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Where are the missing boatyards? Steaming pits as boat building sites in the Nordic Bronze Age

Ling, Johan ; Fauvelle, Mikael LU orcid ; Ivar Austvoll, Knut ; Bengtsson, Boel ; Nordvall, Linn and Horn, Christian (2024) In Praehistorische Zeitschrift p.1-26
Abstract
The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building... (More)
The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building sites. Additionally, these results align with
a broader objective of our paper, aiming to challenge the prevailing terrestrial narrative in archaeology, which has impeded the interpretive potential for comprehending maritime societies throughout prehistory. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Abstract in German

Das Boot gilt als ein herausragendes
Symbol der nordischen Bronzezeit, dargestellt in Tausenden
von Felsbildern und auf vielen Metallgegenständen in ganz
Skandinavien. Paradoxerweise sind direkte Hinweise auf
diese Boote rar, und die Orte, an denen Boote gebaut wurden,
bleiben größtenteils schwer fassbar. In diesem Artikel schla-
gen wir vor, dass die sogenannten Kochgruben entlang der
Küste tatsächlich eher Überreste von Dämpfgruben sein
könnten, die beim Bootsbau verwendet wurden. Indem wir
auf Analogien aus der Ethnografie zurückgreifen und drei
bronzezeitliche Fallstudien von der Westküste Schwedens
und Ostnorwegens untersuchen, stellen wir die... (More)
Abstract in German

Das Boot gilt als ein herausragendes
Symbol der nordischen Bronzezeit, dargestellt in Tausenden
von Felsbildern und auf vielen Metallgegenständen in ganz
Skandinavien. Paradoxerweise sind direkte Hinweise auf
diese Boote rar, und die Orte, an denen Boote gebaut wurden,
bleiben größtenteils schwer fassbar. In diesem Artikel schla-
gen wir vor, dass die sogenannten Kochgruben entlang der
Küste tatsächlich eher Überreste von Dämpfgruben sein
könnten, die beim Bootsbau verwendet wurden. Indem wir
auf Analogien aus der Ethnografie zurückgreifen und drei
bronzezeitliche Fallstudien von der Westküste Schwedens
und Ostnorwegens untersuchen, stellen wir die Hypothese
auf, dass große, küstennahe Gruben, die durch Feuerein-
wirkung gerissene Steine und Holzkohle gekennzeich-
net sind, auf prähistorische Bootsbau-Stätten hinweisen
könnten. Zusätzlich stehen diese Ergebnisse im Einklang
mit dem weitergreifenden Ziel unseres Artikels, nämlich
das vorherrschende aufs Festland fixierte archäologische
Narrativ zu kritisieren, welches interpretative Möglich-
keiten einschränkt, mit denen man maritime Gesellschaften
in der Vorgeschichte besser verstehen kann (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Bronze Age, Watercraft, Boat Building, Scandinavia, Coastal Societies, båtbygge, nordisk bronsålder, ånggropar, kustsamhällen
in
Praehistorische Zeitschrift
pages
26 pages
publisher
De Gruyter
external identifiers
  • scopus:85193602689
ISSN
0079-4848
DOI
10.1515/pz-2024-2005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8705bf98-2afc-4092-9968-0c4e128a40f3
date added to LUP
2024-05-14 20:56:05
date last changed
2024-06-05 04:01:16
@article{8705bf98-2afc-4092-9968-0c4e128a40f3,
  abstract     = {{The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building sites. Additionally, these results align with<br/>a broader objective of our paper, aiming to challenge the prevailing terrestrial narrative in archaeology, which has impeded the interpretive potential for comprehending maritime societies throughout prehistory.}},
  author       = {{Ling, Johan and Fauvelle, Mikael and Ivar Austvoll, Knut and Bengtsson, Boel and Nordvall, Linn and Horn, Christian}},
  issn         = {{0079-4848}},
  keywords     = {{Bronze Age; Watercraft; Boat Building; Scandinavia; Coastal Societies; båtbygge; nordisk bronsålder; ånggropar; kustsamhällen}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--26}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter}},
  series       = {{Praehistorische Zeitschrift}},
  title        = {{Where are the missing boatyards? Steaming pits as boat building sites in the Nordic Bronze Age}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/pz-2024-2005}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/pz-2024-2005}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}