Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists have found a stone coffin tomb in Halden, Norway, relationship again about 4,000 years to the Neolithic Age, when farming first started within the area.
The discover was made on the Svinesund Plateau, the place archaeologists had been learning Stone Age settlements earlier than new industrial growth started.
The slabs within the coffin are massive and heavy. They wanted to be secured to forestall them from falling inward when the soil and later the ground had been taken away. Credit score: Kulturhistorisk museum
The Hellekista is rare in Japanese Norway. It’s a stone cist, or stenkiste, a box-shaped burial chamber comprised of upright stone slabs set into the bottom.
Archaeologists haven’t discovered any human stays, however they did uncover an amber bead and a few arrowheads.
A fantastic little amber gem appeared between the stones on the backside of the coffin. Credit score: Kulturhistorisk museum
It isn’t but identified if the stone coffin will likely be saved for public show, moved, rebuilt, or taken away after it’s documented.
“It’s uncommon that we get to excavate one thing so stunning and previous. It is a 4,000-year-old construction,” says archaeologist Magnus Tangen concerning the discovery in Halden.
1000’s of years in the past, folks set stones into the bottom and put wedges within the corners to maintain them steady. Every stone weighs a number of hundred kilograms, and the coffin is about 70 centimeters deep.
Archaeologists assume there’s a sort of stone ground on the backside.
Credit score: Kulturhistorisk museum
“We expect it is a ground the place each single stone is positioned exactly on the backside, nearly like a mosaic. It’s extremely effectively made,” says Tangen.
The Halden web site is just some kilometers from the Swedish border at Svinesund, the place a big industrial space is deliberate.
Archaeologists should doc all findings earlier than something is presumably destroyed.
Throughout their investigation, the crew first noticed stones protruding of the bottom, then discovered traces of coal, which caught their consideration.
“We gathered a small group and cleaned up, and immediately we noticed the coffin,” says excavation chief Carine Rosenvinge from the Museum of Cultural Historical past.
The crew initially deliberate to check 9 Stone Age settlements, however such a discovery is uncommon.
Overview picture of a cleaned coffin earlier than excavation. Credit score: Kulturhistorisk museum
Researchers have discovered about 20 comparable stone coffins in Japanese Norway, however they’re extra frequent in Sweden. So, discovering one close to the border is sensible.
“It’s utterly distinctive. No rock cist in Japanese Norway has been studied in a administration undertaking with sufficient time to do it correctly, not less than not in current instances,” says Rosenvinge.
An analogous grave was present in Selje, Western Norway, a number of years in the past, and stays had been found there. In distinction, no such traces have been discovered within the Halden coffin.
The proof suggests this burial most likely belonged to one of many first farmers.
Some researchers assume these are warrior graves. Within the few circumstances the place bones have been discovered, the stays belonged to younger males, some with indicators of battle accidents.
These graves typically have flint daggers and arrowheads, that are often seen as warrior gear.
No such objects have been discovered within the Halden grave.
“We’ve not discovered any daggers right here, however we have now discovered an amber bead and a few arrowheads. We’ve not discovered any human stays; they’ve decomposed into the soil over a very long time,” says Rosenvinge.
The shortage of flint daggers units this grave other than others and suggests it may not be a warrior grave.
The slab coffin includes a rigorously organized stone ground at its base. Credit score: Kulturhistorisk museum
The amber bead is perhaps the one factor left from the individual buried right here.
Archaeologists hope a brand new experimental methodology will give them extra info. They collected DNA samples from the soil throughout the dig.
“We’re excited to see if we achieve getting good outcomes from it,” the archaeologists say.
It’s nonetheless unclear what’s going to occur to the objects discovered within the grave.
“Proper now, the Cultural Historical past Museum is speaking with Østfold County Council about whether or not it ought to keep the place it’s and be made accessible to the general public, or if we must always convey it inside,” says Rosenvinge.
See additionally: Extra Archaeology Information
“It could merely be eliminated, which is commonest. As soon as we end, we may have excavated and studied it scientifically. Nonetheless, reconstruction is feasible. We hope it may be made accessible to the general public indirectly.”
The undertaking supervisor says the grave will likely be rigorously documented and will give extra perception into the folks from that point.
“We’ll evaluate all the outcomes and attempt to perceive this phenomenon higher than we do at present. That’s the hope with all excavations,” says Rosenvinge.
Supply: Kulturhistorisk Museum – Universitetet I Oslo, NRK
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Workers Author
