Kristin Ilves

This edited volume delves into the current state of Iron Age and Early Medieval research in the North. Over the last two decades of archaeological explorations, theoretical vanguards, and introduction of new methodological strategies, together with a growing amount of critical studies in archaeology taking their stance from a multidisciplinary perspective, have dramatically changed our understanding of Northern Iron Age societies. The profound effect of 6th century climatic events on social structures in Northern Europe, a reintegration of written sources and archaeological material, genetic and isotopic studies entirely reinterpreting previously excavated grave material, are but a few examples of such land winnings. The aim of this book is to provide an intense and cohesive focus on the characteristics of contemporary Iron Age research; explored under the subheadings of field and methodology, settlement and spatiality, text and translation, and interaction and impact. Gathering the work of leading, established researchers and field archaeologists based throughout northern Europe and in the frontline of this new emerging image, this volume provides a collective summary of our current understandings of the Iron Age and Early Medieval Era in the North. It also facilitates a renewed interaction between academia and the ever-growing field of infrastructural archaeology, by integrating cutting edge fieldwork and developing field methods in the corpus of Iron Age and Early Medieval studies. In this book, many hypotheses are pushed forward from their expected outcomes, and analytical work is not afraid of taking risks, thus advancing the field of Iron Age research, and also, hopefully, inspiring to a continued creation of new knowledge.

In 2019-21, research was carried out at the University of Helsinki regarding the development of the degree programme in maritime archaeology. To develop the teaching of the programme, we designed and launched an online learning platform. The platform, entitled 'Perspectives in Maritime Archaeology', consists of lectures by international experts and literature on a variety of topics ranging from boatbuilding to seamanship and from trade and exploration to public outreach and contemporary art. The purpose of the platform was to convey a broad image of the discipline and promote multidisciplinary thinking among students. To assess the success of the platform in achieving this objective, we conducted surveys on student expectations and satisfaction as well as on (potential) changes in the perceived image of maritime archaeology. We discovered that a kaleidoscopic and eclectic approach to teaching maritime archaeology online made the topic more interesting to the students and helped them understand the variety and importance of different approaches to researching maritime archaeology. In this article, we report the findings of our research on the development of online learning and discuss them in the wider context of higher education in maritime archaeology. We conclude with a reflection on the potential use of poetry and metaphor in teaching holistically about the cognitive and cultural relevance of water.

The quantitative archaeological record of the Åland Islands (Finland) indicates a population boom in the mid-sixth century CE. Yet the number of palynological investigations on Åland is limited, resulting in a knowledge gap of anthropogenic landscape modification generated by the land use that followed the increased population. This article presents the results of a pollen analysis from Lake Lavsböle Träsk in central Åland, covering the period from the end of the Bronze Age into the modern period. The results of this study provide evidence of continuous land use throughout the Iron Age and the medieval period, and the population boom during the sixth century CE is indicated in the pollen signal. Altogether we argue for an economy based on cereal cultivation, animal husbandry, and maritime resource utilization (e.g. seal hunting, fishing, and fowling) as well as trading. The results indicate a society able to manage risks connected to their subsistence strategies, in which versatility seems to have had a key role.

There are six hillforts on the Åland Islands-the large archipelago situated strategically amidst the Baltic Sea. All six are estimated to belong to the Late Iron Age (AD 550-1050), i.e. to the period when the archipelago saw its greatest increase in human population and activity, following a large-scale colonisation process prompted by the global climatic disturbances of the 6 th century AD. The hillforts, situated on bedrock hilltops and characterised by dry-stone walls built next to natural barriers, were located on different islands, but not all were closely connected to the coast and/or related to sea routes. Nor can the hillforts of this clearly restricted geographical setting be unambiguously connected to any clear or uniform settlement pattern. Although Late Iron Age Åland witnessed its greatest economic affluence as a result of the eastern expansion from Scandinavia, the region has generally been viewed as a peripheral area with a very marginal level of political complexity. However, recent research indicates that the view of Åland as a political periphery is in need of reconsideration. The period initiated by the migration of new communities into a region already populated was apparently a 'golden age' for the islands, and was distinguished by the construction of a new identity. Due to differences in the rich Late Iron Age archaeological material within the archipelago, there is also a growing amount of research suggesting that Åland consisted of different polities at that time. In this study, I will discuss the setting of Ålandic hillforts in the natural and cultural landscape, and will explore whether they can be regarded as symbolic manifestations of separate polities, i.e. organised groups with social hierarchies and conventions of conduct differentiating themselves from other organised groups.

We present geochemical data of soils sampled from two Late Iron Age (A.D. 550-1050) buildings at Bartsgårda on the Åland Islands, Finland. The houses had different constructions and use-patterns, one being an intensively used dwelling house, rich in finds, whereas the other, scarce in finds, had a more specialized character, linked to ceremonial rather than domestic activities. Systematic and targeted feature sampling was carried out to analyze 190 samples using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF) to 1) identify floor/activity levels in the houses based on vertical and horizontal geochemical anomalies; 2) compare the anthropogenic activity signals of the buildings; and, 3) test a rapid and cost-efficient ex situ analytical strategy for geochemical characterization of archaeological soils. Although the long-term use of the site as a livestock paddock introduced some complexities, based on the geochemical and micromorphological data, the houses had several activity levels and markedly different anthropogenic profiles.

In this study, presenting pollen, charcoal, and “soot”-particle records from a lacustrine sediment core, the development of the cultural landscape around Lake Dalkarby träsk on the Åland Islands in Finland is scrutinized and discussed within a broad temporal setting in order to clarify the long-term interplay between the environment and human activities in this part of the archipelago. Special emphasis is given to the transition period from the Late Iron Age to the medieval times due to the dominating humanistic discourse on the settlement dynamics in this region, as in the Åland archipelago in general, arguing for an approximately 150-years-long hiatus in habitation between these two periods, from AD 1050 to 1200. Our results do not support the theories of the hiatus in habitation, but show a long and continuous history of the utilization of land and forest resources starting from prehistoric times. The forests were first cleared with fire for slash-and-burn cultivation. Thereafter, structural diversity in the landscape started to increase. By 1240, the pollen data portrays a picture of a developed agrarian community with a subsistence economy based on arable farming and animal husbandry in which hemp seems to play a substantial part.

In this article, I argue for the value of community inclusion, transparency, and engagement in efforts to change attitudes towards archaeology, using a case from Åland, an autonomous archipelago in the Baltic Sea. With its own legislation concerning the protection of archaeological sites, archaeology on Åland has been a contentious subject for decades. This culminated in 2013 with the controversial trial and conviction of a family for severely and knowingly damaging one of the Stone Age sites on Åland. Against this backdrop, I initiated a project concerning an Iron Age settlement site. I discuss my experience of setting up an independent research project with a focus on publicly engaged archaeology and storytelling within an initially hostile framework, and in a region where archaeology is highly professionalized. The article also illustrates how friction around a community-oriented project can arise between stakeholders as a result of the social dynamics of archaeology itself.

This article provides an account of the history, present state, and possible future directions of Finnish maritime archaeology in order to elucidate certain aspects characteristic of the field. In the Finnish context, academia and the heritage sector are historically interconnected, and professionals have successfully assumed responsibilities in both. Research opportunities, however, have been more numerous at the Finnish Heritage Agency (FHA) than in academia, whereas the focus has been on well-preserved wrecks mainly from seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This can be explained by the great number of registered shipwrecks from the historical periods being managed by the FHA. Well-preserved shipwrecks are also central for hobby divers' interest that has been historically paramount for the development of the field. At the same time, discontinuities in academic training of maritime archaeologists have created a situation where opportunities for long-term and indepth research at universities have been few. Future prospects of Finnish maritime archaeology are discussed with respect to the current state, and the interconnectedness of the heritage management sector, academically trained maritime archaeologists, and avocational diving societies and volunteers is emphasised as a key element in continued development.

This article analyses Finnish maritime archaeology through a compiled bibliography of 621 scientific and popular works published between 1942-2020. General trends and turning points in the history of the discipline are identified and discussed visa -vis temporal and topical foci discerned in the publications. Special attention is drawn to the concentration in Finnish research on shipwrecks from the historical period, and the low international visibility of scientific production is problematised. While largescale projects have been carried out in Finnish maritime archaeology, knowledge production within the authorised heritage discourse in particular has aimed to fulfil the needs of local and national rather than international audiences. Our compiled bibliography, which is hereby made available to the wider research community, has potential to become a valuable tool for identifying and developing future research areas.

Björn Cederhvarf är mest känd för sina utgrävningar på Jettböle stenåldersboplats i Jomala, men i början av 1900-talet gjorde han även undersökningar på över hundra lokaler från yngre järnålder på Åland. Trots att majoriteten av dessa aldrig avrapporterades, är det möjligt att skapa sig en uppfatning om betydelsen av hans arbete utgående från fältdokumentationen i Museiverkets arkiv. I arkivmaterialet framgår det att Cederhvarf identifierade en grupp stora järnåldersboplatser på Åland, på vilka det går att urskilja ett flertal husgrunder. Bartsgårda i Finström (Fi 2.1) är en av dessa boplatser, som även undersökts av Cederhvarf. Cirka 30 husgrunder har år 1905 märkts ut på översiktskartan över Bartsgårda. Många är ännu synliga i terrängen. Vi utförde en terrester laserskanning på lokalen, vilken visar att översiktskartan är mycket exakt. På grund av den betydande bristen på rapporter och publikationer begravdes Cederhvarfs observationer i arkivens gömmor, och har som regel inte haft möjlighet att påverka diskussionen som förts om Ålands järnålder. I artikeln återvänder vi till Cederhvarfs järnålder.

In this article, it is suggested that finds of clay paws recovered from the Late Iron Age burials on the Åland Islands, Finland, should be identified with seals rather than bear or beaver, as previously often proposed. The clay paw burial rite is a distinctly Ålandic innovation, emerging in connection with a 6th century AD colonization of the archipelago. This colonization has recently been explained within a framework of global climatic disturbances, where Åland is proposed to have functioned as a refuge due to an ample availability of maritime resources, in particular seals. This provides the background and context to the emergence of the clay paw rite and circumvents much of the earlier confusion regarding these curious objects.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of Late Iron Age (AD 550-1050) and early medieval (AD 1050-1300) stone foundation houses and sites on the Åland Islands. More than a quarter of known houses and sites have been subjected to archaeological excavation, most of them over 50 years ago. Many investigations have not been published and research is suffering from speculative and loosely founded generalizations covering long periods of time. In this article, I will compile and compare the excavated and documented stone foundation house sites to each other, examining their differences and shared similarities providing a qualitative description. The lack of solid chronology is a major obstacle in drawing conclusions of a more general character. New radiocarbon dates are presented from the seven stone foundation houses at the settlement site in Kulla, reliably anchoring this site and its chronology.

This paper accounts for and contextualizes a newly discovered monumental longhouse, a potential hall from the Late Iron Age on the Åland Islands, Finland. The 45 m long building and its location are discussed in regional and historical context, in comparison to the full data set of coeval houses on Åland, and argued to signal a social stratification, manifesting a higher level of achievement in this Late Iron Age society. This is further examined in the context of Iron Age settlement development. A rapid and large-scale colonization to Åland, evident in the middle of the first millennium AD, is for the first time explanatorily discussed, addressing the question of why this process occurred. Sudden population growth is linked in part to large-scale climatic disturbances, with fatal consequences in those areas of heavy agricultural dependency, forcing population movement to Åland driven by the presence of maritime resources, particularly seals, and available land.

INLEDNING På ett infrarött flygfoto som visar området runt den medeltida St:a Mariakyr-kan i Kvarnbo, Saltviks socken på Åland, syns ett antal intressanta anomalier på fältet norr om kyrkan, i ett område där såväl öst-västliga som nord-sydliga sund har förenat sig under järnåldern då vattennivån var högre än den är idag. Av särskilt intresse är ett ca 45 x 15 m stort avtryck, konvext till for-men, som bär mycket starka likheter med konturerna av stora hallbyggnader kända från Skandinavien (Fig. 1). År 2014 genomfördes de första arkeolo-giska undersökningarna där på författarens initiativ och utgående från det infraröda fotografiet. Marken norr om Mariakyrkan i Kvarnbo har odlats i hundratals år – den tidigaste bevarade historiska kartan över området visar att platsen varit od-lingsmark från och med slutet av 1700-talet. Ca 100 m sydöst om detta om-råde finns enligt fornminnesregistret även ett av Ålands största gravfält från yngre järnåldern. Eftersom odlingsprocessen förstör, förändrar och t.o.m. gömmer fornlämningar har det inom den skandinaviska arkeologin från mitten av 1980-talet praktiserats en undersökningsmetod som inte priori-terar den plöjda och omrörda matjorden i det överodlade kulturlandskapet. Metoden går ut på att man schaktar bort matjorden för att sedan komma åt de orörda arkeologiska spåren. Men matjorden kan givetvis vara en del av fornlämningen 1 och den kan innehålla stor kunskapspotential i form av, bland annat, metallfynd. Metalldetektorkartering på jordbruksmark är en icke destruktiv metod för matjordsundersökning och har inom arkeologin visat sig att vara mycket användbar för att lokalisera och avgränsa boplatser och andra fornlämningar, samt för att via sina metallföremålsfynd datera ar-keologiska lokaler och indikera platsers funktion. 2 Därför var metalldetekte-ringen av de ytor som flygfotot utpekat som arkeologiskt intressant den första undersökningen som gjordes i Kvarnbo, inom ett område som vid senare geofysiska undersökningarna och arkeologiska provgrävningar visade sig de

The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia is the earliest and most important written source about the history of the eastern Baltic region at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. Together with a complementary source for this period, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, the sources have primarily been used to illustrate the struggle on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea during the process of Christianisation. The chronicles are, however, rich in information on a variety of other aspects of the early medieval society as well, such as crusading ideology and rhetoric, administrative distribution and ethnicity, and the range of different practices, all of which have lately inspired much research. In this article, the chronicles are used to analyse seafaring on the Baltic Sea in the beginning of medieval times with the main emphasis on ordinary mariners. First and foremost, new evidence on the existence and importance of pilot services in the Baltic region is introduced. Briefly, winter traffic connected with the sea will be discussed as well and the chroniclers’ approach towards the sea and seafaring will also be touched upon.

This paper presents the results of phosphorus mapping conducted on a number of coastal activity zones on the multi-period, archaeological farm site of Vatnsfjörður, northwest Iceland. The aim of the study was to detect the exact levels and extents of shorelines contemporary with the archaeological site's activities and to use sea-level change to establish a relative chronology of coastal activity zones. Absolute dating of the coastal zones and sea-level changes was achieved by integrating an existing sea-level curve with a novel tephrochronology-based curve, created for the purpose of this research. Results were projected onto a detailed digital terrain model of the area in order to reconstruct the extent of the coastline contemporary with human activity in the respective zones. A significant component of the research was an attempt to develop the existing approach to phosphorus mapping results interpretation. This has resulted in an improved methodology that can be applied to the dynamic and challenging environments of coastal sites worldwide.

The purely functionalistic and technological approach in maritime investigations as well as the lack of theoretical awareness stemming from the empirical nature of the subject matter has meant that the category of watercraft landing site has become a banality in archaeological studies. This category serves as just an illustration without any significance of its own. This article argues that watercraft landing sites have an archaeological value as sources for the interpretation of past societies. As a social category, a landing site is defined as a contact zone bounded by water where movements and meetings take place both on land and by watercraft and are facilitated by the nature of the locality. Based on this definition, a model is presented as a tool for explaining the available archaeological data as well as a framework that can be applied to the study of landing sites. This is empirically exemplified using a case study based on the landing site of the medieval town of Borgund in the nearshore Atlantic archipelago of Western Norway.

In the context of the development of different kinds of watercraft during prehistory an interdependent line of development for landing sites and harbours is often suggested, and used to argue that it is almost impossible archaeologically to locate small and early landing sites. Although the constructional properties of prehistoric watercraft suggest that landing-structures were not absolutely necessary, there is nevertheless archaeological evidence of landing-facilities from the Stone Age, as well as landing facilities for smaller boats to consider. This article will discuss to what extent ship archaeological evidence could be seen in a corresponding development to landing sites in its respective periods.

Repeatedly, archaeological research on landing sites draws upon the equivalence between a naturally suitable coast and a landing site/harbour. This kind of research emanates from an archaeologically and socially ill-defined landing site concept and has created a basis for arbitrary discussions on the nature of maritime activities of past societies. There is no comprehensive and integrated understanding of the existing variability, character and patterns of landing site behaviour and relations. This article addresses the question of what characterises landing sites for watercrafts in an archaeological and social perspective. If such characteristics can be defined, what are the possibilities of seeing any of these traits in an archaeological material? Defining a landing site as a contact zone where movements and meetings on land and by watercraft take place and are facilitated by the locality as such, a generally applicable model for the archaeological study of landing sites is suggested and checked against three different archaeological case studies from the Baltic Sea region.

For the study and understanding of the structure and use of the ancient landscape and the maritime aspects of society, landing sites are one of the most sought after and discussed antiquities in the cultural landscape. Methodologically, in locating the places for landing, looking at their context, such as the prehistoric landscape, has been given a high priority throughout the history of research and landing sites are presumed to have existed in the vicinity of several material and non-material indicators of maritime presence. However, as the category of landing sites and their nature have not been properly defined, such indiscriminate designation based purely on circumstantial evidence poses serious problems. This paper evaluates research into landing sites in the Baltic Sea region, scrutinising terminological and methodological approaches used and suggests a way forward.

There are around 1200 lakes in Estonia and, for the most part, these are all shallow and muddy with almost non-existent visibility – only around 10 of the of lakes in Estonia are considered suitable for diving. Among these 1200 lakes, there are about 20 that are surrounded by persistent legends telling of or suggestive of old wooden constructions at the bottom of these. Many of these legends are quite imaginative and fantastic, such as those dealing with lakes that fly or appear randomly, occasionally drowning villages. But there are also realistic tales that tell us about local people finding worked logs in lakes; there is an oral tradition about poles tearing fishing nets and about constructions at the bottom which are visible from the surface. In this paper, the questions of how much trust should and can archaeology put regarding the source value of such stories will be discussed.

No toponym has come from nothing and there has always been a link between a place and its name. When it concerns the past, it is a scholar’s task to explore this connection. The article discusses Estonian-Swedish maritime place names from an archaeological perspective, and in based on the premise that research into toponyms should depart from the principle that the scholar tries to reconstruct the name giver’s viewpoint. The article deals with two main topics: the meanings of place names related to the Estonian Swedes’ possible practical use of the coast and sea, and, more importantly, to the possible function of place names as indicators of archaeologically interesting maritime locations. Also, the question of the dating of place names will be touched upon. The perspectives of different place names as indicators for locating landing sites will be analysed at length.

During the late 1990s, when deciding my specialisation within archaeology and discussing it with the university based archaeologists, I heard the declaration that maritime archaeology has no perspective. The irrationality of this statement coming from the university that avers its rationality became the motivating force for me to find out why professional archaeology negated the possibilities of maritime archaeology. In the following, I will discuss the development of Estonian maritime archaeology. I present and analyse the possible set of reasons why the suitability of underwater archaeological methods has been and is continuously questioned by professional archaeology in Estonia. At the same time, the need and importance of the support from academic archaeologists for the development of the subject is touched upon.

"In the end of the year 2006 a shipwreck was found during the reconstruction works in the Tallinn Harbour. On the basis of only 4 salvaged fragmentary pieces and partly, according to their find-spot, the wreck was directly hypothesised to be a Swedish warship Draken from the 17th century. Without any actual preliminary investigations of the location and/or complementary archival studies, the ship was also said to be in a totally demolished condition. The generally acknowledged expert of Estonian maritime archaeology declared that shipwrecks of this age, type and condition are not worthy of any kind of archaeological research. And the Estonian National Heritage Board agreed, even though they had earlier estimated the wreck to be a find with a high cultural value.
Several problematic issues for the more general discussions on underwater heritage emerge from the above stated example. The choice and evaluation of research material is definitely requisite in archaeology; in case of old shipwrecks, their condition, age, frequency of occurrence and general cultural and scientific importance are probably the most important criteria for evaluation. But, do 4 fragmental ship-details give any information on these matters?! Even without preliminary investigations the first step in wreck-archaeology seems always to be identifying a site, putting a name to it. Thus, why, in so many cases concerning shipwrecks, archaeological material itself is not considered important? Furthermore, statement that 17th century (and younger) shipwrecks are not of interest for the science and are suitable only if these are preserved entirely, is even more distanced and unsuitable standpoint for archaeology. Still, such declarations, more characteristic for antiquarian archaeology, occur frequently in academic maritime archaeology. And for any National Heritage Board to proceed in their decision making from plain hypotheses and from the concept according to which only “beautiful” and entirely preserved object have a value should be totally out of place in today’s archaeology."

This paper examines mankind's connection with the sea, shore and coastal areas – that is, with the maritime cultural landscape. It is suggested that archaeologists dealing with maritime landscapes should get inspiration from the seaman's perspective in studying the impact of maritime elements within the culture under investigation. The features of navigation, piloting and safe landfall can be revealed only by approaching the landscape from the sea; the role of the water vessels is impossible to avoid. The question of the seasonal distinctions in landscape studies is also raised. Different places form landing, being the most popular and investigated antiquities in the maritime environment, are seldom defined in landscape archaeological research, and terms denoting different types of sites are often used as synonyms. Based on the inevitable dependence of landing sites upon watercrafts, these places are analysed in time and space.

The archaeology of insular landscapes has focused on boundaries and borderlands. Often viewed as peripheral spaces defined in relation to their degree of isolation or interaction with the mainland, islands have yet to be analysed as landscapes of ‘resistance’ and ‘opportunity’. 
The power dynamics used in current models of interaction ascribes a passive role to islanders, while geopolitically-central regions in the neighboring mainland areas emerge as pro-active agents of change and interaction, of connections and disconnections imposed on island populations. Yet, the maritime frontier presented by insular landscapes bestows upon island communities hypermobility (when nautical technological solutions and knowledge have been developed), unbounded space, and access to seafaring networks that may extend across regions, three aspects that can nurture local autonomy and agency. Changing the focus from mainland to island, is it possible to explore insular landscapes as spaces of resistance or compliance defined by the agency of islanders?
A relatively new way of flipping the script in these terms has emerged in Southeast Asian scholarship through the concept of “zomia,” popularized by James C. Scott in “The Art of Not Being Governed: an Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia” (2009). Although it originally refers to a large massif in mainland Southeast Asia whose elevated and rugged terrain has been home to minority groups that have historically avoided control and influence of states, “zomia” has now been redefined to describe regions whose geographic and environmental conditions enabled communities to craft their own social worlds while deliberately putting distance between themselves and systems of central authority.
In the preface to the book, Scott recognizes the need to expand the term to the maritime frontier, where societies could evade or stave off central authority equally, if not better than, in the rugged terrain of upland Southeast Asia. In this session, we want to pursue this discussion and examine the validity of shifting the narrative of island archaeology to one that is focused on agency, autonomy, and resistance of island communities. We invite papers that examine insular landscapes as zones of resistance and opportunity, exploring how the resources, the topography, and the environment of these landscapes may have been harnessed by island communities to develop a strong sense of independence and identity guided by their own agency. We also aim to explore the role of these spaces in their own right as havens in times of social and environmental crises, as places where communities could seek refuge, and where those newcomers could add, change, and develop landscapes and identities.