Exploring production and use of soapstone in Norway: Towards an interdisciplinary approach?

Authors

  • Laura Bunse

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31265/ams-varia.v0i58.191

Abstract

In recent years, soapstone research has developed into a multidisciplinary field encompassing a broad range of topics and methodological approaches. Interdisciplinary research now attracts more interest and has contributed significantly to the
identification of quarries and understanding of the distribution and use of soapstone. Most collaborative projects have related to certain geographic or thematic areas. As the research on soapstone deposits in Northern Norway illustrates,
interdisciplinary work can make important contributions also to other and little explored types of soapstone utilisation. In order to realise the full potential of interdisciplinary research, an expansion of the areas covered and a rethinking of
approaches to collaboration and disciplinary compatibility are required. One problem is the use of modern scientific criteria and classification schemes to identify and interpret stone sources, as such methods do not necessarily capture all the aspects of the material that were crucial to past users and production. 

References

Abu-Jaber, N., Bloxam, E.G., Degryse, P., Heldal, T. (eds.) 2009. QuarryScapes: ancient stone quarry landscapes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Geological Survey of Norway, Special Publication 12.

Adams, W.Y., Adams, E.W. 1991. Archaeological typology and practical reality: a dialectical approach to artifact classification and sorting. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Alfsen, B.E. & Christie, O.H.J. 1979. Massenspektrometische Analysen von Specksteinfunden aus Haithabu und wikingerzeitlichen Specksteinbrüchen in Skandinavien. In Resi, H. G. (ed.) Die Specksteinfunde aus Haithabu. Berichte über die Ausgrabungen in Haithabu 14, pp. 170–183. Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Neumünster.

Allen, R., Hamroush, H., Nagle, C., Fitzhugh W. 1984. Use of rare earth element analysis to study the utilization and procurement of soapstone along the Labrador Coast. Archaeological Chemistry III, 3–18.

Atran, S. 1998. Folk biology and the anthropology of science: Cognitive universals and cultural particulars. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21, 547–609.

Baug, I. 2011. Soapstone Finds. In Skre, D. (ed.) Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking Age Kaupang, pp. 311–337. Kaupang Excavation Project, Publication Series Vol. 3. Norske Oldfunn XXIV, Aarhus.

Baug, I. 2015. Quarrying in Western Norway. An Archaeological Study of Production and Distribution in the Viking Age and Middle Ages. Archaeopress Archaeology, Oxford.

Begossi, A., Clauzet, M., Figueiredo, J.L., Garuana, L., Lima, R.V., Lopes, P.F., Ramires, M., Silva, A.L., Silvano, R.A.M. 2008. Are Biological Species and Higher-Ranking Categories Real? Fish Folk Taxonomy on Brazil’s Atlantic Forest Coast and in the Amazon. Current Anthropology 49 (2), 291–306.

Berg, A. 1998. Rapport fra arkeologisk undersøkelse ved Klungen, Melhus kommune, Sør-Trøndelag, 7–25 juni 1998. Report T22398A-E. Department of Archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Berg, A. 1999. Ny aktivitet i gammelt steinbrudd. Spor 2, 20–22.

Berglund, B. 1999. Middelaldersk klebersteinsindustri på Helgelandskysten. Ottar 225, 13–24.

Berlin, B. 1973. Folk Systematics in Relation to Biologica Classification and Nomenclature. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4, 259–271.

Bray, I. S. J. 1994. Geochemical methods for provenance studies of steatite. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Brodshaug, E. 2005. Det anonyme dagliglivet: klebersteinsmaterialet fra de arkeologiske utgravningene av Borg III, Vestvågøy i Lofoten. Unpublished Master thesis in archaeology, University of Tromsø.

Brodshaug, E., Solli, B. 2006. Kleber, mat og rom på Borg i middelalderen. Viking, 289–306.

Brooke-Freeman, E. 2009. Locating Shetland Steatite using Place Name Evidence. In Forster, A. K. & Turner, V. E. (eds.). Kleber: Shetland’s Oldest Industry, pp. 18–26. Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick.

Bunse, L. 2013a. Klebersteinsforekomsten på Hesjetuva. Årbok for Tysfjord 31, 10-11.

Bunse, L. 2013b. Rapport fra arkeologisk befaring. Hesjetuva, Tysfjord kommune, gbnr.28/1 og 4, Nordland fylke. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2013c. Rapport fra arkeologisk befaring av klebersteinforekomster. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2013d. Rapport fra arkeologisk befaring av et klebersteinsbrudd i Langfjorden, Sør-Varanger kommune, Finnmark fylke. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2013e. Rapport fra arkeologisk befaring. Stolpe, Bodø kommune, gbnr. 224/2, Nordland fylke. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2014a. Rapport fra mindre arkeologisk utgraving i et klebersteinsbrudd i Langfjorden, Sør-Varanger kommune, Finnmark. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2014b. Rapport fra arkeologisk undersøkelse i klebersteinsbruddet Talggrøtberget, Sørreisa kommune, Troms fylke, sommeren 2014. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Bunse, L. 2015. Rapport fra arkeologisk utgraving. Stolpe, gbnr. 224/2, Nordland fylke. Unpublished report, Tromsø University Museum.

Clelland, S.-J., Batt, C. M., Stern, B., Jones, R. 2009. Scientific Analysis of Steatite: recent results. Forster, A.K. & Turner, V.E. (eds.). Kleber: Shetland’s Oldest Industry, pp. 106–117. Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick.

Ekroll, Ø. 1997. Med kleber og kalk. Norsk steinbygging i mellomalderen. Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo.

Erwin, J.C. 2010. Dorset Paleoeskimo Quarrying Techniques and the Production of Little Pots at Fleur de Lys, Newfoundland. In Brewer-LaPorta, M., Burke, A., Field, D. (eds.). Ancient Mines and Quarries. A Trans-Atlantic Perspective, pp. 56–66. Oxam Books, Oxam.

Forster, A.K. 2004. Shetland and the Trade of Steatite Goods in the North Atlantic Region during the Viking Age and Early Medieval Period. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Archaeological Science, University of Bradford.

Forster, A.K. 2009. Viking and Norse Steatite Use in Shetland. In Forster, A.K. & Turner, V.E. (eds.). Kleber: Shetland’s Oldest Industry, pp. 58–69. Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick.

Forster, A.K. & Turner, V.E. 2009. Kleber: Shetland’s oldest industry. Shetland soapstone since prehistory. Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick.

Grenne, T. & Heldal, T. 2001. Fremtidige driftsmuligheter og kulturminnevern i Bubakk klebersteinsforekomst, Kvikne. Report 2001.110.

Helland, A. 1893. Tagskifere, heller og vekstene. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.

Helle, K. 1982. Bergen bys historie 1. Universitetsforlaget, Bergen/Oslo/Tromsø.

Hill, J.N., Evans, R.K. 1972. A modell for classification and typology. In Clarke, D.L. (ed.). Models in Archaeology, pp. 231–273. Methuen, London.

Holman, E.W. 2002. The Relation between Folk and Scientific Classifications of Plants and Animals. Journal of Classification 19, 131–159.

Jansen, Ø.J., Heldal, T., Pedersen, R.B., Ronen, Y., Kaland, S.H.H. 2003. Provenance of soapstone in medieval buildings in the Bergen region, Western Norway. Asmosia VII. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of Association for the Study of Marble and Other Stones in Antiquity, Thassos 15–20 september, 2003. Bulletin De Correspondance Hellénique, Supplément 51, 581–595.

Johansen, O.S., Kristiansen, K., Stamsø Munch, G. 2003. Soapstone artefacts and whetstones. In Stamsø Munch, G., Johansen, O.S., Roesdahl, E. (eds.). Borg in Lofoten. A chieftain’s farm in north Norway, pp. 141–158. Arkeologisk Skriftserie I, Lofotr – Vikingmuseet på Borg.

Karlsen, T.A., Gautneb, H., Lund, B. 1999. Status-report on talc-prospecting in Helgeland, Northern Norway. Report 99.068. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim.

Khalidi, M.A. 2013. Natural Categories and Human Kinds: Classification in the Natural and Social Sciences. Cambrigde University Press, Cambrigde.

Knapp, A. B. 2000. Archaeology, Science-Based Archaeology and the Mediterranean Bronze Age Metals Trade. European Journal of Archaeology 3 (1), 31–56.

Lidén, H.-E. 2000. Mariakirken i Bergen. Mangschou, Bergen.

Lidén, H.-E., Mageröy, E.M. 1980. Norges kirker, Bergen I. Gyldendal Norsk forlag, Oslo.

Lidén, H.-E., Mageröy, E.M. 1983. Norges kirker, Bergen II. Gyldendal Norsk forlag, Oslo.

Lidén, H.-E., Mageröy, E.M. 1990. Norges kirker, Bergen III. Gyldendal Norsk forlag, Oslo.

Lindahl, I., Nilsson, L.P. 2002. En vurdering av klebersteinspotensialet i Troms. Report 2002.077. The Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim.

Lindahl, I. 2012. Bygningsstein i Nordland. En oversikt over bygningsstein i Nordland, om bruken og om de forskjellige geologiske steinprovinsene. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim.

Lossius, S.M. 1977. Kleberkarmaterialet fra Borgund, Sunnmøre. Arkeologiske avhandlinger fra Historisk Museum. Bergen University.

Lundberg, N. 2007. Øye – en arkeologisk undersøkelse av et klorittskiferbrudd. Unpublished Master thesis in archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

Moorhouse, S. 2005. The quarrying of building stone and stone artefacts in medieval Yorkshire: a multi-disciplinary approach. In Klápste, J. & Sommer, P. (eds.). Arts and crafts in medieval rural environment. Ruralia IV, 22nd–29th September 2005, Szentendre &
Dobogóko, Hungary, 295–319.

Møllerop, O. 1959. Kleberkar fra keltertid. Årbok Stavanger Museum, 21–40.

Nielsen, K., Nesheim, A. 1962. Lappisk ordbok: grunnet på dialektene i Polmak, Karasjok og Kautokeino. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.

Nilsson, A. (in press). Soapstone moulds in southern Scandinavia during the Late Bronze Age – origin – use – distribution. Conference Paper: Craft and People. Agents of Skilled Labour in the Archaeological Record. British Museum, London.

Nilsson, S. 2002. Soapstone artefacts at Skramle – handicraft or trade? In Andersson, S., Svensson, E. (eds.). Skramle - the true story of a deserted medieval farmstead, pp. 86–97. Lund Medieval Studies in Archaeology 27.

Olsen, B. 1984. Stabilitet og endring. Produksjon og samfunn i Varanger 800 f.Kr.–1700 e.Kr. Unpublished Master thesis in archaeology, University of Tromsø.

Olsen, O.M. 2004. Medieval Fishing Tackle from Bergen. In Øye, I. (ed.). Medieval Fishing Tackle from Bergen and Borgund. The Bryggen Papers, Main Series 5, pp. 11–106. Fagbokforlaget, Bergen.

Parkman, E.B. 1983. Soapstone for the Cosmos. Archaeological Discoveries in the Cuyamaca Mountains. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 5, 140 –155.

Pasda, C. 2011. Karibujäger in Grönland. Die Ergebnisse der archäologischen Untersuchungen von 2005–2009 im hinteren Nuuk-Fjord. Internationale Archäologie. Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH, Rahden/Westfalen.

Petersen, J. 1922. Et besøk ved klebersteinsbruddet paa Folvelsæter. Naturen 46, 236–239.

Petersen, J. 1934. De eldste norske kleberstenskar fra jernalderen. Finska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift XL, 43–48.

Petersen, J. 1951. Vikingetidens redskaper. Skrifter utgitt av Det Norske Vitenskaps-Akademi i Oslo. HistoriskFilosofisk klasse 4.

Pilø, L. 1990. Early Soapstone Vessels in Norway from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Iron Age. Acta Archaeologica 60, 87–100.

Resi, H.G. 1979. Die Specksteinfunde aus Haithabu. Berichte über die Ausgrabungen in Haithabu 14. Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Neumünster.

Risbøl, O. 1994. Socialøkonomiske aspekter ved vikingetidens klæberstenshandel i Sydskandinavien. Lag 5, 115–161.

Rütimeyer, L. 1924. Ur-Ethnographie der Schweiz. Ihre Relikte bis zur Gegenwart mit prähistorischen und ethnographischen Parallelen. Schriften der schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde. Bd. 16. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel.

Rygh O. [1885]. Norske Oldsager. Tapir Forlag 1999, Trondheim.

Schou, T.P. 2007. Handel, produksjon og kommunikasjon – en undersøkelse av klebersteinsvirksomheten i Aust-Agders vikingtid med fokus på Fjære og Landvik. Unpublished Master thesis in Archaeology, University of Bergen.

Schou, T.P. 2015. The soapstone vessel production and trade of Agder and its actors. In Hansen, G., Ashby, S.P., Baug, I. (eds.). Everyday Products in the Middle Ages. Crafts, Consumption and the Individual in Northern Europe c. AD 800–1600, pp. 204–228. Oxbow Books, Oxford and Philadelphia.

Selsing, L. (ed.) 2014. Seen through a millstone. AmS-Skrifter 24. Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger.

Shetelig, H. 1912. Kar av klebersten fra jernalderen. Oldtiden, tidsskrift for norsk forhistorie II, 49–73.

Simonsen, P. 1979. Juntavadda og Assebakte: to utgravinger på Finnmarksvidda. Acta Borealia B. Humaniora 17. Universitetsforlaget, Tromsø/Oslo/Bergen.

Sindbæk, S. 2005. Ruter og rutinisering – Vikingetidens fjernhandel i Nordeuropa. Multivers, København.

Skandfer, M. 2003. Tidlig, nordlig kamkeramikk: typologi kronologi, kultur. Unpublished Doctoral thesis in archaeology, University of Tromsø.

Skjølsvold, A. 1961. Klebersteinsindustrien i vikingetiden. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo – Bergen.

Skjølsvold, A. 1969. Et keltertids klebersteinsbrudd fra Kvikne. Viking XXXIII, 201–238.

Stavsøien, E. 2012. Fra fast fjell til gryte. Å arbeide med kleberstein, – hva skjuler seg i prosessen? Unpublished Bachelor thesis, BYG819T, project no. 13-2012. HiST, Sør-Trøndelag University College.

Storemyr, P. 1995. Gjenopptakelse av middelalderens steinbrudd? Muligheter for fremtidige steinleveranser til restaureringen av Nidarosdomen. Report 9501. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim.

Storemyr, P. 2000. Attempt at Reopening Klungen Medieval Soapstone Quarry for Modern Use at Nidaros Cathedral. 98/034198 Project 59. The Restoration Workshop of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim.

Storemyr, P. & Heldal, T. 2002. Soapstone production through Norwegian history: geology, properties, quarrying, and use. In Herrmann, J. J., Herz, N. & Newman, R. (eds.). Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone, pp. 359–369. Asmosia 5, London.

Storemyr, P., Lundberg, N., Østerås, B., Heldal, T. 2010.Arkeologien til Nidarosdomens middelaldersteinbrudd. In Bjørlykke, K., Ekroll, Ø., Syrstad Gran, B. (eds.). Nidarosdomen – ny forskning på gammel kirke. Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeiders forlag, Trondheim.

Turnbaugh, W.A., Turnbaugh, S.P., Keifer, T.H. 1984. Characterization of selected soapstone sources in southern New England. In Ericson, J.E. & Purdy, B.A. (eds.). Prehistoric quarries and lithic production, pp. 129–138. University Press, Cambridge, London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney.

Vangstad, H. 2003. Kleberkarene fra Bryggen i Bergen. En arkeologisk analyse av kleberkarene funnet på Bryggen i Bergen fra middelalder og etterreformatorisk tid. Unpublished Master thesis in archaeology, University of Bergen.

Vesasalo, A. 1965. Talc Schists and Soapstone Occurences of Finland. Bulletin de la Commission Géologique de Finlande 216.

Whittaker, J.C., Caulkins, D., Kamp, K.A. 1998. Evaluating Consistency in Typology and Classification. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 5 (2), 129–164.

Wickler, S., Lindahl, I., Nilsson, L.P. (in press). Soapstone in northern Norway: Archaeological and geological evidence, quarry survey results, and future research potential.

Wiik, H.B. 1953. Composition and Origin of Soapstone. Bulletin de la Commission Géologique de Finlande 165.

Østerås, B. 2002. Slipsteinsberget i Sparbu. Kva undersøkingar av eit klebersteinsbrot kan fortelje om gamle steinhoggartradisjonar. Unpublished Master thesis in archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

Østerås, B. 2004. Rapport fra arkeologisk utgraving. Kvikneskogen sameige, Sandbekkdalen, Tynset. Hedmark Fylkeskommune.

Østerås, B. 2008. Rapport arkeologisk utgraving. Report 035702. NTNU University Museum, Trondheim.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-15

How to Cite

Bunse, L. (2016). Exploring production and use of soapstone in Norway: Towards an interdisciplinary approach?. AmS-Varia, (58), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.31265/ams-varia.v0i58.191