For four months, twelve archaeologists have been digging in large parts of the area where the ferry-free road between Bergen and Stord in Vestland is planned. The work must be done before the controversial ferry-free project, worth over NOK 38 billion, can be built. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is obliged to investigate for cultural heritage before building major road projects. The road will shorten the driving time between Bergen and Stavanger to just over two hours. – As of today, we have found 87 settlement sites from the Stone Age here in Tysnes municipality alone. The very last tick came in recently, says archaeologist and senior councilor Øystein Skår in Vestland County Municipality. Several of the discoveries the archaeologists have made are 10,000 years old. Back then, life was largely concentrated by the sea. Here, archaeologists dug into the ground to look for old treasures. They found plenty. Among other things, this arrowhead from the Stone Age, which was probably used for hunting big game. Photo: Vestland County Council This glass bead comes from a slightly more recent time, around 600 AD. Photo: Vestland County Council Fragment of a rock ax from the Neolithic Age. Photo: Vestland county municipality This is a flint flint knife. One egg is well used. Photo: Vestland County Council Has made a trip He leads the archaeological team. They count in Bjørnafjorden, Tysnes and Stord. In search of traces of man many thousands of years back in time. In the municipality of Tysnes, no more than seven settlement sites from the Stone Age were registered before archaeologists started. But now one treasure after another has emerged from the earth. Both arrowheads, jewelery and other objects have been found. – Among other things, we look for waste from the production of travel bags. When we find flint, which does not naturally belong here, we consider it as evidence of habitation and the production of travel goods in the Stone Age, explains Skår. Øystein Skår (th) and colleague Joakim Antonesen in the process of examining finds. At times, large quantities of knobs have been the biggest challenge. Photo: Olav Røli / news Historical record in finds In the excavation area at Tysnes, large quantities of the rock rhyolite have also been found. This is a rock that has similar properties to flint, and was commonly used by people in Western Norway in the Stone Age. The time periods The Stone Age (approx. 10,000–1800 BC) is the time before metals were used. Objects were made from flint and other rocks, but also from bone, antlers, wood, other organic material and ceramics. The introduction of agriculture, c. 4000 BC, marks the dividing line between the older and younger Stone Age. In the Bronze Age (1700–500 BC), the rare objects of bronze became objects of status. A divide is seen between the older and younger Bronze Age (1100 BC), largely due to changes in burial customs from unburnt to burnt burials. In the Iron Age (500 BC–1050 AD), iron became an important utility metal. Major societal changes occurred in the transition between the older and younger Iron Age, around 550 AD. The Older Iron Age is divided into the pre-Roman Iron Age, the Roman period and the migration period. The Younger Iron Age is divided into the Merovingian Age and the Viking Age. Viking times lie at the crossroads between prehistoric and historical times. All discoveries the archaeologists make are recorded on maps. The objects are then taken care of and cataloged by the University Museum in Bergen. Øystein Skår says that they are not thinking about the planned road, but about the work they have to do. Photo: Olav Røli / news – There has probably never been a project that has uncovered so many sites as this, no, says Leif Inge Åstveit, project manager for archaeological investigations at the museum. A large number of historical finds will mean that major archaeological excavations must be carried out in the area where the road is planned. This was done by one of the Sotrasambandet in Bergen, among others. But it will have little impact on which way to go, or the timetable, according to Åstveit. – Excavations will have nothing to say at all. We will mostly be finished before the construction work starts anyway, he says. Examining the route Ellen Njøs Slinde is planning manager for Hordfast in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. She said that they had expected to find many cultural monuments in this area, as it had not been investigated previously. – The excavations give us a lot of new knowledge about the oldest settlement in Western Norway and in Tysnes municipality. And the work may entail adjustments to the road line within the planning area for the new E39 over Tysnes, she says. Hordfast E39 Stord-Os (Hordfast) is part of the work to tie Stavanger and Bergen closer together. The project will replace three ferry connections, and reduce the travel time between Stord and Os to 30 minutes. Today it takes 90 minutes. The costs are NOK 35.8 billion. The project is part of the National Transport Plan, with the start of construction work before 2027. The regulatory plan with additional details is planned to be sent to the Ministry of Local Government and Districts (KDD) – spring 2022. In total, over 800 million has been spent on planning. Source: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration The Norwegian Public Roads Administration will send its proposal for a state regulatory plan for Hordfast to the ministry during the winter. It will then go to a hearing. Hordfast is included in the National Transport Plan 2022–2033 The bridge over Bjørnafjorden, towards Tysnes, is to be several kilometers long. It will replace the approximately 50-minute ferry ride between Bergen and Stord. Photo: Norwegian Road Administration
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