Acta Archaeologica vol. 71, 2000, pp. 35–47 Copyright C 2000

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THE EARLY VIKING AGE IN NORWAYby

B M

NEW LIGHT ON THE ‘‘DARK 600s’’The rich archaeological finds from the Viking Age inNorway are traditionally explained by rapid culturaland social advances following new contacts withWestern Europe after 793. An argument for a rathersudden change of the society at that time is the hy-pothesis that the 600s was a Dark Age of stagnationin South Norway after an economic and political col-lapse of society in the late sixth century (Gudesen1980, 124, 136; Helgen 1982, 51; Magnus & Myhre1986, 398).

In North Norway and Trøndelag it seems that theeconomic, social and political situation was stablethroughout these centuries. Recent archaeological re-search in South Norway may indicate that the pro-posed stagnation of the 600s was not so dramatic asearlier believed. New intensive investigations in mar-ginal agrarian areas like the mountains, the wood-lands and along the outer coast show that hunting,the use of summer pastures, iron extraction, fishinga.s.o. continued, and at some places even were ex-panding during the seventh century (Myhre 1993;based on Alsaker 1989; Bjørgo 1986; Bjørgo et al.1992, 302–308; Magnus 1974; 1986; Martens 1988,82–85).

Clearly the marginal areas must have been ex-ploited from neighbouring agrarian settlements andpopulation centres, but we have until now not beenable to find these sites. In my opinion one of the rea-sons is the lack of intensive investigations.

The recent investigations at Borre in Vestfold is anexample of how intensive studies at a central agrarianarea may give us a new understanding of the settle-

ment development during the so-called ‘‘dark 600s’’(Myhre 1992a; 1992b). We know Borre as a VikingAge cemetery of large mounds where the rich shipburial from about AD 900 was found in 1853. Thenew investigations showed that the earliest largemounds were built already about AD 600, and theothers during the following centuries until 900. Pollenanalyses and landscape studies tell about a continuityof land use and settlement since the Early Iron Agein the neighbouring area (Jerpåsen 1993; 1996, 88,109, 163) (Fig. 1).

From about AD 600 the cultivation was intensified,large fields were taken into use, the woodland disap-peared and new kinds of herbs and crops were intro-duced. Instead of a dramatic stagnation during theseventh century, we are now able to demonstratesettlement expansion and a development into an in-tensively used agrarian landscape. Such a change ofthe landscape happened at the same time as the firstlarge mounds were built, probably as burial places fora political elite of chieftains or petty kings.

But we have not yet found the houses and thegraves of the ordinary people in the Borre area.Further investigations must be carried out, not onlyat Borre, but in other central agrarian areas in SouthNorway, if we shall be able to demonstrate clearlya continuity of settlements and land-use through theseventh and eighth centuries.

Probably many farms and settlements in SouthNorway were left during the sixth century, and insome areas the population was reduced in number.This may not have been the result of a general crisisin society, but rather, as found in Denmark, the result

36 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 1. The cemetery of large mounds at Borre, Vestfold, which can be dated to c. 600 (Mounds 6 and 7) and to c. 900 (Mound 1 wherethe rich ship-burial was found in 1853). Map, Myhre 1992a, fig. 57.

of a reorganisation of settlements, a new settlementpattern and another way of using the landscape(Hedeager 1992, 224; Näsman 1991, 168; Näsman &Lund 1988, 227–50).

The hypothesis is that a new economic and socialorganisation may have led to a centralisation of farmsand agrarian settlements, allowing for a better controlof the land and the agrarian resources in the hands ofthe aristocracy and the richest farmers. These majorlandowners may also have organised a major part ofthe exploitation of resources in the mountains andalong the coast.

AGRARIAN SETTLEMENTSIn South Norway few farms and houses from the sev-enth and eighth centuries have, as indicated, beenfound and excavated. But strangely enough the situ-

ation is not so much better when we take a look atthe archaeological material from the ninth century,the Early Viking Age.

The traditional view of a settlement expansion andincrease in population during the ninth century hasmainly been based on the large number of gravefinds, and on the study of the chronology of farmnames. However, many of the farm names that tra-ditionally were dated to the Viking Age, like thoseending on -stad and -land, now seem to have been inuse already during the earlier centuries (Salvesen1990; Løken & Særheim 1990). The arguments for astrong settlement expansion during the Early VikingAge, built on farm name studies alone, are not con-vincing any more.

Archaeological investigations in West Norway havedemonstrated that many farms from the MigrationPeriod were deserted during the sixth and seventh

37The Early Viking Age in Norway

centuries. If there was a population pressure duringthe Early Viking Age, we would have expected a re-settlement on these deserted farms. In SW Norwayseveral hundred farm houses from the Roman andthe Migration Periods have been excavated, as wellas about 50 from the High Middle Ages (1050–1350).The number of excavated houses from the VikingAge can, however, be counted on a few hands (Myhre1980, 94–140).

It is surprising that most of the investigated de-serted farms from the Migration Period were not re-settled until the High Middle Ages, only very few dur-ing the Viking Age. Even large deserted farms in cen-tral parts of the plain of Jæren, like Lyngaland andHanaland in Time county were not re-settled beforeAD 1000 (Petersen 1936, 37, 81; Myhre 1980, 125,236, 348).

The general impression is that the Early Iron Agesettlements, as well as those from the Viking Age,were concentrated to what has always been con-sidered the best agrarian areas. From these popula-tion cores a strong settlement expansion to more mar-ginal areas can be documented during the Romanand Migration Periods, as well as the High MiddleAges, but only on a small scale during the Meroving-ian and Early Viking Age.

At Borre in Vestfold, during the Iron Age and theViking Age, most farms are found in the valleys andon the ridges where also the majority of barrows aremapped. Not until the High Middle Ages is a strongsettlement expansion documented into the neigh-bouring areas, previously used for arable fields. TheMedieval farms often had names ending on -rud(Jerpåsen 1993; 1996, 29, 127).

The settlement development has been well studiedin the Lofoten area in North Norway, especially onthe island of Vestvågøy. Olav Sverre Johansen hascome to the conclusion that the number of farms werekept on the same level from the Migration Periodthrough the Viking and High Middle Ages. Thisextraordinary result is explained by a stable economybased on husbandry and fishing in a special coastalclimate throughout the centuries (O.S. Johansen1982, 63).

A conclusion to be drawn from such local studiesis that generally speaking, a major settlement expan-sion to marginal agrarian lands started during the

Late Viking Age or the High Middle Ages. A popula-tion pressure during the Merovingian Period and theEarly Viking Age can so far not be documented.

VIKING AGE HOUSE STRUCTURESThe few excavated Viking Age house structures fromSouth Norway are, generally speaking, rather small.Some are of the same type as the well-known Vikinghalls found in Scandinavia and on the Atlantic Is-lands, e.g. at Oma in Time on Jæren (Petersen 1933,66; Myhre 1980, 345) and at Søndre Nygård inFåberg, East Norway (Komber 1989, 153). At YtreMoa in Sogn the small structures were rectangularwith an entrance at one end, actually a house typenot so very different from the Dublin Viking houses(Bakka 1965). The Ytre Moa farmhouses are excep-tional among the excavated Viking Age structures;they indicate that the parting up of the Iron Age long-house into smaller buildings with different functionshad started about AD 800 or earlier. Characteristicfor most Viking Age house structures is that the byreis no longer a part of the long-house, as normallyduring the Migration Period. The byre was nowusually a separate building (Myhre 1982, 195).

In North Norway, however, several later long-houses with a byre have been excavated. They areparted up in smaller rooms, as in the MigrationPeriod. The best example is the great building fromthe eighth century at Borg in Lofoten, 83 m long(Munch 1991). A 40 m long long-house with a byre,dated to the eighth and ninth centuries has recentlybeen excavated at Åker, Hedmark in East Norway(Pilø 1994).

The corner timbering technique, known e.g. fromthe Gokstad grave chamber, has been documented indomestic houses from the Late Viking Age at VesleHjerkinn, Dovre (Weber 1986, 197). A kind of staveconstruction in three-aisled buildings seems to be thedominating building technique during both theMerovingian Period and the Early Viking Age.

Differentiated building customs during the VikingAge have been documented. There are regional andsocial differences to be seen. A clear change of housetypes about AD 700, as has recently been docu-mented in Denmark (Hvass 1993), cannot be demon-strated in Norway as of yet, but it is highly probable

38 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 2. Radiocarbon dates from thirty-three house sites in the moun-tain valleys at Nyset-Steggje in Sogn. These were used as settlement

sites. After Bjørgo et al. 1992, fig. 213.

that new house types were introduced before AD 800also in South Norway.

EXPLOITATION OF NON-AGRARIANRESOURCESIntensive archaeological investigations in the moun-tain areas, in the woodlands and along the outer coasthave produced a large amount of empirical data onthe exploitation of non-agrarian resources during theViking Age and the centuries before. Of special inter-est is the extraction of iron, and the quarrying of soapstone and slate for hones, the hunting of reindeer andelks and the use of summer pastures in the mountains(Magnus 1986; Bjørgo et al. 1992, 285) (Fig. 2). Alongthe coast specialised fishing sites have been found(Magnus 1974), and in North Norway it can be shownthat fishing activities became more important forfarmers particularly in the outer coastal districts. Theso-called farm mounds which really are tells createdby continuous settlement through the centuries untiltoday, have presented us with excellent evidence forintensive fishing activities and husbandry after thelocalisation of farmsteads during the Viking Age, atsome sites even earlier (Bertelsen 1984, 144; 1989;Urbanczyk 1992, 105).

Fig. 3. Radiocarbon dates from iron extraction sites at Møsstrand,Hardangervidda. After Martens 1988, fig. 101.

The process of iron extraction has been wellstudied at Dokkfløy, Møsvatn, and Hovden in SouthNorway, and in the Trøndelag (Fig. 3). At Dokkfløyand in the Trøndelag the production started aroundthe birth of Christ (Jakobsen and Larsen 1992, 73;Farbregd et al. 1985), at Møsstrand during the sixthcentury (Martens 1988, 85), and at Hovden about AD900 (Bloch-Nakkerud 1987, 135). Generally speakingthe production during the Early Viking Age seems tohave been on a level not so much higher than duringthe Iron Age. A major expansion is very well docu-mented from about AD 900 and into the HighMiddle Ages.

A similar development is found when it comes tohunting of reindeer and elks. On the Hardangerviddaand in the Dovre area hunting structures, bone andgarbage deposits, pit falls, and intricate trapping sys-tems for large scale hunting have been excavated. AtDovre Egil Mikkelsen found that both the large trap-ping system and the pit falls were mainly Medieval,earlier hunting mostly carried out by bow and arrow

39The Early Viking Age in Norway

(Mikkelsen 1994, 98–111) (Fig. 4). On the Hardanger-vidda trapping systems seem to have been used on amoderate scale already in the Migration Period, butalso here mainly in the Middle Ages (Blehr 1973,108). The large scale trapping systems for elk huntingat Dokkfløy are dated to the Roman and Medievaltimes, respectively (Jakobsen and Larsen 1992, 131–35). Also in North Norway (Olsen 1987; Storli 1994,78) and in North Sweden (Mulk 1994, 168, 249) mostlarge trapping systems are Medieval.

Generally speaking, the exploitation of non-agarianresources was carried out on a similar scale duringthe Roman/Migration Period and the Early VikingAge. It was intensified enormously during the LateViking Age, and especially during the High MiddleAges. We must conclude that it is not possible to showthat there was a special pressure on these resourcesduring the eighth and ninth centuries.

DEMOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENTSMany publications indicate that there was a consider-able population growth in Norway during the eighthcentury, and population pressure is often mentionedas the factor that might explain the first emigrationto the Western Isles. Recent archaeological investi-gations (referred to above) do not support such a con-clusion. Most important in this connection is the indi-cation that so many farms with names ending on -landand -stad seem to have been settled already during theMigration and Merovingian Periods and cannot betaken as evidence for a settlement expansion in theEarly Viking Age, at least not without excavations oneach site (Salvesen 1990; Løken and Særheim 1990,184–190). The number of grave finds from the VikingAge is in some regions much larger than during theMerovingian Period, but there is a continuous in-crease through the centuries, more graves from the9th and early 10th centuries than from the 8th cen-tury. A possible change in burial customs should alsobe taken into consideration when interpreting the in-crease in numbers of graves.

The agrarian settlements seem to have been con-centrated in the same central areas during both theIron and the Viking Age, and a major expansion intomarginal agrarian areas did not start before the LateViking Age and, especially, the High Middle Ages.

Fig. 4. Radiocarbon dates from house sites and middens at Hard-angervidda. After Mikkelsen 1994, fig. 75.

One explanation for such a development may be thatwhen the settlement abroad came to an end duringthe 10th century, more marginal land at home had tobe taken into use.

It is a major problem that we have found so few ofthe major farms or even houses from the Viking Age.The long-houses at Borg in Lofoten, at Åker in Hed-mark, and at Oma on Jæren are exceptions. On sitesto be excavated in the future we should expect to findgroups of long-houses and small, specialised struc-tures. Villages, similar to those found in Jutland(Hvass 1993; Bender Jørgensen and Eriksen 1995),may also have existed in Norway. For these reasons,it is very difficult to calculate the number of popula-tion. One of the major future tasks of Norwegian ar-chaeologists should be to locate and excavate majoragrarian settlements from the Viking Age.

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTSMajor technological improvements have been men-tioned as important for the understanding of the de-velopment of Viking Age society. I shall shortly com-ment upon the techniques of soil cultivation, the tech-niques of iron extraction and the change from rowingto sailing ships.

An intensive way of cultivating the soil of the fieldsis well-known from post-medieval times. In West Nor-way it is called mould or turf manuring. Earth,mould, turf, and humus were brought into the thecattle byre, mixed with animal manure, and laterused as fertilizer on the fields. Through the years,

40 Acta Archaeologica

thick layers of soil accumulated, and very high linch-ets developed at the lower edges of the fields. As aconsequence of this intensive soil preparation andmanuring the fields did not have to lie fallow. Evenrather small fields, that could be tilled by spade, gavevery high yields of barley or oat. A similar cultivationtechnique is called ‘‘Plaggen Düngung’’ in North Ger-many, and documented from the Roman Period on-wards. In Norway, this kind of turf manuring waslong thought to be a Medieval invention, but is nowproven to be at least from the eighth century, may befrom the Migration Period (Kvamme 1982, 129;Myhre 1985, 81; Opedal 1994; Øye Sølvberg 1976,110).

In the Early Iron Age, iron was produced in shaftovens, built over a pit dug into the ground. The slagwas collected in the pit, and the process had to bestopped when the pit was full. To continue, new pitswere often dug, and a new shaft of burnt clay made.During the Viking Age and the High Middle Agesanother technique was introduced; permanent shaftovens. In these, it was possible to tap the slag by col-lecting it at the side of the oven. The works aroundthe furnace were better organized, with special pitsfor charcoal burning and roasting of the bog ore. Theoven was often covered by a roof, and even specialstructures were built. The extraction was highly effec-tive, and it was possible to produce a large amount ofiron. Recent investigations in Norway and Swedenhave shown that this new technique was introducedlong before the Viking Age, probably as early as theseventh century (Larsen 1991, 275; Jakobsen & Lars-en 1992, 80; Espelund 1989).

The introduction of the sailing ship has by manybeen mentioned as the decisive factor that triggeredthe Viking activities across the open sea. The Osebergship, now dated to c. 820 (Bonde 1994, 141), is theoldest preserved ship built for sailing and fits well withthe earliest known Viking raids. The badly preservedship from the grave mound Storhaug near Avaldsnesin Rogaland, probably from about AD 700, seems tohave been built mainly for rowing (Opedal 1998). Sois apparently the Kvalsund ship from the seventh cen-tury (Shetelig & Johannesen 1929). But ships withsails are presented on the Gotland Picture Stonesfrom the late seventh century onwards. The use ofsailing ships in the North Sea area long before AD

800 is thus quite possible (Crumlin-Pedersen 1990;Haywood 1999).

Peter Sawyer has recently published a new readingof a part of Alcuin’s letter on the raid at Lindisfarne,which is of great interest for the discussion about anearly use of sailing ships (Sawyer 1995). The passagenec eiusmodi naufragium fieri posse putabatur is usually read‘‘nor was it thought that such an inroad from the seacould be possible’’. Traditionally, it has been sug-gested that Alcuin by this meant that the use of sailingships coming in from the sea was something new. Ac-cording to J.F. Niermeyer, naufragium in Alcuin’s timedid not mean ‘‘shipwreck’’ as in classic Latin, but ‘‘themeaning is clearly loss or ruin with no maritime associ-ation’’ (Sawyer 1995, 3). So, according to Sawyer, Al-cuin was not referring to the use of sailing ships anda crossing of the North Sea as something unusual, butthe destruction of the holy place.

We must admit that we have very limited knowl-edge about the introduction of sails in West Scandina-via, and we can therefore not use the introduction ofsailing ships to explain the first Viking raids. It mayjust as well be that the sail was introduced becausethe Scandinavian chieftains of the eighth centurywanted to intensify the trading and raiding across theopen sea (see also Hines 1996, and Hernæs 1997).

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CENTRESTo identify economic and political centres of the Vi-king Age, archaeologists have studied the distributionof richly equipped graves, treasure finds, importedprecious objects and coins, large monuments, likegrave mounds, special house sites, large boat houses,and trading sites (e.g., Fabech & Ringtved 1991;Mikkelsen & Larsen 1992; Ringstad 1991; Sognnes1979; Wik 1991).

I would like to present shortly some examples ofrecent studies on political centres in different parts ofNorway. In this connection the earliest dating of suchcentral places will be of special interest.

In North Norway centres have been predicted onthe basis of special clusters of houses, so-called ‘‘courtsites’’ (Fig. 5). At the largest court sites as many as 16houses may be found. They have been interpreted asmilitary sites, barracks where the chieftain’s mencould gather when needed. Another interpretation is

41The Early Viking Age in Norway

Fig. 5. Aerial photo over the Kaupang area. Photo, Department of Archaeology, University of Oslo.

that they were thing-sites laying close to the chieftain’sfarm. Large boat houses, numerous grave finds and aconcentration of farm sites are often found near thecourt sites. On such a basis a chieftain’s center atBorg in Lofoten was predicted before the large long-house was found on the site (O.S. Johansen 1982, 65).The 83 m long building with very special finds ofimported goods gives us an impression of how sucharistocratic sites may have looked like during theeighth and ninth centuries.

At least eleven court sites have so far been found inNorth Norway. The largest ones, at Bjarkøy, Steigen,Leknes, and Tjøtta, have been dated from the Romanuntil the Viking Age. Some smaller sites are from thefirst period, the largest ones mainly from the later.Only few sites have so far been totally excavated, thus

there are still chronological problems to be solved(Johansen & Søbstad 1977, 13; O.S. Johansen 1989,30; Wik 1983).

A special study of possible political centres on theHelgeland coast in North Norway shows that theseare to be found on islands along the main sailingroute, where there is also good arable land. Most cen-tres are found at the mouth of large fiords going intothe mountainous inland that seem to have beensettled by Saami people. The sites have been inter-preted as centres in redistributive economic systemsreaching from the sea to the North Scandinavian in-land (Wik 1985, 231).

The written sources indicate a close co-operationbetween the Saami and the Norse populations duringthe Viking Age. The Saami may have paid some sort

42 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 6. Norwegian central places (in capitals) and mountain sitesmentioned in the text. The central places in northern Norway are

so-called ‘court-sites’. After Myhre 1998, fig. 16.

of tax to the chieftains, as the famous Ottar told kingAlfred of Wessex at the end of the ninth century.They may also have been incorporated into the redis-tributive system and even been protected by the chief-tains as important producers of valuable goods (Odn-er 1983, 85; 1985). In the mountains and the nearestvalleys on the Swedish side of the border, many Saa-mi house sites and settlements have been excavatedand are shown to be from the sixth century onwards(Storli 1994, 45; Mulk 1994, 141). An archaeologicalindication of trade and exchange of goods across theScandinavian peninsula is the many items of Finnishor Baltic origin found along the outer coast of NorthNorway, already from the eighth century onwards(Sjøvold 1974, 360–364; Storli 1991; 1994, 108).

It is important to note that the archaeological ma-terial indicates a continuous economic, social, anddemographic development in North Norway from thesixth century into the ninth and tenth centuries(Vinsrygg 1979, 73–77). Even at the main site at Borgin Lofoten there was a 55 m long house already in

the Migration Period, enlarged to 83 m in the sev-enth–eighth centuries (Munch 1991).

In the region of Trøndelag, distribution maps ofViking Age material indicate two central areas in theinner parts of the Trondheimsfiord. Around Levang-er/Steinkjer in the North and at Stjørdal in theSouth, rich finds have come to light from all periodsfrom the Roman Age onwards. Iron extraction sitesare numerous in the nearest inland, and the archae-ological material indicates contacts eastwards alongthe valleys and through the woodland to the BalticSea (Sognnes 1991, 260). Notably, there are no indi-cations of an earlier central place near the Late Vi-king and High Medieval city of Nidaros.

Viking Age central places in West Norway arefound in the fiord areas, where the main tradingroutes are crossing the mountains, and where utilitygoods could be collected (Sognnes 1979, 45–49, 87).At the mouth of one of the largest fiordsystems, thecentral place Avaldsnes is situated at a strategic pointalong the main coastal sailing route. Close to the siteof the Medieval church, possibly also the royal site ofking Harald Fairhair, the rich ship burials at Storhaugand Grønhaug, probably from about AD 700 and thetenth century, have been excavated. Another largemound, where no grave have so far been found, is C-14 dated to the sixth-seventh centuries (Opedal 1998).

As earlier shown, the cemetery of large mounds atBorre in Vestfold has a history from about 600 until900. During the early part of this period largemounds of a similar size were built in some of thecentral areas of East Norway, along the main rivervalleys, and at the Oslo Fiord, at sites with a goodagrarian potential, and a dense population, andwhere it was possible to exercise some control overthe important communication and trading routes be-tween the coast and the inland. While large moundsfrom the Early Iron Age were mostly built at ordinarycemeteries belonging to a farm or a group of farms,after AD 600 we often find the large mounds isolatedfrom other monuments, and placed individually inthe landscape (Gansum 1995, 228).

In South Vestfold, the Kaupang area must havebeen a central place during the Early Viking Age(Blindheim, Heyerdahl-Larsen & Tollnes 1981;Blindheim & Heyerdahl-Larsen 1995; Hougen 1993)(Fig. 5). We shall probably look for the seat of a petty

43The Early Viking Age in Norway

king at Huseby-Tjølling, a few kms inland from thetrading site itself. The excavators have come to theconclusion that the earliest finds from the Black Earth

area are older than AD 800, probably from the sec-ond part of the eighth century. At the well excavatedcemeteries in the neighbourhood very few graves canbe dated to the seventh and eighth centuries(Blindheim, Heyerdahl-Larsen & Tollnes 1981, 39–47; Blindheim & Heyerdahl-Larsen 1995, 12; Forseth1993), but with the new research results from Borrein mind – and remembering that only a very smallpart of the Black Earth has been excavated so far – itwould not be surprising if the earliest phase of thetrading site at Kaupang once will be dated back toabout the early part of the eighth century, like Ribein Jutland.

New trading places from the Migration andMerovingian Periods have recently been found inDenmark and Sweden.They are situated at good har-bours close to rich settlement sites where political cen-tres existed long before the Viking Age, e.g. Gudmeon Funen (Jørgensen 1995), and Helgå in Scania(Callmer 1995, 53). In Norway, Kaupang in Vestfoldis still the only trading place found.

As mentioned above, central places in North Nor-way and Trøndelag, at Avaldsnes in Rogaland, andBorre in Vestfold seem to have a history going backseveral centuries before AD 800. Continuity, and agradual development from the sixth–seventh centur-ies have been demonstrated. One of the major futuretasks of Norwegian archaeology is to search for trad-ing sites from the Merovingian Period and the EarlyViking Age, similar to the ones recently found inDenmark and Sweden.

HISTORICAL CONCLUSIONSIn this short review, it has been shown that accordingto the available archaeological material, the yearsaround AD 800 were not a period of dramatic econ-omic and cultural change in Norway, as often postu-lated. New house types appear, the sailing ship ispossibly introduced, and the number of grave finds islarger than before. But when it comes to settlementpatterns, numbers of farms and the exploitation ofnon-agrarian resources, major new developmentshave not been documented. It is not possible to find

evidence for a strong population pressure whichshould make it necessary to start an emigration west-wards. Important technological improvements con-nected with iron extraction and manuring of fieldswere introduced already in the seventh century. Manyof the strong political centres have a long history be-fore 800.

The traditional hypothesis of an economic anddemographical crisis in the late sixth and early sev-enth centuries have been questioned. At least inNorth Norway, Trøndelag and in some districts ofEast Norway settlement continuity is demonstrated.The major changes that we note in the archaeologicalrecord from South and West Norway are tentativelyinterpreted as a consequence of re-organisation ofsettlement, and of a social and political developmentthat led to centralisation of power in the hands of thearistocracy and leading farmers.

During the seventh and eighth centuries a fewstrong, petty kingdoms were established, and fromtheir centres widespread redistributive economic sys-tems were established. To these centres various goodsfrom different ecological zones could be transportedand converted into prestige and authority through giftexchange, generousity, feasts and administrative trade(see Christophersen 1989, 121). From such strong-holds it was also possible to exercise some controlover important communication routes along the coastand fiords and through the inland valleys up to themountain plateaus.

I have argued that these Norwegian petty king-doms were integrated into the large scale economicand political networks that developed around thesouthern shores of the North Sea during the late sev-enth and the eighth century (cf. Appendix). On bothsides of the English Channel, major emporias andmarket places were established. After AD 700 notonly prestigious goods were exchanged, but also com-modities produced by craftsmen and specialists in theemporias. The long distance trade also included prod-ucts like iron, hones, lava for quernstones, antlers,whalebones, and probably furs and hides (Hodges1989, 162; Jensen 1991, 23; Näsman 1990; 1991,171; Myhre 1992a, 1992b & 1993).

Norwegian petty kings and chieftains seem to haveparticipated in such a network of trade, alliance, andwarfare between the political centres in Scandinavia

44 Acta Archaeologica

and the North Sea region. The exchange systembrought valuables like glass, bronzes, beads, jewellery,and weapons from the Continent, and probably alsofrom the British Isles, to Norwegian chieftains as farnorth as Borg in Lofoten already during the eighthcentury. In addition to the mentioned commodities,ideas, ideologies, and knowledge were probably alsoexchanged.

Therefore, the Scandinavian upper social stratawas not isolated from the rest of Northern Europeduring the Merovingian Period, but shared culturalideas and values with other Germanic kingdoms, alsoChristian ones.

Christian symbols and impulses may even havebeen introduced into Norwegian societies during theeighth and ninth centuries (Hernæs 1993, 108;Fuglestvedt & Hernæs 1996). Some Insular, ecclesias-tical objects may have come to Norway already dur-ing the eighth century, but the vast majority of suchobjects is found in Norwegian graves from the ninthcentury. There must be a direct connection betweenthe plundering of churches and monasteries on theBritish Isles, as told by the written sources, and themany Insular objects found in Norwegian graves(Bakka 1963; 1971; Wamers 1985). Such objects, aswell as treasure finds of gold, silver and coins, showthat the chieftains now were able to enlarge their in-come through plundering and valuables paid asransom.

It seems that a relative peaceful period of trade andinteraction across the North Sea was followed by amore warlike period in the eighth century, at the sametime as Insular missionary activities on the Continentwere intensified. The Carolingians expanded north-wards until the Elbe, threatening the Danes. Thisideological and military conflict probably also in-cluded the control over the long distance trade andthe emporias of the North Sea. An interesting hypo-thesis is that the political situation on the Continentmay be one of the reasons for the interest among theNorwegian chieftains for contact and trade with Picts,Scots, and Irish groups across the northern part of theNorth Sea (Hines 1996). Conflict between heathenScandinavian kingdoms and the Christian powers onthe Continent and in England may be one of the rea-sons for the Viking raids and plundering of churchesand leading monasteries after AD 790. Indeed, the

construction of advanced sailing ships in Scandinaviaduring the eighth century might be an answer to theneed for regular crossing of the rough northern seas(Hernæs 1997; Hines 1993; 1996; Myhre 1993; 1998).

According to this hypothesis, the plunderings shouldnot be explained by population pressure at home, theinvention of the sailing ship, or, as actions of pirates.Many of the Viking raids in the late eighth and theearly ninth century may be considered as actions by thechieftains to acquire wealth and treasures, but prob-ably they were also incidents in a conflict between thepowers around the North Sea. In a broader perspec-tive, the raids may be seen as parts of a conflict betweena heathen Germanic culture in the North and Chris-tian kingdoms in the South and West.

From written sources, we know that the Viking ac-tivities abroad were important for the economic andpolitical organisation in Scandinavia during the ninthand tenth centuries. What we need now is new ar-chaeological research and investigations to under-stand more of the economic and political develop-ments during the formative centuries between AD600 and 800. We need both more empirical data anda better chronology, just as much as we need boldhypotheses and ideas to inspire us.

APPENDIXSeveral archaeologists have argued for a direct line of communi-cation between Norway and the British Isles in the MigrationPeriod and later (Carver 1990; Hines 1984, 293; 1993; 1996; Vi-erck 1970). A debate is also going on about the possibility of con-tacts across the North Sea to the North Atlantic islands during theseventh and eighth centuries, not mentioned in the written sources.Some of the arguments are, in short, as follows.– Early radiocarbon dates from settlement sites and houses of West

Scandinavian type on Iceland (Hermanns-Audardottir 1989, 46–53; 1991. For a discussion, see Nordahl 1988, 113; Sveinbjarnar-dottir 1990; Theodorsson 1998; Vilhjalmsson 1990; Crawford1991; Kaland 1991; Mahler & Malmros 1991; Morris 1991a).

– Early radiocarbon dates of the first indications of agriculture(pollen analyses) on the Faroe Isles (J. Johansen 1985, 56–60;Hannon & al. 1998; Hannon 1999. For a discussion, see Arge1990, 14–16; Krogh 1986).

– The use of reindeer antlers for comb making on Pictish as wellas Early Norse sites on Orkney and Shetland (Smith 1995,Weber 1991, 171; 1995. For a comment, see Roesdahl 1994,112).

– A few grave finds from the British Isles and Ireland might be ofthe late eighth century (Brøgger 1930, 282; Myhre 1993, 190;Shetelig 1954, 102. For a discussion see Crawford 1987, 40,

45The Early Viking Age in Norway

206; Graham-Campbell 1990; 1994; Morris 1985, 221; 1991b;Sawyer 1982; Wilson 1976).

– Insular objects found in Norwegian graves might be earlier than790 (Vinsrygg 1979, 67–70; Myhre 1993, 189. For a discussionsee Bakka 1971; 1973; Geber 1991; Hines 1996; Vierck 1970;1978; Wamers 1985).

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