The History of Archaeological Research in North East Greenland : Putting the Geoark Project Into Perspective

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The history of archaeological research in North East Greenland : putting the GeoArk Project into perspective

Dette materiale er lagret i henhold til aftale mellem DBC og udgiveren. www.dbc.dk e-mail: [email protected] OF GEO L G A R N A The History of Archaeological Research in North R P

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1 East Greenland: Putting the GeoArk Project into S I 0

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D Perspective

Bjarne Grønnow

Abstract Starting with a brief presentation of the GeoArk Project and its Keywords goals, this paper focuses on the archaeological research history North East Greenland, archaeology, research history, Thule culture, of North East Greenland, in particular the area of Sabine Ø and sites, monuments. Clavering Ø, in order to view the current project in a wider con- text. The paper questions the myths about the ‘virgin’ land and it Bjarne Grønnow demonstrates how a number of expeditions, activities of professional SILA – Arctic Centre at the Ethnographic Collections, The National hunters and trappers, and geopolitical matters in dispute between Museum of Denmark Denmark and Norway during the 1930s dramatically determined the E-mail: [email protected] quite ill fortune of the archaeological sites and monuments of the Thule culture in the study area. Geografisk Tidsskrift Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):117-129, 2010

Introduction proach of the GeoArk Project is in line with the tradition of research in this high arctic region. North East Greenland is wrapped in myths. This vast region The priorities of the fieldwork of GeoArk were highly is even today considered as representing the archetypical influenced by the state of preservation of the prehistoric arctic wilderness of rugged mountains, glaciers, and ice sites and monuments in our study area around the Sabine covered fjords hidden behind drift ice. Current natural sci- Ø, Wollaston Forland, and Clavering Ø area (Figure 1). As ences are presenting North East Greenland (NE Greenland) it appears from the present paper, earlier archaeological as a ‘virgin’ environment – as close as you can get on activities in the area have in fact destroyed important parts this planet to an ecosystem untouched by human beings of the sources, in particular all winter houses and graves (Meltofte et al., 2008). Archaeology also has its myths of the Thule culture. Nevertheless, it was possible to make concerning NE Greenland: Helge Larsen’s excavations in new discoveries and to gain new insights into the life, the Dødemandsbugten (Dead Man’s Bay) (Larsen, 1934) stand life conditions and cultural history of NE Greenland. out as a beachhead in an otherwise unexplored region of the archaeological map of Greenland. However, working within the International Polar Year project, GeoArk, during The GeoArk Project and the Thule culture sites the last five years, we have of course realized that there is a gap between myths and realities concerning NE Greenland. The GeoArk Project was established on the initiative of the In order to evaluate the achievements of GeoArk it is geographer Bjarne Holm Jakobsen in 2003 as an interdis- important to view the project in relation to the research ciplinary research program exploring the dynamics of high history of NE Greenland. The issues raised by the current arctic environments and the cultural adaptations and re- project are based partly on some ‘classic’ questions posed source utility strategies applied by the prehistoric societies by the early explorers of this remote region – e.g, why in NE Greenland. Initiated by two pilot projects (2003 and did the native Northeast Greenlanders disappear? – and 2005) in the Sabine Ø, Wollaston Foreland and Clavering partly based on topics emanating from the current debate Ø area, GeoArk became an International Polar Year project on climate change. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary ap- during the years 2007 – 2009 under the umbrella of IPY

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) 117 Figure 1: Map showing the Clavering Ø and Sabine Ø area with sites and place names mentioned in the text. 41: Fladstrand; 42: Eskimovig; 43: Båd- sted; 45-47: Dødemandsbugten; 78: Blåklokkenæs; 95: Germania Havn; 96: Hvalros Ø. Drawing: Jørn Bjarke Torp Pedersen.

project #6: Dynamic Social Strategies in Arctic Environ- • Which environmental and cultural preconditions fa- ments (Sørensen & Andreasen, 2006; Jensen et al., 2008; voured the initial Thule culture colonization of high Kroon et al., 2009; Sørensen et al., 2009). arctic Greenland during the first part of the 1400s AD The GeoArk Project is based on collaboration between after probably more than 1500 years of desolation? the National Museum of Denmark, the Greenland National • Which factors, including environmental and/or external Museum and Archives and the University of Copenhagen. cultural changes like European commercial whaling GeoArk has conducted geomorphological and palaeo-cli- and sealing, and native cultural strategies triggered the matological studies, and surveyed and investigated Palaeo- abandonment of NE Greenland during the first half of eskimo as well as Thule culture and historical sites in the the 19th century? study area. On the archaeological side the main topic has • Which were the key game species of the Thule culture been to investigate the era during which the Thule cul- and how were their distribution and availability linked ture Inuit migrated into and settled in NE Greenland from to climate fluctuations, sea ice conditions, snow cover- about 1400 AD to 1823 AD. The year 1823 was the year age on land, and other dynamic environmental factors? that European explorers for the first – and the last – time • Did the annual hunting cycle and hunting strategies encountered a native population in this part of the country change throughout the Thule period in the study area? (Clavering, 1830). • In which way and at which time did regional climatic GeoArk involves researchers from the humanities (ar- changes – primarily in temperature, precipitation and chaeology and history) and natural sciences (geography, wind regimes – determine substantial changes in snow archaeozoology)1. The team has collaborated across disci- and ice coverage, ice margins and open water areas plinary borders in order to elucidate a number of questions: (polynyas) during the Thule era?

118 Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) study area, only two could with certainty be classified as ‘intact’, and out of an estimated number of 200 stone built Thule graves only one was untouched. On the other hand, features with few and unspectacular finds like tent rings and meat caches had ‘survived’ late 19th and early 20th century exploration, and the same goes for inconspicuous Palaeo- eskimo features and stone artefacts, which were unknown to explorers and archaeologists until the mid 20th century. Surveying the many Thule sites during our fieldwork we gradually realised that the Thule culture sites and monuments in ‘virgin’ NE Greenland had been more or less destroyed by our former ‘colleagues’. The GeoArk team added several hitherto unknown Thule ‘warm season’ sites Figure 2: The GeoArk team at Kap Breusing, Clavering Ø, summer to the archaeological record thus providing a new under- 2007. From left to right: Bjarne Holm Jakobsen, Jens Fog Jensen, standing of the settlement pattern and resource exploitation Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen, Aart Kroon and Morten Meldgaard. Photo: in the area (Gotfredsen, 2010; Sørensen, 2010). However, Bjarne Grønnow. contrary to expectations, the team did not discover a single Thule winter site or hardly any burial, which had not been located already and excavated (or looted) a century or several decades ago. • How are these critical and often non-linear environmen- We must turn our attention to the history of exploration tal changes – including sea level changes – connected and geopolitics in order to understand how a cultural re- to the overall Holocene climatic changes as they can be source like the Thule archaeological heritage of NE Green- deduced from the Greenland ice cores and deep ocean land became exhausted to a degree that, to my knowledge, sediments? is unparalleled in other parts of Greenland.

With logistic support from the Zackenberg Ecological Research Organization and The Sirius Patrol the GeoArk Clavering and the last North East Greenlanders team undertook two field seasons (2007 – 2008) combining archaeological surveys, excavations, geomorphological in- It is no coincidence that the famous encounter, in 1823, vestigations and sampling of sediments in lakes and in near between the British Captain Clavering and the few remain- coastal zones (Figure 2). This provided a comprehensive ing indigenous NE Greenlanders took place at 74 degrees body of data for analyses. As it appears from the papers by northern latitude (Sabine, 1825; Clavering, 1830; Mik- GeoArk team members in the present volume, the project kelsen, 1922; Gulløv, 2009). Here a recurring opening in has already provided important contributions to answering the sea ice, the Sirius Water Polynya (Kaufmann, 2009; the questions posed. Pedersen et al., 2010; Grønnow et al., in press) forms a Several surveys and excavations of prehistoric sites had rare entrance for sea going vessels to the coasts of central previously been carried out in NE Greenland during the NE Greenland (Nathorst, 1900: 85 ff.). The Sirius Water first half of the 20th century. Thus, a rich material consisting stretches from Shannon Ø via Lille Pendulum to Hvalros Ø of publications, archival material and thousands of finds (Walrus Island) and Sabine Ø with leads opening towards stored in the National Museums of Denmark and Greenland south to Wollaston Forland and Clavering Ø (Figure 1). formed our starting point. Expectations were high when On his boat trip from the anchorage off Sabine Ø along GeoArk embarked on the first professional archaeologi- the coasts of Wollaston Forland, captain Clavering and his cal investigation for over six decades in this central part crew discovered fresh tracks of the native population in of NE Greenland. The prospects of finding a number of the shape of stone built caches full of blubber and graves. unknown and intact sites in this vast area looked promising. Finally, on the south coast of Clavering Ø, the Europeans However, our surveys and excavations taught us a lesson: encountered a group of 12 Inuit living in seal skin tents in an important part of the archaeological sources had been a summer camp (Clavering, 1830: 20‑22). A vivid, but re- destroyed. Out of 164 Thule turf built winter houses in the grettably very brief description of this episode and the sail-

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) 119 ors’ revisit at the camp at ‘Bådsted’ a few days later, is the only piece of information about the first and last meeting with the NE Greenlanders (ibid.: 24). As far as we know, no ‘ethnographic objects’ or finds were collected by Clavering and his crew. However, his observations prompted a number of expeditions with ethnographical and archaeological goals during the last half of the 19th century.

Too late: Koldeway’s expedition and collections

Headed by Captain Karl Koldeway, the Second German North Pole Expedition entered the Sirius Water in 1869. The expedition was launched due to strong national currents and geopolitical agendas in Germany, but nevertheless it was a well planned, multidisciplinary, scientific enterprise. One of the main goals was to meet native NE Greenland- ers “..um ihr wunderbares Leben genauer studieren zu Figure 3: “Verfallene Eskimohütten” at Observatory Peninsula, können..” (..in order to make a closer study of their spec- Sabine Ø (Koldeway, 1874: 617). tacular life..). Accordingly, the expedition brought along quantities of “..Geschenke an Messern, Feilen, Tüchern, Spiegeln, Perlen u. dgl.” (..gifts like knives, files, tow- els, mirrors, beads and the like..) (Koldeway, 1874: 588). chaeological observations were made by the explorers close However, to their great disappointment the Germans only to Germania Havn at Sabine Ø (GeoArk site no. 95), where found “Verfallene Eskimohütten und Zeltringe.” (decayed four turf and stone built Thule winter houses attracted par- Eskimo huts and tent rings.) (Koldeway, 1874: 589). In ticular attention (Figure 3). The semi-subterranean entrance the spirit of mid/late 19th century, Dr. Pansch, the archae- passages and the rooms with niches in the walls were com- ologist of the expedition, considered the disappearance of pletely intact and the architecture of the dwellings could be the native NE Greenlanders as a ‘natural’ process. They described in minute detail. Wooden pegs stuck in between were described as “..dieses eigentümlichen, polaren, au- stones of the walls and drift wood girders in the passage genscheinlich dem Untergange geweihten Volkes.” (.. these are mentioned. The frozen floors were covered with fresh curious polar people, who apparently are destined for ruin.) grasses, herbs, and mosses. Subsequent excavations of (Koldeway, 1874: 600). dwelling floors produced “..eine Menge Knochen.. noch Koldeway’s observations and collections are impres- mit etwas Fett und Sehnen bekleidet..” (..a lot of bones.. sive. This is a rare case which demonstrates how material still covered with some fat and sinew..) (Koldeway, 1874: traces are situated and preserved in an Arctic landscape, 590 – 592). Furthermore a number of graves, tent rings and which has just been abandoned and thus become ‘archaeo- meat caches were excavated at Germania Havn and several logical’ rather than ‘ethnographical’. Some of the initial ar- surface finds were made.

Figure 4: A complete wooden dog sledge from Koldeway’s collection from Kap Broer Ruys, NE Greenland. Length: 2.08 m, width: 0.93 m. (Thalbitzer, 1909: fig. 85).

120 Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) Also three winter dwellings at the island, Lille Pendu- lum, were investigated with “Hacke und Schaufel” (mat- tock and shovel). A survey along the Wollaston Forland and the south coast of Clavering Ø and trips north and south of Sabine Ø added more archaeological finds from winter houses and graves to the collection, and taken together ‘die Etnologische Sammlung’, which Koldeway took home to ‘Museum für Völkerkunde’ in Berlin was substantial. It is characterized by excellently preserved organic objects (Koldeway, 1874: 601, 603, 605) including large wooden objects found on the surface, e.g., a complete sledge (Figure 4) and kayak paddles (Koldeway, 1874: 603; Thalbitzer, 1909: 509), and several human crania from ‘excavated’ graves (ibid.: 620). Figure 5: Dr. Hammar, a team member of the Nathorst expedition, prepares excavation of a grave at Kap Arnakke, close to Kap Mary, Clavering Ø, summer 1899 (Nathorst, 1900: 161). Archaeology in ‘No Man’s Land’

In the wake of Koldeway’s expedition Norwegian hunters from the Thule winter sites, and reflections on the sub- in growing numbers entered the Sirius Water. They mainly sistence of the NE Greenlanders and historical analogies hunted incredible numbers of seals in the drift ice (Mik- led to his hypothesis, which later investigations, including kelsen, 2008: 24; Gulløv, 2010), but they also went ashore GeoArk, have circled around: “.. changes of sea ice and in order to hunt walruses at their haul-outs and caribou climate have in their particular ways contributed to the and musk oxen in the mountains (e.g., Mikkelsen, 2008: migrations of the Eskimos to areas which provided them 283). The professional hunters also initiated a long lasting with much easier access to food.” (Nathorst, 1900: 341) ‘tradition’ among Norwegian and Danish trappers: spare- (author’s translation). time treasure hunting in Thule winter houses and looting The following year, 1900, the Danish explorer Am- of graves (e.g., Richter, 1934: 22). In fact, in 1899, hunters drup and his crew on ‘Carlsbergfondets Expedition til Øst- from a Norwegian vessel guided the scientific expedition Grønland’ entered East Greenland via the Sirius Water, headed by the Swedish geologist, A.G. Nathorst, to archae- just like all previous expeditions. Before heading south to ological sites on Clavering Ø. Moreover, the hunters sold survey the Blosseville Coast by rowing boat the members several ‘ethnographical objects’ to the expedition members (Nathorst, 1900: 159). Archaeology was a high priority enterprise for Na- thorst’s expedition. Assisted by the crew, J. Hammar, the physician of the expedition, carried out several excavations of winter houses in the Sabine Ø and Clavering Ø region, and scores of graves were emptied out in order to collect crania and grave goods (e.g., Nathorst, 1900: 164) (Figure 5). As the expedition, during the summer of 1899, steamed into the great fjords south of the Sirius Water, archaeological activities were intensified. Many observations and a comprehensive collection of archaeological objects were brought back to Sweden (ibid.: 257‑263, 338‑350). The material consists of objects of wood, ivory and antler, and all items – like figurines, harpoon shafts, sealing stools, knives, paddles and sledge parts – are excellently preserved Figure 6: A selection of grave finds from Nathorst’s expedition to (Figure 6). Nathorst identified a number of animal bones NE Greenland, 1899 (Nathorst, 1900: 364).

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) 121 included the Cambridge East Greenland Expedition 1926 (Mathiassen, 1929; Johnson, 1933) and The Bartlett East Greenland Expedition, 1930 (Bartlett & Bird, 1931). Both expeditions entered the coast via the Sirius Water and both surveyed the Clavering Ø, Wollaston Forland and Sabine Ø areas in order to locate archaeological sites. The American Junius Bird, in particular, excavated a large number of ruins and graves. Important collections of artifacts thus ended up in Cambridge and in the Museum of the American Indian in USA. The ‘productivity’ was high: Bird, for example, spent only one week on the south coast of Clavering Ø during the Bartlett expedition, but nevertheless he managed to excavate 12 winter houses there (Bartlett & Bird, Figure 7: G. Amdrup and S. Nielsen excavate the ruins at Observa- 1931: 412). By this time, no more large artifacts could be tory Peninsula, Sabine Ø, 1900 (the same as shown on Figure 3). collected on the surface in the Clavering Ø and Sabine Ø (Album 50(1), p. 14, no. P08158. Copyright: Arktisk Institut, Co- area, but Bird had found ‘virgin grounds’ on Shannon Ø penhagen). at the northern limit of the Sirius Water, where he excavated a large number of houses and collected wooden kayak ‘warmed-up’ by excavating the very same winter houses paddles, bows and arrows on the surface and in stone built at Germania Havn, which partly had been emptied out by caches (ibid.: 410‑411). Koldeway and Nathorst (Amdrup, 1909; Thalbitzer, 1909: This era ended abruptly. If the excavations and lootings 333) (Figure 7). This resulted in a small archaeological by expeditions and trappers, during the first three decades collection, which ended up at the National Museum of of the 20th century, had been hard on the archaeological Denmark. The museum’s collection was later supplemented resources of NE Greenland, the deathblow came within the by material from Lille Pendulum and Bass Rock collected next four years. by the Alabama Expedition in 1911/12 (Mikkelsen, 1922), and, during the following three decades, several artifacts from houses and graves excavated by Danish hunters and Archaeology and the race for North East trappers employed by ‘Det Østgrønlandske Kompagni’ Greenland also found their way to the museum in Copenhagen. During the first decades of the 20th century, NE Green- “We could see excavated house-sites showing up like dark land was a kind of ‘No Man’s Land’. Apart from being cavities against the countryside”, thus wrote the Norwegian densely populated by hunters and trappers (Mikkelsen, hunter and archaeology student Søren Richter (1934: 102) 2008) the region attracted adventurers and explorers in about the view towards the Thule culture site, Bådsted, growing numbers – and most often these expeditions ex- on the south coast of Clavering Ø. This sight of ruined cavated and looted graves and ruins. Besides adventurers, winter houses encircled by heaps of fresh, black soil and natural scientists, photographers and big game hunters, a stones was common during the late 1920s and early 1930s. ‘classic arctic expedition’ typically included some persons This was a period during which NE Greenland became interested in collecting artifacts and human skeletons (e.g., the subject of a geopolitical dispute between Norway and Boyd, 1935). When the Danish National Museum was ap- Denmark. Culminating in 1931, when Norwegian hunters proached by foreign institutions and polar explorers con- occupied ‘Eirik Raudes Land’ (NE Greenland between 72 cerning possibilities of archaeological investigations and and 75 degrees northern latitude), the dispute was settled collection of artifacts in Greenland, they were advised to in 1933 by the Permanent Court of International Justice at go to NE Greenland – well out of the way of the interest The Hague in favor of the Danish claim for sovereignty spheres of the ongoing systematic archaeological campaign over all of Greenland (for a brief overview of the conflict in West, South and South East Greenland headed by the see Sørensen, 2007: 53‑54). Danish archaeologist Therkel Mathiassen (e.g., Mathiassen, During the years towards The Hague decision, commer- 1930; Mathiassen, 1933; Mathiassen & Holtved, 1936). cial trapping and scientific enterprises became increasingly British and American expeditions to NE Greenland important for the competing colonizers in NE Greenland.

122 Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) Figure 8: Helge Larsen in Ruin II,2 at Dødemandsbugten, 1932. Note the characteristic slender spade, which was introduced to Greenland archaeology by Larsen’s ‘master’, Therkel Mathiassen. (Photo no. 22625. Copyright: Arktisk Institut, Copenhagen).

Topographical surveys and geological investigations were of course dominant (e.g., the Three Year Expedition to Christian X’s Land, 1931‑34, headed by the Danish geologist Lauge Koch), but also archaeology became a central component in the ‘scientific race’. The publications of the main actors on the archaeological scene, Helge Larsen (Figure 8) and P.V. Glob on the Danish side and Søren Richter and his crew on the Norwegian side, reflect this extremely competitive situation (Larsen, 1934; Richter, Figure 10: ‘Hut no. 2, Cape Moorsom, before and after excavation’. 1934; Glob, 1935). For example both Larsen and Richter Søren Richter and his team emptied the Thule ruins by means of claimed to be the first discoverer of the largest and most shovels and hoes. (Richter, 1934: fig. 108). important site on Clavering Ø: Dødemandsbugten(DK)/

Daudmannsoyra(N) (Larsen, 1934: 8; Richter, 1934: 99), and they excavated neighboring sites, even sometimes the same sites (Eskimovig), without contacting each other (e.g., Richter, 1934: 102‑103) (Figure 9). The archaeological sites and monuments in NE Green- land became victims of this geopolitical competition. Even according to the standards of the 1930s, the excavation methods were coarse and destructive, in particular concerning Richter’s team (e.g., Richter, 1934: figs 98 & 108) (Figure 10). The quantity of winter houses and graves that were emptied was astonishing. During the summer of 1932, Larsen excavated approximately 25 winter houses and 30 graves at Dødemandsbugten (Larsen, 1934: 8‑9) and Richter and his shoveling companions managed to clear out at least 80 houses and 50 graves (estimated) during a Figure 9: The large Eskimovig site seen from east about 80 years couple of seasons in the Clavering Ø area and the fjords to after Helge Larsen’s excavations. Photo: Bjarne Grønnow, 2007. the south (Richter, 1934: 145‑148). The efforts resulted in

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) 123 in accordance with theories and methods of the school at Ethnographic Collections at that time (e.g., Birket-Smith, 1924; Mathiassen, 1930). Larsen divided the prehistory of NE Greenland into three phases: the first (earliest) represented an immigration of people of the Inussuk phase of the Thule culture from south, and the last two phases, resulting from mixing of these southerners with immigrants from the north originating in the Thule region, represented ‘The Northeast Greenland Culture’ (Larsen, 1934: 171). On archaeological grounds Larsen estimated that the first peopling of the area took place during the early 13th century. This framework was later adjusted by Glob (1935), debated by Holtved (1944) and finally corrected by Bandi and Meldgaard (1952). Faunal analyses were conducted on the Dødemandsbugten material (Degerbøl, 1934), but the subsistence economy was not directly part of Larsen’s interpretations concerning the disappearance of the North East Greenlanders during the early 19th century. He rather assigned this to ‘degeneration on account of their isolated life’ and migrations out of the area towards north “..where their trail disappears in the regions around Danmarks Havn.” (Larsen, 1934: 172). P.V. Glob assisted Larsen in Dødemandsbugten in 1932, Figure 11: A selection of artifacts from Dødemandsbugten. The and later that year he surveyed and investigated ruins and collections of Helge Larsen and Søren Richter were returned to the graves in the big fjords south of the study area in the wake Greenland National Museum and Archives, during the 1990s. Photo: of Søren Richter. During a single field season Glob man- The National Museum of Denmark. aged to excavate 27 ruins and about 20 graves (1935: 6), thus meeting the standards of ‘mass production’. It was Glob, who – after the Danes had won the race for NE two comprehensive collections of mainly organic artifacts, Greenland – summarized the total result of the Danish ar- which are now kept by the Greenland National Museum chaeological efforts and the surveys by the Norwegians and Archives as a result of repatriation processes during insofar their results had been published (Glob, 1946). The the last 25 years (Figure 11). collection of artifacts amounted to about 3,000 items, plus Many of Richter’s finds can be traced back to a certain Richter’s materials of about the same magnitude. site or a particular feature (ruin or grave), which is listed The Danish archaeological activities suddenly ceased in his publication and shown on his sketchy site plans. following the result of the trial in The Hague in 1933, Larsen’s contextual information is a little better: Observa- whereas Richter continued his activities at a smaller scale tions on stratigraphy and, in a few cases, on find position during the years towards the Second World War (Glob, are available, and Larsen’s survey maps on Dødemands- 1946: 5). During the war some of the last remaining ruins bugten are informative. However, it is hard today to cope and graves in Dødemandsbugten were looted by (Ameri- with the fact that the price for these large collections was can?) soldiers (Bandi & Meldgaard, 1952: 12) and thus the destruction of almost all remaining graves and turf only a few intact features were left for the two young en- houses in the region. As mentioned above, the GeoArk thusiastic archaeologists, who in 1948 being members of team only found one grave and two winter houses left un- Eigil Knuth’s ‘Danish Peary Land Expedition’ conducted disturbed in this part of NE Greenland. investigations on Clavering Ø (Bandi & Meldgaard, 1952). Richter’s analyses and conclusions were few and not Efforts were concentrated on the last remaining nine undis- far reaching (e.g., Richter, 1934: 143) whereas Larsen con- turbed ruins at Dødemandsbugten resulting in a number of structed a chronology and a cultural historical interpretation carefully excavated and documented winter houses (Figure based on analyses of house types and cultural elements 12) and in collections of preserved organic artifacts from

124 Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) The archaeological resources today

The GeoArk team of course expected that the predecessors within archaeology had had a profound influence of the state of the archeological sources in the study area. However, we did not expect to find that almost all winter sites and graves of the Thule culture were destroyed as described above. At present the excavated ruins appear as holes surrounded by horseshoe shaped banks of mixed turf and flagstones from the floors and walls of the inner part of the houses (Figure 13). Sometimes overgrown fans of mixed ‘back dirt’ are present in front of the entrance passages. As mentioned, we succeeded in finding two intact winter houses on Blåklokkenæs (Blue Bell Point) at the southern coast of Clavering Ø (Jensen et al., 2008: 38‑39). These survivors are ruins of the latest type and they seem

Figure 12: House III/25 at Dødemandsbugten, surveyed and excavated in 1948 by Bandi & Meldgaard (1952: fig. 3).

the permanently frozen culture layers mainly situated in the entrance passages of the houses (ibid.: 51). As mentioned above, Bandi and Meldgaard argued, against Larsen, that the initial migration originated in the Thule area, and that the addition of southern ‘elements’ took place at a later stage (16th century) (ibid.: 31). Apart from sporadic events (Andersen, 1975), almost 60 years passed before the study area was visited again by archaeologists, sent out by institutions in Denmark and Figure 13: The GeoArk team surveys the Thule winter house complex at Bådsted, south coast of Clavering Ø. This is the typical appear- Greenland, when the GeoArk Project entered the scene in ance of the excavated ruins of the area: ‘back dirt’ and confusing 2003. heaps of stones are seen on top of the original walls. The ruins at Bådsted were emptied first by Bird in 1930 and later by Richter in 1932. Photo: Bjarne Grønnow, 2008.

Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) 125 Figure 15: Due to the lack of sea ice, the beach at Dødemandsbugten is currently exposed to heavy erosion by waves from Gael Hamke Figure 14: Two lonely ‘survivors’ in NE Greenland: intact twin Bugt. The sea has removed about 10 meters of the southern front of winter house ruins at Blåklokkenæs, south coast of Clavering Ø. the settlement area during the past 80 years. The person to the left Photo: Bjarne Grønnow, 2007. is marking the position of the erosion front as estimated from Helge Larsen’s surveys, 1932, and the person to the right is standing on the present front of the eroding sediments. Photo: Jens Fog Jensen, 2007. to have been spared because they are situated on a shelf, which does not catch one’s eye immediately. However, it Furthermore, at Dødemandsbugten as well as at several must be mentioned that Larsen knew the position of these other sites, we observed that important parts of the ‘mid- twin houses as it is seen in his sketchbook (1931). The ruins den areas’ in front of or between the house ruins washes are characterized by housing rich, herbaceous vegetation on away due to running melt water from snow patches. This the former floor areas, which are protected by intact walls in turn chokes the vegetation cover, with the result that and entrance tunnels (Figure 14). wind erosion of the culture layers increases. Furthermore, The cover stones of the graves in the area are removed at certain places where sediments are added to the beaches, and most often the grave chamber is completely empty. On wave action pushes up high storm ridges covering Thule Hvalros Ø, however, we found a single intact grave hidden ruins with heavy boulders. Our excavations in particular at in the boulder fields. With its roof of complete wooden the site, Fladstrand (Jensen et al., 2008: 17‑20; Sørensen et sledge runners and flagstones it offered an impression of al., 2009: 24-31), showed that the limit of the permafrost the original state of the Thule graves in NE Greenland was below the midden deposits. This suggests increased (Sørensen et al., 2009: 59). thawing and subsequent deterioration of organic matter at Nature, as well, has been hard on the archaeological the sites. However, this is only a single observation, and sites during the 20th century. Global warming probably ac- systematic investigations of the thawing factor are still celerates three destructive factors observed by the GeoArk needed. team: wave erosion, erosion from increased precipitation, and thawing. The marked reduction of sea ice off NE Greenland dur- Conclusions ing the past 4‑5 years causes unusually high waves to batter the exposed beaches where the Thule sites are situated. The history of archaeology in NE Greenland clearly demon- Most of them are experiencing accelerating erosion, which strates the vulnerability of ancient sites and monuments in can be documented by comparing the position of the edge the arctic cultural landscape. Through the present example of the erosion at Dødemandsbugen in 1932 with its posi- we are able to follow the transition from ‘an ethnographic tion in 2007 (Larsen, 1934: Pl. 17; Jensen et al., 2008: 21). landscape’, briefly described by Clavering in 1823, to an About 10 meters of the central settlement area have been ‘archaeological landscape’, described by Koldeways’ ex- washed away during the past 80 years (Figure 15). pedition 65 years later. The archaeological material, which

126 Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography 110(2) this expedition brought back to Germany, is remarkable: a substantial number of ‘warm season sites’ containing tent harpoon shafts, paddles, kayak parts and even a complete rings, shelters and caches, which were unknown or of no sledge. The ‘best’ finds were collected on the site surfaces. interest to our colleagues 80 years ago, a substantial new Thirty-five years later, Nathorst’s team collected archaeo- body of data has been added to the archaeological record. logical finds of the same quality. Their comprehensive With this information we are able to paint a new picture of excavations of houses and in particular graves resulted in the settlement pattern and resource exploitation of a High finds like complete shafts, sealing stools etc., but already Arctic people, whose life centered round a polynya. This at this stage hunters and trappers had begun looting sites. brings old collections of artifacts and other information During the first part of the 20th century a number of Dan- from earlier expeditions into play again. ish, British and American expedition vessels anchored in Through its interdisciplinary approach and geographi- the Sirius Water as their predecessors did. Quite substan- cal investigations GeoArk also provides substantial new tial collections were harvested from Thule culture graves knowledge on the dynamics of the regional climate and and ruins during these visits, and on top of this the sites coastal environments and the influences of these factors were exposed to frequent lootings by a growing number on human life conditions in the study area. Finally, it must of professional hunters and trappers living in the area. At be mentioned that GeoArk’s surveys identified several that time the objects which ended up in the collections in Palaeo-eskimo sites belonging to the Independence I, the Europe and America were generally small and fragmented. Saqqaq and the Greenlandic Dorset cultures on the coasts However organic matter was excellently preserved due to bordering the Sirius Water. These finds hold the potential the frozen culture layers in the dwellings. of writing a quite new chapter on man and environment in The degradation of the archaeological resources cul- NE Greenland. minated when the region, around 1930, became the scene of a geopolitical race between Denmark and Norway. Ar- chaeological activities formed an important part of the basis Acknowledgements for claims of sovereignty over NE Greenland and conse- quently, excavations of winter house ruins and graves were The GeoArk project extends its warmest thanks to our carried out at a speed and intensity that surpassed every main sponsors: The Commission for Scientific Research in other region in Greenland at that time. Collections con- Greenland and Kronprins Frederiks Fond. By assisting with sisted of thousands of objects, some (from pits in houses) logistics, The Sirius Patrol and The Zackenberg Ecological in a fine state of preservation. The few remaining, intact Research Organization made our fieldwork in North East ruins and graves were looted during the War or excavated Greenland a great and positive experience. by the last archaeological expedition to the Clavering Ø region in 1947. Thus, after 80 years of unlimited exploitation of the archaeological resources, very little was left Notes except inconspicuous sites and monuments. The declining size of finds and the character of the collections throughout 1) The GeoArk-team, 2003‑2009: these decades form, as seen above, a kind of measurement Bjarne Holm Jakobsen; Aart Kroon; Jørn Bjarke Torp of the stage of degradation caused by human activities. We Pedersen (Institute of Geography and Geology, Univer- furthermore estimate that the natural destructive compo- sity of Copenhagen). nents – mainly thawing and wave erosion – have added Bjarne Grønnow; Hans Christian Gulløv; Jens Fog considerably to the decline of the archaeological data in Jensen; Mikkel Sørensen (The National Museum of the area, in particular during the last five years. Denmark). The priorities and new discoveries by the GeoArk Pro Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen; Morten Meldgaard (Natural ject, initiated in 2003, must be seen on the background of History Museum of Denmark, University of Copen this cruel fate of the archaeological sources in NE Green- hagen). land. Thus, it was not possible for the project to add new Claus Andreasen; Mariane Hardenberg (The Greenland knowledge to the chronology and winter house architecture National Museum and Archives). of the Thule culture in the region based on new fieldwork. However, through GeoArk’s investment in thorough surveys and analyses of faunal material on the site surfaces,

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