9,200 year old site in Sweden indicates an early date for Nordic human settlement

The discovery of the world’s oldest storage of fermented fish in southern Sweden could rewrite the Nordic prehistory with findings indicating a far more complex society than previously thought. The unique discovery by osteologist Adam Boethius from Lund University was made when excavating a 9,200 year-old settlement at what was once a lake in Blekinge, Sweden.

“Our findings of large-scale fish fermentation, a traditional way of preserving fish, indicate that not only was this area settled at that time, it was also able to support a large community”, says Adam Boethius, whose findings are now being published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

A different perspective

The discovery is also an indication that Nordic societies were far more developed 9,200 years ago than what was previously believed. The findings are important as it is usually argued that people in the north lived relatively mobile lives, while people in the Levant – a large area in the Middle East – became settled and began to farm and raise cattle much earlier.

“These findings indicate a different time line, with Nordic foragers settling much earlier and starting to take advantage of the lakes and sea to harvest and process fish. From a global perspective, the development in the Nordic region could correspond to that of the Middle East at the time.

The discovery is unique as a find like this has never been made before. That is partly because fish bones are so fragile and disappear more easily than, for example, bones of land animals. In this case, the conditions were quite favourable, which helped preserve the remains”, says Boethius.

The fermentation process is also quite complex in itself. Because people did not have access to salt or the ability to make ceramic containers, they acidified the fish using, for example, pine bark and seal fat, and then wrapped the entire content in seal and wild boar skins and buried it in a pit covered with muddy soil. This type of fermentation requires a cold climate.
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Reference:

Past Horizons. 2016. “9,200 year old site in Sweden indicates an early date for Nordic human settlement”. Past Horizons. Posted: February 8, 2016. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2016/9200-year-old-site-in-sweden-indicates-an-early-date-for-nordic-human-settlement

Huge ancient monument found in Sweden

Archaeologists have discovered a monumental structure with high wooden poles, dated at 400-500 AD in Uppsala, Sweden.

Archaeologists in Sweden have found two long rows of wooden post holes at nearly right angles to each other. One of the rows is a kilometre long and consists of 144 post holes. The other extends at least 500 metres. The holes are spaced every six metres and the rows are 500 metres apart.

“We think the wooden poles were high, perhaps over eight to ten metres. They have been easily spotted from a distance,” says the project leader of the dig, Lena Beronius-Jörpeland, an archaeologist with the Swedish National Heritage Board.

A newer version of such rows is found in Denmark, from the Viking era. But there it served as a defensive wall.

“As this is such a large tract of land, we don’t think these rows of posts would work well as protection. In those days they had castles which served that function, but they were much smaller. Maybe this monument had multiple functions,” said Beronius-Jörpeland to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Connection with the royal burial mounds

The site is just a few hundred metres from a well-known landmark, the Royal Mounds [Kungshögarna]. These are from the decades around 600 AD and had significant functions for religion and trade.

The researchers are speculating about links between the monumental linear structures and the burial mounds. The area they are in is one of the most important known from the Swedish Iron Age.

“We know there was some sort of judicial court associated with the kings who are buried in the mounds. It’s tempting to speculate that this had something to do with the newly discovered monument. Maybe it was intended as a visual manifestation of power,” says Beronius-Jörpeland.

Inspiration from abroad

The excavation has revealed animal bones in some of the holes where pillars once stood. A puppy skeleton was dug out of one, which indicates that it was sacrificed when the post was erected or the construction was completed.

The excavation of the extensive monumental structure will continue as researchers seek information on possible similar constructions elsewhere in Europe or skirting the Mediterranean. The idea is to find out whether mighty leaders who ordered the construction in  Gamla Uppsala got their inspiration from abroad.
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References:

Veka, Camilla. 2013. “Huge ancient monument found in Sweden”. Science Nordic. Posted: October 26, 2013. Available online: http://sciencenordic.com/huge-ancient-monument-found-sweden