Metall i bunn og grunn. Metallutvinning i Oslo, ca 1150-1250 e. Kr.

Summary. It has been doubted whether people in peripheral Norway were able to master the technique of extracting metal from solid rock, prior to the Late Middle Ages, when German miners prospected and explored ore deposits. This paper sheds light on metallurgists working in the medieval Old town of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Astrid Kristoffersen
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Primitive Tider 2018-12-01
Series:Primitive Tider
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uio.no/PT/article/view/6632
Description
Summary:Summary. It has been doubted whether people in peripheral Norway were able to master the technique of extracting metal from solid rock, prior to the Late Middle Ages, when German miners prospected and explored ore deposits. This paper sheds light on metallurgists working in the medieval Old town of Oslo, their access to local raw materials, and their metallurgical expertise and abilities. It is argued that people living in Oslo had access to the rock mineral galena (PbS), and that by AD 1150–1200, at the latest, they had the technology to produce lead. It can be contended that metallurgical activities took place in two different areas of the town. The study also indicates that local lead was in circulation simultaneously as lead from foreign sources, which may have provided new opportunities for actors in the town. While the lead was used to produce so-called everyday products, indications of serial production of spinning whorls, exceeding that of a normal household, could have been connected to a specialized industry for shoe production. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates how with crossdisciplinary methods, new information can be gathered from old treasures.
ISSN:1501-0430
2535-6194