Boathouses as Indicators of Ethnic Interaction?

Abstract

Research on pre-modern boathouses in Norway over the past decades has principally been concerned with large boathouses reflecting social stratification within Norse communities. In northern Norway there has been a greater interest in smaller boathouses as components of the maritime cultural landscape rather than a narrow focus on the political landscape. This article presents an investigation of variation in the form and content displayed by boathouses outside areas with predominantly Norse settlement in northern Norway, i.e. to the north and east of the Lyngen Fjord. The study is based on boathouse excavations conducted by the authors at Spildra in Kvænangen and Flatvollen in Lyngen from northern Troms, and Skonsvika at Berlevåg in Finnmark. A detailed analysis of the excavation results reveals marked differences, both between the investigated structures and in comparison to boathouses from Vestvågøy in the Lofoten Islands associated with Norse settlement. This variability is interpreted as a potential indicator of ethnic interaction in the study area.

Keywords:

• Northern Norway
• Iron Age
• Medieval period
• Boathouses
• Ethnic interaction

Acknowledgements

Funding for our boathouse excavations was provided by the Sámi Parliament and the Norwegian Research Council as well as North Troms Museum and Tromsø University Museum. Support for radiocarbon dating was obtained from the Norwegian Archaeological Society. Anja Roth Niemi produced the site plan and profile illustrations.