The case in summary: Archaeologists have found two unique playing pieces during excavations in the center of Tønsberg. One of the pieces has a hole in the middle, which is unusual and never found before in Tønsberg. Another game piece has runes, which is a rare find that maybe happens every 10 years. The runes on the piece appear to be letter runes, with one letter on each side. The pieces will be sent to the Cultural History Museum for analysis. The excavations in Tønsberg continue through the autumn, and there are expectations of several rare finds. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – We found two game pieces, both have circle decoration, but one is a little different from the ones we usually find. That’s what Hanne Ekstrøm Jordahl says, who is an archaeologist with special expertise in osteoarchaeology, and is head of NIKU’s office in Tønsberg. She shows us the pieces and points. Archaeologist Hanne Ekstrøm Jordahl. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news – One had a hole in the middle, and we don’t quite know why. This is not a discovery we make every day, she smiles. It was Tønsbergs Blad that mentioned the case first. Archaeologists carry out excavations while Tønsberg municipality works on the stormwater pipeline. The archaeologists also ensure that others do not dig into cultural layers. This is not the first time archaeologists have discovered rare finds in the city. This summer, archaeologists found a rare coin that may date from the 13th century. Unique find On Friday, the archaeologists also found a game piece with runes. Jordahl says it is relatively rare. – Runes are very special. A runic find appears perhaps every 10 years, so this is rare, she says. She says the piece must be sent in for analysis to, among other things, decipher the runes. – It looks as if these are letter runes, with one letter on each side. We can make out an R for Ruth and a U for Unni. This is unique, says the archaeologist proudly. The pieces may in their time have been used in the game Checkers. – This week the Cultural History Museum will analyze the pieces, says Jordahl. Here are the two rare game pieces that were found in the center of Tønsberg this weekend. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news Difficult to describe It was field archaeologist Thomas Kjær who found the game pieces. He stands down in the ditch they have dug in, and shows where the pieces were found. – I was the one who found them. It is difficult to describe the feeling. Enormous joy is probably the closest I come, he grins. He points to the ground. There he found two logs and inside the logs was a layer of wood chips. The rare game pieces were hidden inside the chippings. – They could be difficult to see, but the shape made me see them. I saw early on that there were indentations on one. I was really excited when I picked it up, he says. Never before has a game piece with a hole in the middle been found in Tønsberg. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news Never found before Linda Åsheim is the field manager for the excavations in Tønsberg. She also confirms that the find at the weekend is rare. – No game pieces with holes have been found in the past in Tønsberg. She says the hole in the piece may indicate that something has been inside her. – It could have been a vase for a game piece, or that it could have been used for a spinning wheel. The excavations in Tønsberg continued through the autumn, and who knows what rare finds may turn up then. Hi Thank you for reading. Do you have tips or suggestions for this case or other things we should write about? Feel free to send me an email! Published 14.10.2024, at 19.20
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Unique playing pieces with runes – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
