Bakestones in Northern Norway: An Archaeological Witness to Medieval Foodways and Maritime Trade

Abstract

BAKESTONES ARE A 11TH-CENTURY EARLY MEDIEVAL INNOVATION associated with flatbread production that reflect a distinctive Norwegian food culture spanning some 600 years. Large scale manufacture of chlorite schist bakestones at Ølve-Hatlestrand, western Norway, was linked to further distribution in Norway from the port of Bergen. Bakestones were an important item of maritime trade transported to northern Norway in exchange for stockfish (dried cod) and are most commonly found in coastal fishing villages and settlement mound sites. An attribute-based analysis of bakestones from northern Norway in the Arctic University Museum of Norway archaeological collection, the first comprehensive study outside of medieval towns, explores the role of bakestones for Norse/Norwegian maritime settlement and as a valued trade commodity, as demonstrated by reuse of bakestone fragments. In addition to documenting spatial and temporal bakestone distribution, geochemical (XRF) characterisation and a preliminary analysis of organic residues were also undertaken. Although bakestones are primarily associated with Norwegian settlement, their role in contexts with a combination of indigenous Sámi and Norse/Norwegian elements is also evaluated.