– It is basically a bit late in the year to do excavations. There is little light, cold and frost here in the north, says archaeologist at the Norwegian Arctic University Museum, Anja Roth Niemi.
She has led the project of excavating the find that was made on Gimsøya earlier this autumn.
The case is also mentioned by NRK Nordland.
Was found by chance
It was during an inspection of Nordland County Municipality that what appeared to be a grave was found.
– It turned out that the find was well preserved, but it was very shallow, with about 20 cm of sand and soil above, so time was short to preserve the find, she says.
Although the archaeologists suddenly had a hard time taking care of the find, they were lucky. It was by no means obvious that it should have been left alone in all these years.
– The area where the discovery was made is former plowed land. We could see plow tracks just a meter from the skull. it was luck and coincidence that made it discovered, says Roth Niemi.
Due to the fact that we will soon write November in the calendar, the weather had to be ready for excavation, and this week the work started.
– It was difficult to plan. We have followed the weather forecast closely, and we will not go much further north until there is already fresh snow, she says.
Roth Niemi says that if the snow had settled on Gimsøya, they would have had to use infrastructure to dig up the discovery in a good way.
– One can not know how complex the find is in advance, and it must be treated with care, says the archaeologist.
– EXCAVATION: Here the archaeologists are in the process of investigating the find on Gimsøya. Photo: Norwegian Arctic University Museum
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– Was terribly excited
And when the discovery was made, archaeologists were not sure what to find.
– We were terribly excited. We knew there was a skull in the grave, but we knew nothing about whether there were several body parts and other objects there, says Roth Niemi.
So when they saw what was lying there, they were very surprised.
– The whole upper body was very well preserved. The person was in a kind of fetal position. It is incredibly special to get so close to those who have lived before us. A person lying there with his face and hands, she says.
It is estimated that archaeologists believe that the tomb is from the Late Iron Age, and the working hypothesis is that it is a large man. The bone structure of the person who has been found is quite strong. All teeth also appear to be in place.
LOFOTEN: On Friday morning, the archaeologists finished the excavation. Photo: Norwegian Arctic University Museum
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To be investigated further
The remains will now be thoroughly examined by experts.
– We are very interested in finding out this individual and what life the person has had, what kind of diet the person has had and what nutritional status the person was in, she says.
Upon closer examination, much can be found out about the person, even though it is many hundreds of years since the person was buried.
– We will find out if the person has lived in good or bad conditions, and if the person has injuries. We will also find out more about the height, posture, age and gender of the person, says the archaeologist.
The ax arouses astonishment
At the remains of the person was an ax. A so-called narrow onion. Why it is located as it does will now be investigated.
– The ax was right next to the lower jaw. There was simply contact between the lower jaw and the ax, says Roth Niemi.
She also has a theory as to why the ax lay just like that.
– What may have happened is that the skull has shifted over the years, but the ax was stuck in the lower jaw. We must look more closely at the cause, says the archaeologist.
AX: One may wonder how the person ended up with an ax in his chin. Photo: Norwegian Arctic University Museum
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– Strong theory
The find that archaeologists have unearthed this week is not the first discovery made on Gimsøya in Lofoten.
– There are very many cultural monuments here from before. Many discoveries have been made on a farm called Hov, and on the island in general. Not far from the site in question, there are several clear burial mounds, says Roth Niemi.
The archaeologist says it is a theory related to the farm Hov.
There is a strong theory that Hov farm was a kind of power center with great influence in the area.
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