– This is one of the most important archaeological sites in Norway. That’s what Erlend Kirkeng Jørgensen says. He is an archaeologist and researcher and leads the Arcave project. The place he is talking about is the Kirkhelleren cave, which is located on the island of Sanna in Træna municipality. Project manager Erlend Kirkeng Jørgensen. Photo: Leif Andersen / ARCAVE PROJECT What in recent times has been home to several spectacular concerts under the auspices of Trænafestivalen. Last year, the researchers restarted major excavation work where the special “hula” is located. The findings have been considered spectacular. The new findings only make the researchers even more excited. – Here were large quantities of complete skulls of seabirds such as puffins and cormorants, which are so thin and fragile that it is incomprehensible that they have survived in complete form for almost 10,000 years, the researchers write. – This is the dream project, quite simply, says Erlend Kirkeng Jørgensen. Many interesting discoveries have been made in the cave. Here, biologist and paleogenomist Lydia Furness handles samples and findings on a cool summer’s day in the fjord. Photo: LEIF ANDERSEN / ARCAVE PROJECT Used continuously for almost 10,000 years This is not the first time that archaeological investigations have been carried out here. As early as the 1930s, research was carried out on the island under the direction of Professor Guttorm Gjessing. Facts about the Træna finds The Træna finds are a complex of various archaeological finds from Træna in Nordland, mainly obtained through archaeological investigations by Professor Gutorm Gjessing in 1937–1939. The finds include caves, houses and graves, and span a very long period of time, from the Old Stone Age to the late Middle Ages. In Kirkhelleren at Sanna den, powerful cultural layers were found which showed that the settlement went all the way back to the Neolithic. People must have lived there right down to the Iron Age. The Stone Age layers show a mixture of older and younger Stone Age forms, and have been important in the discussion about the transition between the Older and New Stone Ages in Norway. Among the Træna finds, mention must also be made of a medieval gold finger ring with a Latin inscription found in 1938 at Sanna. (source: Store Norske Leksikon) Among other things, a total of 60 people were found buried in the area. 33 of them inside the cave itself. It is assumed that these were people who died in connection with the Black Death. The surveys that Gjessing did in his time showed that there had been settlement here around 9,000 years ago. The latest excavations show that the cave has been used continuously for almost 10,000 years. – This is what makes it so unique, says Jørgensen, and continues: – What is common is that you have a place of residence or an activity area that has been in use for a season, or a few generations at the most. But here we are talking about continuous use over a long period of time. And that allows us to track changes over many thousands of years. Digging in waste This year they have also done something new. All previous investigations have been carried out inside the cave. The image shows an example of a microspot which is a hunting tool. Below is a huge seal jaw. Photo: Leif Andersen / ARCAVE project But this year excavations have been made in the cave front. Because the researchers know through cave excavations in other countries that the caves are often divided into zones. First, the waste is often thrown away. One of the things that is special about this find is how intact the old bones are. The climatic conditions have been perfect for preservation. This has given researchers unique opportunities. This is what the researchers found Upper part: Dated to 2500-2200 years ago. Belongs to the pre-Roman Iron Age period, in the early Early Iron Age. Here they have found period-typical pottery and several pit structures related to pottery production, in addition to large quantities of bones/slaughter waste and shells. Middle part: Dated to be around 4000 years old. Belongs to the end of the Younger Stone Age. Remains from tool production have been found here. Otherwise, the part is densely packed with bone waste, mainly seals. Lower part: Dated to be around 9600 years old. This is considered a major victory for the project. This corresponds to the Middle Mesolithic period in the Old Stone Age. Here they found an intact waste heap with the most complete bone elements they have samples from in the whole cave. – Here were large quantities of complete skulls of seabirds such as puffins and cormorants, which are so thin and fragile that it is incomprehensible that they have survived in complete form for almost 10,000 years, the researchers write. The degree of preservation, diversity and quantity of bones from this period is probably unique in the Norwegian context. Here there are also cut marks and fracture marks on the legs after slaughtering and dismembering the catch, and not least the beautiful bone fishing hook, which we now know is correspondingly old. – We have layers upon layers of fish bones and seal bones that people have left for 10,000 years and then we can analyze back in time how the stock has changed, explains Jørgensen. The aim of the entire project is to use the findings to reconstruct the changes in the sea. – To look at how humans have affected the sea since the last ice age. We then work to understand, in particular, how the seal and seal population has changed. Thorough analyzes of the findings now remain, and the project has collaborators from several countries. And there is still much that has not been investigated in the cave. – We have been lucky to have been allowed to do this. This is unique. Although there is more to do there, there is a conservation policy on this. We shall not do more harm than we absolutely have to. There may be new methods in the future which mean that you may need to dig to answer other questions in the future. Photo: Aurora Henni Krogh / news
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Spectacular finds Kirkhelleren på Træna – news Nordland
