Kaupang
view from the dig site on Bikjholberget
- For another Viking Age site, see Kaupanger.
Kaupang was the first known Norwegian trading outpost. Kaupang was an important merchant and craft center during the Viking Era.[1]
History
Kaupang was founded in the 780s and abandoned for unknown reasons in the early 10th century. It was situated on a beach by Viksfjord in Larvik in Vestfold county in Norway. Documentary sources indicate that the area was an important royal seat in the 700s and 800s.[2]
Kaupang is mentioned under the name of Skiringssal (or Skíringssalr) in Ohthere from Hålogaland's tales. Ohthere (Ottar fra Hålogaland) visited Kaupang in the 9th century, and said that it served as a market.[3]
Excavation
Most archaeologists believe the site to have been the first urban settlement of some significance in Norway. Excavations and studies have found that Kaupang was a handcraft and commercial center, with around 1,000 inhabitants. The city had diverse craft production and extensive trade with foreign countries. Commodities traded included iron, soapstone and perhaps fish.[4]
In 1867, Nicolay Nicolaysen conducted the first excavations of the area. Nicolay Nicolaysen mapped one of the grave-fields around the former town and excavated 79 grave mounds. He also uncovered a cremation cemetery, largely dated to the 10th century. Charlotte Blindheim started excavating in 1947 and completed her last publication in 1999. Dagfinn Skre and his associates undertook a new program of work at Kaupang in 1997. [5]
In the summer of 2000, the University of Oslo began an extensive new excavation program at Kaupang. The leader of this new excavation process was Professor Dagfinn Skre. The Institute for Archaeology, Conservation and Historical Studies at the University organised the large excavations that ran over three years from 2000 until 2002. A smaller research excavation was conducted in Kaupang's harbour area in 2003. The site of the excavation can be found in Larvik, specifically in Tjolling. Several scholars are now working on analysis of both the artifact material and different environmental archaeological samples. [6]
The results from the post-excavation work will be published in a series of six books, the first of which became available in 2007. Many of the approximately 100,000 finds from excavations have been on display at the University of Oslo, including Arab silver coins, gold coin from Dorestad, hundreds of glass beads, jewelry of gold and bronze, pottery, weapons and tools.[7]
References
- ^ Vikings' Home Reveals Extent of Their Wanderlust (National Geographic Society)
- ^ Kaupang in Skiringssal (Kaupang Excavation Projekt Publication. 2007)
- ^ Ohthere's Voyages: A late 9th Century Account of Voyages along the Coasts of Norway and Denmark and its Cultural Context (edited by Janet Bately and Anton Englert. Roskilde: 2007)
- ^ Logan, F. Donald (1992). The Vikings in History. Routledge. p. 20.
- ^ Means of Exchange. Dealing with silver in the Viking Age (Edited by Dagfinn Skre. Kaupang Excavation Project)
- ^ Knyttes til ofringer (Aftenposten. March 15, 2007)
- ^ Kaupang Vikingbyen (University of Oslo)
Other sources
- Blindheim, Charlotte Kaupang: Vikingenes handelsplass (Mortensen. 1972)
- Helle, K. et al., Norsk Byhistorie (Pax forlag, Oslo 2006) ISBN 978-82-530-2882-8.
- Skre, Dagfinn; Stylegar Frans-Arne, Kaupang the Viking town (Jac Trykk as, Oslo 2008) ISBN 82-8084-018-4.
- Skre, Dagfinn (editor) Kaupang in Skiringssal (Kaupang Excavation Projekt Publication. 2007)
External links
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