Excavation3

The university of Kalmar has, for the third time, started a three week excavation of "old Skogsby", and Iron-age settlement of one of the wealthiest chiefs on the island at the time, judging from the size of the number of farms that was here and the longhouse itself. The longhouse is 55 metres long, one of the largest on the island and must have been an important place during that time. (our iron-age started about 3-400 A.D.) I've described the other two excavations here and here.

This year, the students continued their diggings, expecting to find the end of the building which they now believe has functioned as a kitchen for the hall itself. They didn't find the outer wall this time either, that'll have to wait until next year, so far they have excavated about 25-30 metres of the building. When they started three years ago, Ludwig Papmeh Dufay, the teacher and leader of the digging, thought they would find a storage house, four by six metres long. So far they have found storage spaces with more clay-jars than has been found on any site in Sweden yet, Stones with holes that usually are believed to be connected with weaving, a place for making flour, a slaughter place, the skeleton of half a horse at the cooking place and boxes for keeping animals (they believe). 

When I got there this afternoon they were very excited, having found buttons and a pearl limestone slabs, laid out like a floor or paths to walk on. A complete other kind of floor compared to the rest of the building and they haven't seen the end of it yet. They are here for another two weeks, it will be interesting to follow their findings.