Halls at Borre: the discovery of three large buildings at a Late Iron and Viking Age royal burial site in Norway

Tonning, Christer; Schneidhofer, Petra; Nau, Erich; Gansum, Terje; Lia, Vibeke; Gustavsen, Lars; Filzwieser, Roland; Wallner, Mario; Kristiansen, Monica; Neubauer, Wolfgang; Paasche, Knut; Trinks, Immo

doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.211

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Different practices between the two excavations in how the features category "undefined" was used, does in practice mean that a direct statistical comparison of the detection rate of postholes between the two sites should be done with caution. Other examples from Norway under different conditions also show how post-built structures can be successfully detected, characterised and studied using GPR [31][32][33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Large-Scale, High-Resolution Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys and Trial Trenching for Archaeological Site Evaluations—A Comparative Study from Two Sites in Norway

et al. 2020

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The use of large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar surveys has increasingly become a part of Norwegian cultural heritage management as a complementary method to trial trenching surveys to detect and delineate archaeological sites. The aim of this article is to collect, interpret and compare large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey data with results from trial trenching and subsequent large-scale excavations, and to extract descriptive and spatial statistics on detection rates and precision for both evaluation methods. This, in turn, is used to assess the advantages and disadvantages of both conventional, intrusive methods and large-scale GPR surveys. Neither method proved to be flawless, and while the trial trenching had a better overall detection rate, organic and charcoal rich features were nearly just as easily detected by both methods. Similarly, the spatial representability was similar, even though the total detection rates were lower with the GPR. This can be used as an argument in advance of integrating full-coverage GPR results into a site evaluation scheme, preferably in combination with other methods. Overall, these analyses have highlighted drawbacks and possibilities in both methods that are important contributions in understanding how to use them and integrate them in future site evaluations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Large-Scale, High-Resolution Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys and Trial Trenching for Archaeological Site Evaluations—A Comparative Study from Two Sites in Norway

et al. 2020

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“…It measures over 38m in length and, although somewhat shorter than hall buildings identified in other parts of Southern Scandinavia, it is comparable in size to the recently discovered hall buildings at the high-status cemetery at Borre in Vestfold (Tonning et al . 2020). Furthermore, as the average length of three-aisled buildings in Østfold is approximately 20m (Gjerpe 2016: 211), H3 must be considered a building of unusual size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gjellestad: a newly discovered ‘central place’ in south-east Norway

et al. 2020

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“…It was not until the GPR surveys in 2007 that these structures were recognised as belonging to a building [1]. Detailed descriptions of the site and the hall buildings can be found in Tonning et al (2020). The discovery of these buildings has expanded the character of the site and allows for comparisons to be drawn with central places such as Uppsala and Lejre [24] (p. 56), [25] (p. 363).…”

Section: The Site Of Borrementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2008, the Norwegian company 3D Radar conducted a test with a motorised step-frequency radar [2]. In 2013, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro, Vienna, Austria), together with the Vestfold and Telemark County Council (VTFK) and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU, Oslo, Norway), conducted a survey on snow as part of a larger project in Vestfold County using a customised 6-channel Sensors & Software SPIDAR system pulled by a snowmobile [3,4]. Both surveys confirmed the findings from 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Environmental Factors on the Quality of GPR Data: The Borre Monitoring Project

et al. 2022

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The Borre Monitoring Project investigated how environmental factors, in particular, precipitation and soil moisture variation as well as different soil and sediment types, affect the quality of GPR data collected for archaeological purposes. To study these questions, regular GPR surveys were conducted over a period of 14 months across a test area covering a hall building at the Iron and Viking Age site of Borre in Norway. In order to obtain in situ measurements of environmental factors relevant for electromagnetic wave propagation including volumetric water content, bulk electrical conductivity, ground temperature, and precipitation, three monitoring stations were erected at the test site. Soil and sediment samples taken from the profiles at the respective monitoring stations were analysed to gain a basic description of their physical and chemical properties. Twelve GPR surveys were conducted roughly once a month between August 2016 and September 2017 and the results clearly indicated differences in the quality of the data collected. To better understand the underlying causes for this variation, GPR data were compared against and integrated with the in situ measurements gathered using the monitoring stations. The results of this analysis emphasised the benefit of dry conditions, which, if prevailing over a longer period of time, proved to generate GPR data of the highest quality. Seasonality could not be attested; instead, data quality was governed by small-scale weather patterns, where the time and intensity of rainfall events prior to the surveys as well as sudden changes in air temperature played a decisive role. While the results of this study are only valid for sites with similar settings such as Borre, they emphasise the importance of considering the environmental factors during all stages of a GPR survey and highlight the need for further studies investigating other settings.

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Halls at Borre: the discovery of three large buildings at a Late Iron and Viking Age royal burial site in Norway

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

The Effectiveness of Large-Scale, High-Resolution Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys and Trial Trenching for Archaeological Site Evaluations—A Comparative Study from Two Sites in Norway

The Effectiveness of Large-Scale, High-Resolution Ground-Penetrating Radar Surveys and Trial Trenching for Archaeological Site Evaluations—A Comparative Study from Two Sites in Norway

Gjellestad: a newly discovered ‘central place’ in south-east Norway

The Influence of Environmental Factors on the Quality of GPR Data: The Borre Monitoring Project

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