Paviken II: Trench 7 Report 2015 Field Season

Trench 7 Description:

Paviken II

Eastern Area (in the nature preserve); closest trench to the Viking-Age shoreline

Length (N-S): 6 m

Width (E-W): 1 m

Area: 6 m2

Turf levels: height: 6.183 m above sea level

GPS: NW X: 638733.7844 m

Y: 6372051.436 m

Levels:

Turf & Layer 1: turf – 10 cm Layer 1 Depth: 0.079 m

Layer 2: 10 cm – 20 cm Layer 2 Depth: 0.159 m

Layer 3: 20 cm – 30/40 cm Layer 3 Depth: 0.338 m

Number of Features: 1

Feature summary:

Feature No. Type Finds

19 Fire pit/trash pit burnt/unburnt bone, iron,

trace amounts of charcoal

Single Finds:

Layer Descriptions:

Layer 1

The turf/topsoil and layer one were removed one after another and had little to no difference in soil topology. The turf and topsoil were removed by shovel; then down to 10 cm were removed by trowels. The soil was loamy with a colour description of dark, greyish brown. The layer had many thin roots extending vertically through the layers and larger tree roots that grew both horizontally and vertically in the layer. There were also large rocks found in several of the squares: 1, 2, 4, and 5 that had to be dug around within this top layer. Few burnt bones were found in squares two and three, between two to five pieces in each square. Charcoal, possibly modern, was also found in squares two and three.

Layer 2

The bottom was cut from 10 cm down to 20 cm and soil topology was found to be generally the same as in layer one; the loamy, dark soil was blended with small gravel-type rocks, all removed with trowels. There were thin, stringy roots extending up through the layer and large roots growing horizontally, also the same as layer one. Large rocks were found in every square (1-6) with two circular features in squares one and four. Trace amounts of burnt bone and about half a handful of charcoal were found in a soil pit feature on the mid-eastern edge of square one, beside the large stone. While small amounts of burnt/unburnt bone and charcoal also were found within the entire trench, they could be found in a more concentrated area in square four within the northern feature.

The bottom of layer two consisted of a clay layer from squares one through four, ranging from 15 to 20 cm in different locals. In square one, where the charcoal and bone were found (beside the rock), there was no clay layer. This ‘hole’ was in the middle of a circle of stones that extended outside, to the east, of the trench’s area; the trench was not extended. In squares five and six, where the clay layer was not found, the bottom of layer two was cut to 20 cm.

Level 3

Extended down to 30 cm in every square, after digging through the clay layer. A gravel layer was found beneath the clay layer in squares one through five and sand (sterile layer) was found in square six. An iron rivet plate was found within the clay layer of square two and was measured in the total station as a single find with station ID #1234. When digging down to 30 cm in square one the large stone was removed to lower the eastern side evenly. In the same area as the charcoal of layer two more charcoal was found along with another single find, a stone net sinker, designated #1277 in the total station’s coordinates. In square three a chunk of iron slag was found while sifting the gravily soil and, therefore, could neither be given coordinates from the total station nor a station ID.

In squares four and five a large concentration of burnt and unburnt bone was found circled in large stones. The area was deemed ‘feature 19’ and was continuously dug down to 30 cm. Along with the bone, pieces of iron were also found in square four. These pieces include scrap metal, a rivet, and a nail; none of these were marked with the total station because they were all discovered in the sifter. Larger pieces of worked chert/flint were also found while sifting in this square. As the bottom was reached between 25 cm and 30 cm in squares one through three, and six, the feature was reaching its end among many large piled stones at approximately 30 cm. Along the boundary of squares three and four, there are many large stones piled together forming a line extending in the southeast to northwest direction. It was originally thought that, due to its shape, it could have been a man-made structure. As the square depths were lowered sand was found underneath the stones and, therefore, the feature was determined to be natural. The average depth of the sand that began under the rocks was about 30 cm beneath the turf. This was similar to the remainder of the trench where sand was reached 30 – 35 cm beneath the turf.

Analysis of Trench

Trench seven, on the eastern side of Paviken II, outside the sheep pasture land, was closest to the Viking-age shoreline. After the minimal findings inside the trench (the iron pieces: a rivet plate, rivet, nail, slag, and scrap metal, and worked flint and a stone net sinker) it was determined that is trench was outside of the main living/trading area of Paviken II, which is located to the west.

The feature, which was designated #19, could have been an outdoor fire pit. This is less likely because only trace amounts of charcoal were found in the hole and none were large enough nor was there enough of a concentration to measure. It is, thus, more likely (because of the flint, large amounts of burnt and unburnt bone, and pieces of iron without any charcoal) that the feature was a trash pile outside the common life area of the site. This could also suggest why there was also a (seemingly broken) net sinker and a rivet plate outside without being in any understandably significant context.