It’s been a difficult and in many ways a hard week, for different reasons. This Monday I attended a funeral, in Jonkoping, for a close friend of the family. Funerals are never fun but can be a situation for contemplation. Besides thinking on the departed I found myself thinking on ceremonies and rites. As an archaeologist you work with the past and the remains of those who lived a long time ago. Large parts of our material are from graves; memorial monuments over fathers, mothers, sons and daughters constructed by religious and social conventions, pretty much as today.
We often read in lots of things when studying these remains, some based on the finds, some based on interpreted texts from the time and some based on reasoning. What struck me was our, mine and those attending, need of coming together, in grieving and remembering and our need to find closure and to say goodbye. In archaeology we often seem to miss this fundamental theme when discussing or contemplating burial processes, it’s more often a discussion of social dimensions, religious belief and architectural qualities. Though this is information to be found and interpreted we shouldn’t forget the person buried and what the burial meant to them who needed to remember, as individuals and not only as a society.
In loving memory of Rolf Åkerlund
My thoughts are with the family and my memories of Rolf will live on in my mind and heart.
After the funeral I went north to Ostersund, ca 900 kilometres apart, where rain and snow awaited. I had thought I would spend this week indoors writing reports etc. but it became three days outdoors surveying instead. We are currently working some miles north of Ostersund deep in the wilderness. On Wednesday it was raining and part of the ground was covered in snow; though not that much that it was impossible to read the landscape but enough to freeze your feet and this combined with the rain and the water stuck on trees made it an unpleasant experience. Today it was a lot better as there was no rain which made it quite a pleasant day. Another problem is of course the light or rather the lack of light as the sun sets down early. Yet one day remains let us hope for good weather.
Next week I’ll spend the first couple of days in Stockholm as I’ll attend RAA’s (The Swedish National Heritage Board) conference: Kvalitet i uppdragsarkeologin (Quality in exploratory/ assignment archaeology) and then continue up to Ostersund.
Magnus Reuterdahl
It’s been a bit quite here at Testimony lately. I currently read a couple of books that I intend to write a few lines on here and for the Osteological Associations periodical Benbiten.
To give sound to the silence two hits of the 60’s one by its original artists and a cover;
Keep a look out for some pictures and words on “the 3rd grave of Christianity”.
Magnus Reuterdahl
Today we were part of the headlines in Norrtelje Tidning (article in Swedish). It’s me holding the Rover.
Magnus Reuterdahl
This week will be a GIS kind of week for me, a lot o f measuring with the rover and the total station and processing the data and in between helping out in the search pits. As winter’s approaching the days are getting shorter, the weather in itself posses small or no problem but the light does, as the time with sufficient working light becomes shorter. It also means that we start early, I getting up at 05.30 which is not my preferred time to get up; I just seem to want to curl up under bed sheets and sleep for just a little longer.
Well off we go
Magnus Reuterdahl
I collect things; books, comics, art, wine etc. One that I really dig is historic maps and anatomy lithos (osteology), a few weeks ago I stumbled upon this lithography, originally from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 5. Auflage. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig und Wien 1897 that I just had to have even though its not a map and there’s no bones in it (well I guess there’s probably some cremated bones in the urn within the Danish mound).
Kultur der Metallzeit II (Jüngere Periode) (Iron Age)
These lithos are often cheap, ca 15-50 € (unframed). Of course I prefer them in books but they do work on a wall as well.
Magnus Reuterdahl
A new week in the field awaits. Last week we managed to do a lot of work but there’s still plenty to do. We’ve dug a lot of search pits, ca 5-10 m in length 1,5-2 m in width and 0,4-0,5 m in depth, to delimit two grave fields. Between these grave fields earlier archaeological investigations has identified urn graves, urns filled with cremated bones, charcoal etc and dug into the ground. We’ve rediscovered these and found a few more. One thought was that these two grave fields might have been one but there seems to be an area ca 50-75 m in between with no graves, though this is just a preliminary assessment as we still have some search pits to dig before we are done.
In another parts of the area we’ve done search pits in order to find a possible settlement, in the first we’ve found nothing but in the other a few interesting finds have been done. More on that as it develops.
For me this week will be one in company with a Rover (network RTK) from Trimble (R8) as there are a lot of test pits to be measured.
As you can see on my boots they tend to become rather heavy as the mud sticks to them as glue.
Now, all I hope for is decent weather but it doesn’t look all that promising. So its another week in rain gear and long underwear.
Magnus Reuterdahl
Now what is Mellingeholm and perhaps more important where is it? Mellingeholm is a property ca 65 km northwest of Stockholm and a few km south of Norrtälje in Frötuna parish.
At the moment I participate in a archaeological preliminary investigation, step two in the Swedish exploratory archaeological process. During which our aim is primary to delimit monuments and relics and to determine their function by excavating and surveying. We are also asked to answer certain questions such as the age of a certain monument or to map a monument in detail or document it etc.
In Mellingeholm there are several monuments and relics such as graves from the Iron Age, settlements from the Iron age and possible the Bronze Age, Fossilized acres from prehistoric and historic times, crofts etc. It has also been used as a military shooting and practice range since the 40’s so there are also a lot of remains from their activity such as trenches and other defence remains that we’re suppose to document.
Yesterday it was raining all day long and only a few degrees above zero which left us all cold to bone. Cold and dampness really causes fatigue – I fell over in my bed last night. Today it was a bit better wheather though still cold. The first few hours it was below zero but then came the sun and it became a lot easier, it’s incredible how some sunlight and warmth makes the day just fly away.
I’ll get back with some pictures.
Magnus Reuterdahl
In the mail today came the book; To wake the dead – a renaissance merchant and the birth of archaeology by Marina Belozerskaya (2009). Published by W.W. Norton & Company.
I’ve yet to read it but it seems an interesting read about archaeology’s birth during the Italian renaissance and its “father” Cyrianus of Ancona (15th century merchant). Cyrianus of Ancona is news for me so it is with interest and curiosity I’ll read this book – I’ll get back to you with some words on the book in a few weeks.
This week and at least yet another I’ll work just north of Stockholm in Mellingeholm outside of Norrtalje.
Best wishes
Magnus Reuterdahl
Tomorrow and the day after I’ll attend a two day seminary on GNSS and SWEPOS® held by Lantmateriet (the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority) in Gävle.
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) is the standard term for satellite navigation systems, exampel of such systems are the US NAVSTAR GPS (Global Positioning System) (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS others that are in progress are The EU’s Galileo positioning system and Chinas’s Beidou navigation system.
SWEPOS® is a Swedish network of permanent reference stations for GPS.
Magnus Reuterdahl
Then the excavation at Raa 225 and 226 in Holm parish, Medelpad is finished and we’re back in Ostersund.
This was a special dig, not many quartz quarries have been excavated so it was exciting. Quartz has been used at all times. During the Stone Age and fourth; arrows, knives and scrapers, etc was made. As you might see on the pictures, below, the quartz vein is situated above ground on the slope of the mountain making it easily accessible, from which they chopped or broke off pieces. The remains of this is what we call a quartz quarry.
Quartz has also been used during historical times in the manufacture of glass, as raw material for porcelain and as a key ingredient in ceramic glazes. In modern times quartz is used because of its interesting piezoelectric properties to make components in computers, cell phones and radios, etc.
The quarry is situated beautifully on a small rock just by the water. The quartz core is rather big, ca 10 x 2 m and when the sun hits it, it lit up the mountainside. It’s evident that someone has extracted rather large amounts of quarts there.
Unfortunately we didn’t find many artefacts so its difficult to date the quarry but a settlement nearby suggests that it’s Stone Age. We did find a lot of chips and a hammer stone and it’s possible that we find more as we clean and study the quartz chips.
On our way back we made a stop at Liden’s medieval church and enjoyed it as well as the dramatic landscape.
The church was built 1483-1510 by the Dominican monk Josephus. It was in use till the 1860’s when it was abandoned and partly destroyed as a new church was built. The church was then restored 1911-1928.
In the back is Liden’s new church and just in front of that the medieval one.
Magnus Reuterdahl
