Mot en ny fase for jernvinna i Møre og Romsdal? Nye perspektiver på organisering og teknologi

Abstract

This paper discusses the chronological and typological development of iron production technology in the Norwegian county of Møre and Romsdal based on data from excavations and surveys during the last decades. Very few sites have been excavated, and regional research on the topic is limited. Despite the sparse and fragmented material, the standard three-phase typology appears too limited for the diverse evidence in Møre and Romsdal. The divergences from the typology are most evident in the persistent use of shaft furnaces with slag pits during the same period as charcoal produced in separate kilns emerges as fuel. The technological change also appears to coincide with changes in site localization and organization of the production. In order to account for the regional developmental trajectory, the authors propose to introduce a regional Late Iron Age (AD 500 – 1030) transitional Phase Ib