:77). However, there is no doubt that methodologically well conducted. The deposits were this number is still an underestimate. Many flat removed in spits and squares. An overall system of 2 x graves are probably still undetected, and a large num- 2 m squares was employed. Spits were 10 cm thick. ber of graves have been removed over the centuries No, or very little sieving, took place, as was the cus- without any finds from them being brought to any tom at the time. The cultural deposits were generally museum. The actual number of graves within the termed “black earth” even though their colour and Kaupang complex could have been about a thou- composition varied. Little emphasis was placed on sand, as suggested by Blindheim (et al. 1981:65; 1999: stratigraphy. Since the deposits were removed in 153–4). spits, it is now impossible, except in a few cases, to Of the 204 known burials from Kaupang, 116 con- relate specific artefacts with certainty to the stratified tain closely datable artefacts. The first burials seem to layers documented in section drawings or photo- have taken place around AD 800. Overall, there is a graphs. For a more detailed presentation and evalua- slight preponderance of burials of the first half of the tion of the evidence from the settlement area prior to 10th century as compared to the 9th. The general lack 1998, see Pilø 2007a. of burials with artefact-types dated to after c. AD 950

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Blindheim excavations 1950-57

Blindheim excavations 1956-67, 1970, 1974

MRE excavations 2000-2002

Non-excavated barrow

Excavated barrow

Cemetery

Settlement area

Area with plot-division

Bjønnes

Nordre Kaupang

Hagejordet

Bikjholberget

Lamøya

Søndre Kaupang Vikingholmen

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Figure 2.2 Settlements, cemeteries and single barrows in the Kaupang area. Map, Anne Engesveen.

2.2 Fieldwork in the Kaupang settlement main project period, which included a series of exca- 1998-2003 vations in addition to continuing surveys. Geo- In the spring of 1998 the preparations began for the physical mapping was also undertaken. excavations that would eventually take place from 2000 to 2003. Field surveys were undertaken every Surveys year from 1998 to 2002. Prior to 1998 excavations had only taken place in the northern part of the settlement area, and no system- 2.2.1 Research questions atic surveys of the entire settlement area had been The principal questions behind the fieldwork relate undertaken. Very little was known about other parts to two key topics (Skre 2007d): the debate over the of the settlement. Thus the surveys were designed to first urban sites in Scandinavia – of which Kaupang collect archaeological data over large parts of the set- appears to be an example; and the debate surround- tlement area. ing the central places of Scandinavia in the first mil- The field surveys have led to the collection of lennium AD – of which Skiringssal appears to be one 4,336 artefacts from the settlement area: 1,940 from (see below). fieldwalking and 2,396 by metal detection. The total The principal objective of the excavations area covered by the field surveys at Kaupang is planned at Kaupang was to decide whether Kaupang approximately 62,500 sq m, most of which has been was one of the many seasonal market sites of this time surveyed several times, both through fieldwalking or one of the very few towns established in the early and metal detecting. The total fieldwalked area is Viking Period. With reference to the general objec- 60,000 sq m, while the total metal-detected area is tives, the following five concrete research questions 46,500 sq m. were defined as those that the fieldwork aimed to The problem of displacement of artefacts due to investigate: ploughing and erosion in the slopes towards the Kaupang inlet was obvious even before the surveys • The character of the settlement – seasonal or started. Thus it is no longer possible to gain informa- year-round tion on the location of activities based on the arte- • The layout of the settlement – possible plots, facts recovered from the ploughsoil, apart from on lanes, grouped buildings, open spaces the central plateau. Even so the artefacts recovered • Building-types have yielded important new evidence on the dating • The location and character of various forms of and the extent of the site as well as on the character of activity – trade, craft production, etc. activities that took place there. • The dating of the settlement, and possible Only iron objects were not recorded during metal changes in its activities and character detecting – unless they could be identified by the archaeologists as dating to the Viking Age. During 2.2.2 Overview fieldwalking all materials were collected except non- The fieldwork at Kaupang from 1998 to 2003 (de- tool flint, bone and iron (unless artefacts dating to scribed in Pilø 2007b) fell into two parts, with 1998– the Viking Age could be identified). 1999 as a pilot project period, which included surveys and limited trial trenching, and 2000–2003 being the

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