2-A |
EARLY IRON AGE: 500 BCE – 550 CE
BOATHOUSES AND VILLAGE CASTLE LANDSCAPES
The Early Iron Age was characterised by wars on the continent. Along the inner part of the Trondheim Fjord there were boathouses that accommodated large ships for chiefs and their warbands. Fortifications were built atop hills where people could seek refuge if attacked.
Much of the forest had been grazed or cut down – the landscape was open. The marshes were rich in iron ore, and people eventually became highly skilled at producing iron. With iron, both weapons and tools became more efficient, which in turn affected trade and agriculture, widening the gap between the poor and the wealthy.
2-B |
TODAY’S LANDSCAPE
The table model is an illustration of how it might have looked in the Early Iron Age – not an accurate reconstruction. Sea levels are based on NGU calculations.
2-C |
THE MIGHT OF A BEAR CLAW
The bear was the animal of warriors and chiefs – large and strong, wild and brutal. Warriors sometimes dressed in bear skins in the hope of bringing some of these qualities into battle.
From Viking history, we know the term “going berserk”, which was a state of uncontrolled rage. The word “berserk” comes from “bjørne-serk”, meaning “bear-shirt”. Perhaps some also used bear claws and teeth as talismans?
Some were buried on bear skins. Others were cremated on skins, and had claws and teeth placed in the grave with them. Both at Mære and Egge, bear claws have been found in or near Iron Age graves.
Bear claws found at Mære
Photo: NTNU University Museum, Kari Dahl
2-D |
Who was it that, sometime during the Early Iron Age, rode across Mære and lost his spur?
A spur is a pointed band that the rider attaches to the back of the heel to control the horse. The horse was a common domestic animal in the Early Iron Age, and was used both in agriculture and for riding. However, few bronze spurs remain from this time period. The horse also carried symbolic meaning, and was sometimes sacrificed for blóts (feasts) and funerals.
The Mære stone church was built in the 12th century. Before that there was a stave church, and before that a mead hall – a pre-Christian building used both as a dwelling and for meetings, feasts and rituals. Was this where the rider was headed?
Spur found at Mære
Photo: Magne Øksnes
SPUR FROM A RIDER
2-E |
Martenshagen, at the mouth of the Steinkjer River, is the site of one of the largest known Early Iron Age boathouses. 14.5 meters wide and 35 meters long – strategically located with control of the waterways to the hinterland.
These huge Iron Age boathouses were used for more than just storing and repairing boats. Perhaps this was also where warriors gathered for ceremonies and dividing plunder and war spoils, like the later mead halls. The discovery of a small copper rivet from a warrior’s belt or bandolier tells us that the Martenshagen boathouse also had links to warbands further south in Europe.
There are a number of boathouse remains along Beitstadfjorden, at slightly different elevations and from different times. There might therefore not have been this many large boathouses by the fjord simultaneously, but there has probably been at least one at any given time.
Boat house excavation from Martenshagen
Photo: NTNU University Museum, Åge Hojem
These rivets, used for boat building, can indicate the presence of a boat house.
Photo: NTNU University Museum, Ole Bjørn Pedersen
THE BOATHOUSE AS A GATHERING PLACE
2-F |
Egge is a long way from the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, a large number of Roman objects have found their way here during the Roman Iron Age. Among other things, a Victoria sword – a badge of honour from the Roman army, decorated with a laurel wreath and palm leaves symbolising Victoria, the goddess of victory. The Victoria sword was found in a warrior’s grave at Egge.
Was the man buried here a soldier or an officer in the Roman army? Or had he fought for the Germans against the Romans and brought back the sword as spoils of war? There is also a possibility that the sword was the result of looting, a gift exchange or trade – somewhere on the long road between Egge and Rome.
Victoria sword from Egge with embedded laurel wreath and feathers
Photo: NTNU University Museum
A SWORD FROM DISTANT LANDS
2-G |
In troubled times there is a need for protection. People have often gathered on hills or headlands – natural formations that provide easy overview of the surrounding area, and where protective fortifications can be built.
The Iron Age village castles may have contained several constructions and buildings, but we mostly only find traces of the walls today. There are several theories about how the village castles were used. They were probably both vantage points and places of refuge – and part of a larger defence system.
People might even sometimes have needed to seek refuge for longer periods of time, thus establishing a kind of everyday life within the village castles.
Two village castles in Steinkjer: Klingerhaugen and Elnanslottet
Photo: Ingrid Ystgaard
SEEKING REFUGE IN THE VILLAGE CASTLE
2-H |
The Iron Age came later to the Nordic regions than further south in Europe. Once the knowledge of iron extraction, production and usage finally arrived, it had a major impact on society. Not least here in Trøndelag, which had rich deposits of iron ore.
Iron was produced from ore extracted from bogs, which was then heated in an extensive process, in order to separate the metal from the slag. Traces of hundreds of such iron bloomeries have been found in the region, and the extensive production must have yielded much more iron than was needed locally.
Nordic iron was known to be of particularly good quality, and was probably a highly sought-after commodity – on par with hides, furs and antlers. Especially by warriors who were constantly battling the powerful armies of the Roman Empire.
Iron production using Iron Age methods
Photo: Arven Museums/SNK
IRON PRODUCTION
