<< Text Pages >> Hamresanden - Ancient Village or Settlement in Norway in Telemark
Submitted by Andy B on Sunday, 10 October 2010 Page Views: 7486
Multi-periodSite Name: HamresandenCountry: Norway Fylke: Telemark Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Kristiansand Nearest Village: Hamre
Latitude: 58.191060N Longitude: 8.076040E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Norwegian archaeologists have unearthed a Neolithic "mini Pompeii" at a campsite near the North Sea, they announced this week. Discovered at Hamresanden, not far from Kristiansand’s airport at Kjevik in southern Norway, the settlement has remained undisturbed for 5,500 years, buried under three feet of sand.
“We expected to find an 'ordinary' Scandinavian Stone Age site, badly preserved and small. Instead, we discovered a unique site, buried under a thick sand layer,” lead archaeologist Lars Sundström, of the Museum of Cultural History at the University in Oslo, told Discovery News.
Digging about 80 meters (262 feet) from the shoreline, in the headland formed by the river Topdalselva and the North Sea, Sundström’s team first unearthed what appears to be the remains of a walled structure.
“So far, we have evidence of a 30-meter (98.5-foot) bank made from sand mixed with clay and silt. We believe that this bank has been shoveled up against a wooden wall in order to support it," Sundström said.
The structure, whose length continues beyond the limits of the excavation trenches, is made of large stones.
"They must have been carried from some distance, since the area is devoid of stone naturally," Sundström said.
Most likely a seasonal aggregation site conveniently located between a river and the sea, the settlement is filled with shards of beaker-shaped vessels, many of which could be restored to the original state.
Highly decorated with the use of stamps, mostly cords used to form patterns, the pottery belong to the earliest phase of the Trichterrandbecherkultur (TRB) , or Funnel-Beaker Culture. This is a late Neolithic culture which spread in north-central Europe between 4000 and 2700 B.C.
“The pottery has allowed us to date the site to between 4000 – 3600 B.C. We found it on top of the cultural layer which reflects the last event of the occupation,” Sundström said.
According to the archaeologist, the way the pottery was found suggests that the seasonal Stone Age settlers left their pots with the intent of reusing them upon their return.
But a sudden, catastrophic event buried everything.
“The formation of the upper layer remains somewhat mysterious. Most probably the site was suddenly flooded, and covered with sand by the nearby river. There are no signs of occupation within this thick sand layer. This is a strong indication of a relatively quick process,” said Sundström.
Encapsulated between the sand layer and an underlying layer of silt and clay, the remains are virtually untouched.
The archaeologists, who have so far dug out about 500 square meters (5381 square feet) out of several thousand, hope to uncover much more in the following months.
“The site is lying on top of a silt and clay layer which we know preserves wood, so we have good hopes for finding buried wood from the occupation phase later on in the excavation,” Sundström said.
More, with a photo of a beaker at Discovery News
With thanks to Coldrum
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
549m ENE 68° Hamresanden Tingringen* Stone Circle
5.1km SW 233° Pjolterhaugen* Round Barrow(s)
5.1km SW 227° Oddernes Runestone* Carving
15.8km NNE 25° The Mollestad Oak* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
16.0km NE 38° Skillsteinene* Stone Row / Alignment
16.9km WSW 238° Tingsteinen* Ring Cairn
17.8km SW 231° Tangvall cist* Cist
17.8km SW 231° Søgne Runestone* Carving
19.1km WNW 288° Stallemo* Barrow Cemetery
32.1km WSW 239° Harkmark stone circle* Stone Circle
32.6km W 271° Heddelandsmonen* Barrow Cemetery
32.7km WSW 256° Stovelandsfeltet* Barrow Cemetery
33.4km WSW 256° Røsesteinen* Standing Stone (Menhir)
34.5km ENE 58° Dømmesmoen* Barrow Cemetery
34.7km ENE 61° Bringsvær Hellekistegraver* Cist
36.2km ENE 57° Fjære* Barrow Cemetery
37.4km WNW 301° Trygsland* Carving
37.6km ENE 58° Vik (Grimstad)* Stone Circle
37.7km ENE 57° Bringsvær* Barrow Cemetery
38.0km ENE 58° Fevikveien stone circle* Stone Circle
38.3km WNW 303° Bjelland* Barrow Cemetery
38.9km ENE 62° Ytre Grevstad* Stone Circle
41.0km ENE 59° Øvre Fevik* Barrow Cemetery
41.3km ENE 59° Fevikmoen* Barrow Cemetery
42.9km ENE 60° Kvennbekkrøysa* Cairn
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