Contents

Preface ...... 9

Chapter 1 The Thy Archaeological Project ...... 13 Introduction 13 Pollen analysis 13 Field surveys 14 Survey ndings 14 Sites 15 Developments in population density 18 Site distribution 18 Early Bronze Age sites at Sønderhå 19

Chapter 2 Thy and the outside world in the Bronze Age ...... 25 The setting 25 The Bronze Age farmstead 33 Economy 55 Along and across the North Sea 64 Land-use in a changing environment 66 Bronze Age contacts in the North Sea region 67 Trade and shipping 83 Thy and the world around: Some conclusions 86 Cumulative probability distributions – what can they tell us? 90

Chapter 3 The rise and fall of Bronze Age societies in Thy, northwest Jutland ...... 107 Introduction: Theoretical model 107 The formation of a barrow landscape in 1500-1100 BC: Social and economic implications 108 The construction of farms and the domestic economy 114 The social organisation of society and the political economy 118 Conclusion: The tragedy of commoners 126 Chapter 4 Bronze Age houses in Thy ...... 133 Introduction 133 Distribution and date 133 Size and proportions of houses 135 Habitation units with a hearth and cooking pits 138 Habitation units as ‘modules’ in house construction 140 General traits in Bronze Age house construction in Thy 143 Identical house plans 146

Chapter 5 Bronze Age farms in Thy ...... 153 Introduction 153 Examples of possible Bronze Age farms 153 Outdoor working areas 158 Conclusion 158

Chapter 6 Animal pens at Bronze Age settlements in Thy: Ditches and post-built fences ...... 161 Introduction 161 Fences made of poles with thorns and other brushwood 175 Conclusion 176 Catalogue of enclosures and ditches in Thy 177

Chapter 7 Topography: The origin of the landscape in Thy and Vester Hanherred, processes and sediments ...... 185 Mapping of the earlier geological formations 185 The Quaternary 186 The last 10,000 years – the Holocene 188 Radiocarbon dating of marine deposits in northern Thy 190

Chapter 8 Pollen analyses from lake, eld and beach-ridge deposits in the vicinity of the Bronze Age settlement at Bjerre Enge, Thy...... 193 Introduction 193 Pollen analyses from Bjerre Sø 194 Pollen analyses from a hollow by an arable eld at Bjerre 4 204 Palaeoecological studies of beach-ridge deposits to the east of the settlement area 207 The in!uence of the Bjerre settlement on the development of the vegetation and the landscape 214 The contribution of the Bjerre studies to the vegetation history of Thy 217 Conclusions 218 Chapter 9 Pollen analyses from the Bjerre area ...... 223 Analyses 223 Bronze Age vegetation at Bjerre based on pollen analysis 230

Chapter 10 Resource problems in a treeless cultural landscape ...... 231 Introduction 231 Previous investigations 231 Investigations of the building timbers 231 Analyses of charcoal from Bjerre 6 and Bjerre 7 236 Other charcoal identications 239 Discussion 239 Conclusion 248

About radiocarbon dates in appendices A-D ...... 251 Appendix A ...... 252 Appendix B...... 264 Appendix C ...... 270 Appendix D ...... 278 Contents

Chapter 11 Bjerre Enge – landscape, environment and settlement during the Bronze Age ...... 11 Between land and sea 11 Bjerre Sø and Bjerre Enge 13 The timeframe for settlement at Bjerre Enge 17 Stratigraphy and sand drift 17 Peat formation and paludication at Bjerre Enge around 800 BC 21 Bronze Age settlement at Bjerre Enge 24 Traces of cultivation at Bjerre Enge 33 Bronze Age settlement at Bjerre Enge: habitation area, territory and resource areas 36 Burial mounds and settlement at Bjerre Enge 37 Bjerre in a regional perspective 41 Conclusion 47

Chapter 12 Bjerre 2 ...... 55 Houses and associated structures 57 Post structures and ditches at Bjerre 2 71 Ard marks and cattle hoof prints 75 Settlement structure 76

Chapter 13 Bjerre 3 ...... 79 History 79 Topography and stratigraphy 79 State of preservation. 80 Excavation strategy 80 Houses 81 Other culture layers at Bjerre 3 87 Other structures at Bjerre 3 87 Flint workshops at Bjerre 3 87 Chapter 14 Bjerre 6 ...... 89 Introduction 89 Houses and other structures 93 Midden area 106 Features outside the houses 107 Settlement structure 107

Chapter 15 Bjerre 7 ...... 111 Introduction 111 Ard marks at the top of the culture layer 117 Structures below upper ard marks 118 Ard marks beneath the settlement 129 Settlement structure 130

Chapter 16 Bjerre 4 – settlement, cemetery and eld system ...... 133 Introduction 133 Bjerre 4A 134 Bjerre 4B 138 The eld system 138 Conclusion 148

Chapter 17 Results from trial excavations in Bjerre Enge ...... 151 Bjerre 1 151 Bjerre 5A, 5B and 5C 155 Bjerre 8 and 9 157 Bjerre 10A-B and 11 158 Bjerre 12 159 Bjerre 13 159 Bjerre 14 160 Bjerre 15 160

Chapter 18 Pottery from the Early and Late Bronze Age, Bjerre 1-13 ...... 161 The Early and Late Bronze Age pottery from Bjerre 167 Technical observations, Early Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age 171 Vessel forms 176 Vessel forms from the Early Bronze Age 178 Vessel forms in the Late Bronze Age 205 Distribution of Early and Late Bronze Age vessels 221 Use of vessels in the Early Bronze Age 235 Conclusion 240 Catalogue of pottery from Bjerre illustrated by drawings in chapter 18 245 Bjerre 1 245 Bjerre 2 245 Bjerre 3 247 Bjerre 4A 248 Bjerre 6 249 Bjerre 7 251 Bjerre 8 253 Bjerre miscellaneous 253

Chapter 19 On the provenance of the pottery from Bjerre ...... 255 Introduction 255 Sample preparation and measuring technique 256 Comparison with regional sites – Sundby, Legaard and Egshvile 262

Chapter 20 The use of pottery vessels ...... 265 Introduction 265 Sampling 266 Analytical techniques 267 Methods 267 Interpretation 269 Results 269 Discussion 270

Chapter 21 Bronze Age !int-working at Bjerre, Thy ...... 281 Introduction 281 Typological prole 284 Non-!int stone tool inventory 303 Technological prole – the Early Bronze Age inventories 307 Technological prole – Late Bronze Age Bjerre 7 320 Raw material economy 322 Find context and spatial patterning 336 Discussion 338

Chapter 22 Functional analysis of stone tools from Early Bronze Age Bjerre ...... 349 Introduction 349 The archaeological assemblage 349 Methodology 353 Results of the analyses and discussion 354 Conclusions and applications 361 Chapter 23 Blade knives and strike-a-lights from Bjerre 7: A functional study of two special implements ...... 365 Background 365 Retouched blade knives 365 Strike-a-lights 369 Concluding remarks 371

Chapter 24 Amber nds from the Bronze Age of Thy ...... 375 Introduction 375 Bjerre 6, an Early Bronze Age house 375 Bjerre 7, a Late Bronze Age house 378 Other Bronze Age sites with amber nds 381 Amber collection and export during the Bronze Age of Thy 382 Conclusion 383 How much amber? 385

Chapter 25 Bronze Age agriculture, land use and vegetation at Bjerre Enge based on the results of archaeobotanical analyses ...... 387 Introduction 387 Plant macrofossil analysis 388 A comparison of the Bjerre sites 403 Conclusion 408 Tables 412

Chapter 26 Were the Bronze Age elds at Bjerre 4 manured? ...... 459 Introduction 459 Fieldwork and analytical methods 459 Results 462 Discussion 462 Conclusion 467

Chapter 27 Bronze Age animal husbandry: The faunal remains from Bjerre Enge ...... 469 Introduction 469 The material 469 Cattle bones 470 Bones of other domesticated animals 471 Game mammals 472 Summary and discussion 472 Chapter 28 The Bronze Age Settlement at Aas, eastern Thy, Denmark ...... 477 Background 477 Topography 477 Archaeological history 477 The settlement structure at Aas 478 From Aas to eastern Thy – an attempt to test the models from Aas 495

Chapter 29 Legaard ...... 505 Introduction 505 History 505 Topography 506 Research strategy 506 The Bronze Age settlement 508 Discussion 518 Conclusion 528 Legaard house III 531 Sønderhå 5 – THY 2788 534

Chapter 30 Early Bronze Age pottery from Legaard ...... 539 Diagnostic sherds – Early Bronze Age 539 Vessel forms, sizes and type identications 541 Dating with the aid of sherds 544 Vessel usage 545 Conclusion 546

Chapter 31 Archaeobotanical investigations based on charred material from Legaard ...... 549 Introduction 549 Results 554 Conclusions 556 Summary 557

Chapter 32 Klostergård ...... 559 Two-aisled houses 560 Three-aisled houses 563 Parallels to the houses at Klostergård 568 Animal pens and enclosures 570 Ditches and dykes 574 Stone pile N501 575 The settlement at Klostergård 575