- Alvastra pile-dwelling
The Alvastra pile-dwelling (coord|58|17|N|14|41|E|) is a
pile dwelling from ca3000 BC inneolithic Scandinavia . South Scandinavia has many types of cult centres, but the Alvastra pile dwelling is unique inNorthern Europe and is the only of its kind outside of the AlpinePile Dweller culture . It was the seasonal social and religious centre of a tribe, who left objects from theFunnelbeaker culture but pottery from thePitted Ware culture , in the dwelling. Ca 2/3 of the pile dwelling was excavated by archaeologists 1908–18, 1928–39 and 1976–80.Construction
The archaeologists found stilts made of
deciduous trees, notablyoak ,hazel ,elm andcrabapple . A dendrochronological study showed that the construction had proceeded in two stages during 18 years, and after a break of 22 years, the work had been finished 40–42 years after the work had begun.During the first years, the construction consisted of two rectangular surfaces, which were delimited by rows of oak stakes and the surfaces were placed in an oblique angle. Each rectangle was ca 200 m² and were separated into eight or nine rooms. Most of the rooms had floors of logs. The reconstructions and the additions were partly motivated by fires, and the construction finally measured 1000 m². The construction was connected with the shore by footbridges on both sides.
The size of the pile dwelling indicates that it was a communal work. It was also no fortification, because the stilts are too sparse and pushed into the bottom of the swamp too shallowly. The location in the swamp is also unfit for practical work, and the settlements were located on the arable soil around the swamp.
Early use as a cult centre
The pile dwelling was only inhabited during certain summer months. It was the tribe's or the clan's social centre where they gathered for festivities, especially after the summer's hunting and harvesting season. There are ca 100 hearths of
limestone evenly distributed across the dwelling, which shows that there were no permanent houses, only huts supported by the many hazel stilts. Around the hearths, there is an abundance of residue from meals, charredwheat andbarley , split and charredcrabapple s, hazel nut shells, bone ofcattle ,sheep andpig s. There are remains of game, such asred deer ,moose ,wolf andbear . Remains from birds such asmallard andblack grouse and remains of fish such asnorthern pike andperch .The ceramics are the same as those of the
hunter-gatherer Pitted Ware culture , but tools and weapons are the same as those of theFunnelbeaker culture . The remains of craftmanship are few, and so the tools have been transported to the pile dwelling from the workshops, where they were probably sacrificed to the gods.Among the most remarkable finds are double edged
battle axe s, which appear to have played a role in the cult.Late use as a grave
After the reconstruction, year 40–42, the construction was used as a
cemetery , where the dead appear to have been left on platforms raised on stilts.References
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Nationalencyklopedin See also
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Alvastra External links
* [http://www.historiska.se/collections/research/Alvastra-e.html An article from the National History Museum]
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