Highlights and a summary of the last three weeks at the excavations at Rönneholm peat bog.

Our names are Anna Landström and Sara Gustavsson and we are archaeology and osteology students from Gotland University.  During the last three weeks we have been excavating at Rönneholm peat bog.

We have decided to write about our experiences from these weeks, here are a short summary and all the highlights!

To start with, we must say that it’s a big difference between digging on Gotland compared to a peat bog. Neither of us had experience from excavating a peat bog before.
Apart from the differences in the excavation, there were a few things we did not expect. One thing was the occasional "peat-dust-storms".  Peat-dust in the nose, ears and mouth...

Another was that the bog liked to steal shoes...

 Clara got stuck in the peat, luckily Emma was there to rescue her.

The first week served up some different weather, from soaking rain and strong winds to bright blue skies and sunshine.

At the first day we almost felt a little bit lost, standing on the dark peat watching the hundreds of nails marking finds. Almost like a bed of nails.

All the nails marking finds.

However, we quickly managed to get hold of the excavation tactics.

The first finds of flint, hazelnut shells and charcoal were so exiting! And not to speak of the first flint blades, those were exquisite!

                                                                                   Hazelnut shell, Flint blade.

Later in the week the weather decided to make things slightly harder for us. Strong winds blew away the big tent and we all rushed after it and grabed a hold on it. That was quite an experience!

 

Iohannes and Andreas in the rain.

 During the second week we continued to dig and the finds almost jumped up on us. Some parts were so full of finds that it took ages to dig them, we dug 1 millimeter, and then the area was covered in nails! During the week quite a few wooden poles were excavated.  And when we left after the third week we had found about 25 poles on the site.

One of the wooden poles.

 

Because the organic material was so well preserved it all felt very alive.  For once it wasn't the  absence of a pole that indicated a construction (as in the usual postholes); here were the real poles!
Gradually, when more and more poles came to the surface, it was possible to get a hint of the shape of a hut.

Something we both appreciated was surveying parts of the bog outside the excavation area. We walked off at 10am with Iohannes Sundberg and Anna Klintberger and the four of us were surveying the rest of the day. During our survey a spearpoint and a bonepoint were found. 

During the third and last week we were only a tenfold students that continued to dig (most of the other students' courses had started at the university). We continued to find more flint, hazelnuts and charcoal (the finds seemed never to stop!).

That's all we have to say for now, if the excavation continues next summer, we're hoping to be there again!

Text and photos by Anna Landström and Sara Gustavsson