Slipsteinberget Soapstone Vessel Quarry. Home Production or Professional Craft?

A case study of the large Slipsteinsberget soapstone quarry at Sparbu in Nord-Trøndelag County (central Norway) is presented. The archaeological evidence indicates that professional craftspeople worked at the soapstone quarry, producing vessels for larger markets, over a period of at least 400 years, from the early 11th to the 15th century. Discovery of finished vessels, two house ruins attached to the production, the large volume of the production and the exploitation methods all bear witness of a large-scale industry with distinct structures and methods

The Sandbekkdalen Quarry, Kvikne: A Window into Early Iron Age Soapstone Exploitation in Norway

Norges forskningsråd 210449 Universitetsmuseet i Bergen Tromsø museum - Universitetsmuseet NTNU VitenskapsmuseetpublishedVersio

The Sandbakken Qarry, Kvikne: A Window into Early Iron Age Soapstone Exploitation in Norway

The oldest known example of large-scale soapstone exploitation in Norway is found at Kvikne (south central Norway), where quarrying took place during the pre-Roman Iron Age (5th to 1st century BC). The quarry is located in a remote area at an altitude of nearly 1000 m ASL, and is untouched by Viking Age and medieval exploitation that was so extensive elsewhere in Norway. Excavations in the 1960s suggested a production of several thousand circular vessels. Later studies revealed a separate, large extraction area for angular and irregular blanks that were distinctly different but carved with similar adze-like tools. We speculate that the latter blanks were meant for forge-stones connected to the contemporary, large-scale exploitation and processing of bog iron. Radiocarbon dating results suggest that the circular and angular extractions represent early and late pre-Roman Iron Age phases of quarrying, respectively. The tool marks suggest that iron axes were used for soapstone extraction already from the earliest pre-Roman Iron Age. This nearly 500-year period of quarrying with a bladed tool technique is in marked contrast to the use of pointed tools in the Viking Age and later, in accordance with previous suggestions of a total break in soapstone vessel production during the Roman Iron Age and Migration Period. Similar production must have existed elsewhere in Norway in the pre-Roman Iron Age, but traces of the ancient quarrying were in most cases erased by the very extensive exploitation of soapstone in the Viking Age and later

Soapstone in the North. Quarries, Products and People 7000 BC - AD 1700

This book addresses soapstone use in Norway and the North Atlantic region, including Greenland. Although the majority of the papers deal with the Iron Age and Middle Ages, the book spans the Mesolithic to the early modern era. It deals with themes related to quarries, products and associated people and institutions in a broad context. Recent years have seen a revival of basic archaeological and geological research into the procurement and use of stone resources. With its authors drawn from the fields of archaeology, geosciences and traditional crafts, this anthology reflects cross-disciplinary work born of this revival