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Northern Worlds
– landscapes, interactions and dynamics
Research at the National Museum of Denmark
Proceedings of the Northern Worlds Conference
Copenhagen 28-30 November 2012
Edited by
Hans Christian Gulløv
PNM
Publications from the National Museum
Studies in Archaeology & History Vol. 22
Copenhagen 2014
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Publications from the National Museum
Northern Worlds – landscapes, interactions and dynamics
Research at the National Museum of Denmark
Proceedings of the Northern Worlds Conference
Copenhagen 28-30 November 2012
© e National Museum of Denmark and the authors, 2014
All rights reserved
Edited by Hans Christian Gulløv
Technical edition: Marie Lenander Petersen
Linguistic revision and translation: David Young
Cover design and layout by Donald Geisler Jensen
Set with Adobe Garamond Pro and Univers
Printed in Denmark by Narayana Press, Gylling
Published by University Press of Southern Denmark
Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M
ISBN: 978 87 7674 824 1
Cover photo: Rock carvings, Hjemmeluft, Alta, Finnmark, North Norway, photographer Ditlev L. Mahler, 2010
e proceedings are funded by e Augustinus Foundation
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98281_Nordlige verdener_004_r1.indd 1 23/09/14 08:57
Per Kristian Madsen
Preface 9
Hans Christian Gulløv
Introduction 11
I. Landscapes
Peter Emil Kaland
Heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history as a source for archaeological interpretations 19
Use and traces
Ditlev Mahler
Shetland – the Border of Farming 4000-3000 BC 49
Alison Sheridan
Shetland, from the appearance of a ‘Neolithic’ way of life to c. 1500 BC: a view from the ‘mainland’ 67
Christian Koch Madsen
Norse Pastoral Farming and Settlement in the Vatnahver Peninsula, South Greenland 95
Cosmos and perception
Flemming Kaul
e northernmost rock carvings belonging to the Scandinavian Bronze Age tradition 115
Lars Jørgensen
Norse religion and ritual sites in Scandinavia in the 6th-11th century 129
contents
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Ulla Odgaard
Clash of Concepts – Hunting rights and ethics in Greenlandic caribou hunting 151
Environment and changes
Morten Fischer Mortensen, Peter Steen Henriksen, Charlie Christensen,
Peter Vang Petersen and Jesper Olsen
Late glacial and early Holocene vegetation development in southeast Denmark
– palaeoenvironmental studies from a small lake basin close to the Palaeolithic site of Hasselø 169
Kevin Edwards
Early farming, pollen and landscape impacts from northern Europe
to the North Atlantic: conundrums 189
Richard Oram
From ‘Golden Age’ to Depression: land use and environmental change
in the medieval Earldom of Orkney 203
Noémie Boulanger-Lapointe and Claudia Baittinger
Studies of the growth of arctic willow (Salix arctica)
and arctic bell-heather (Cassiope tetragona) in the High Arctic 215
II. InteractIons
Charlotte Damm
Interaction: When people meet 227
Networks and communication
Christina Folke Ax
Good connections – Networks in the whaling and sealing community on Rømø
in the 18th century 241
Einar Østmo
Shipbuilding and aristocratic splendour in the North, 2400 BC-1000 AD 257
Anne Lisbeth Schmidt
Skin Clothing from the North – new insights into the collections of the National Museum 273
Peter Andreas Toft
Small things forgotten – Inuit reception of European commodities in the Historic ule Culture 293
Objects and exchange
Anne Pedersen
Skagerrak and Kattegat in the Viking Age – borders and connecting links 307
Helle Winge Horsnæs
Appropriation and imitation – A Barbarian view on coins and imitations 319
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Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson
Trade and Power – Bornholm in the Late Viking Age 325
Lisbeth M. Imer
e tradition of writing in Norse Greenland – writing in an agrarian community 339
Maria Panum Baastrup
Continental and insular imports in Viking Age Denmark
– On transcultural competences, actor networks and high-cultural dierentiation 353
Preservation and decay
Martin Nordvig Mortensen, Inger Bojesen-Koefoed, David Gregory, Poul Jensen, Jan Bruun Jensen,
Anne le Boëdec Moesgaard, Nanna Bjerregaard Pedersen, Nataša Pokupčić, Kristiane Strætkvern and
Michelle Taube
Conservation and drying methods for archaeological materials modied for use in northern areas 369
Henning Matthiesen, Bo Elberling, Jørgen Hollesen, Jan Bruun Jensen and Jens Fog Jensen
Preservation of the permafrozen kitchen midden at Qajaa in West Greenland
under changing climate conditions 383
III. dynamIcs
Christian Wichmann Matthiessen and Richard D. Knowles
Scandinavian Links:
Mega Bridges/Tunnels Linking the Scandinavian Peninsula to the European Continent 395
Continuity and discontinuity
Bjarne Grønnow, Martin Appelt and Ulla Odgaard
In the Light of Blubber:
e Earliest Stone Lamps in Greenland and Beyond 403
Peter Steen Henriksen
Norse agriculture in Greenland – farming at the northern frontier 423
Mobility and organization
Einar Lund Jensen
Settlement policy in a colonial context – discussions on changing
the settlements structure in Greenland 1900-1950 433
Christopher Prescott
A synthesis of the history of third millennium north-western Scandinavia 449
Lasse Sørensen
Farmers on the move – e expansion of agrarian societies during
the Neolithic and Bronze Ages in Scandinavia 463
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Techniques and environment
Jens Fog Jensen and Tilo Krause
Second World War histories and archaeology in Northeast Greenland 491
Niels Bonde, Claudia Baittinger, omas Bartholin, Helge Paulsen and Frans-Arne Stylegar
Old Houses in Greenland – Standard Houses for Greenland. Dendrochronological studies 511
in timber houses
contrIbutors
521
Index
525
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19heathl ands – land-use, ecology and vege tation history
e open heathland is western Europe’s cultural
landscape along the Atlantic coast. It stretches from
Portugal to the Arctic Circle in northern Norway –
a distance of 3,600 kilometres. In addition, there are
large heathland regions in Ireland and Great Britain
(g. 1). Heathlands are based on an ecological in-
teraction between humans, animals and plants. Ever
since the Neolithic period, the mild oceanic climate
has made it possible to keep livestock out at pasture
throughout the year. e winter green heather (Cal-
luna vulgaris) constitutes an important part of the
winter fodder for the livestock.
Heathlands are one of western Europe’s oldest
man-made landscapes. Stone Age farmers cleared
the primeval forest with re, axes and grazing live-
stock to create heathland. e clearance began as
far back as the Early Neolithic (EN), but it was not
until the Viking time that western Europe’s entire
coastline was converted into an open landscape. is
cultural landscape thus binds 11 countries along the
Atlantic coast together through a shared history and
utilisation of agricultural resources. e EU project
HEATHCULT involved 15 European institutions
from eight countries and produced a book that
gives an overall presentation of heathlands (Haaland
2002). e book was produced in four languages
and provides some of the basis for this article.
ere is a suite of land-use methods pertaining
to heathlands that are unique to this cultural land-
scape. It has been possible to study these land-use
methods in authentic form right up to the present
time in western Norway, parts of Scotland, north-
western Spain and northern Portugal (g. 2). In
the central part of the European heathland region,
however, the living land-use tradition among the
farmers has died out in most places.
Since the 1970s, ethnological, historical and
agricultural-geographical studies of the traditional
land-use system in the heathlands have been con-
ducted along the Norwegian coastline, and vegeta-
tion ecologists have carried out extensive studies of
the consequences that land-use has for the vegeta-
tion. e research started with a large interdisci-
plinary environmental project, the Lindås Project
(1971-1976) at the University of Bergen, and the
research eorts on the Norwegian coastal heath-
lands subsequently spread to several universities and
research institutions. Documentation of the heath-
land ecosystem has provided in-depth knowledge
as a basis for a contemporary authentic use of the
Norwegian coastal heathlands, forming the corner-
stone for the operation of the Heathland Centre on
Lygra near Bergen (Kvamme et al. 2004). An over-
view of the Norwegian literature is given in Kaland
& Kvamme (2013).
is source material has enabled vegetation
historians to use pollen analysis to uncover new
knowledge about the landscape’s history and to
heathLands – Land-use, ecoLogy and vegetatIon hIstory as
a source for archaeoLogIcaL InterpretatIons
Peter Emil Kaland
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20
landscapes peter emil kaland
date several of the principal land-use practices in
the heathlands. e results provide archaeologists
with a reliable basis for the cultural-historical study
of people and resource utilisation in the heathlands.
A brief overview of the European
heathlands
e open heathland is a pastoral landscape domi-
nated by dwarf shrubs, grasses and herbs, with win-
ter green heather as a characteristic plant. Despite
the considerable geographic and climatic dier-
ences between the summer heat of Portugal and the
cooler northern Norway, the traditional land-use
and the formation of the landscapes are very simi-
lar. e oceanic climate in combination with the
Gulf Stream which carries warm sea water all the
way up to the Arctic Circle, ensures a mild winter
climate with temperatures above freezing and with
only small amounts of snow. Farmers can thus leave
livestock to graze outdoors during the winter (g.
3). A common factor in the entire European heath-
land region is that farmers have improved the pas-
toral quality of the heathlands through rotational
burning of the heath vegetation.
e European heathlands can be roughly divided
into three landscape zones (Haaland 2002):
e wet north-western Europe region (gs. 4, 5)
comprises the Norwegian coast, the Northern Isles,
north-western Scotland and Ireland. Mild winters
and cool summers with high rainfall character-
ise this area. is leads to low evapotranspiration
from the landscape with extensive mire formation.
e heather vegetation most frequently grows on
peaty soil or raw humus soil. Compared to the rest
of Europe, the farms were small. Some of the live-
stock breeds grazed in the heathlands all year round.
Herding was not necessary. e farmers thus had
free time to exploit the marine resources. e com-
bination of farming with shing achieved a very
high security of food supply and it was not neces-
sary to have large farms for the family to survive.
Fig. 1. Heathlands covered vast areas
of the west European landscape dur-
ing the nineteenth century. Today, less
than 20% of the old cultural landscape
still exists (modified after Haaland
2002).
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21heathl ands – l and -use, ecology and vegetation history
e at region of central Europe (gs. 6, 7)
comprises the area from southern Sweden to Brit-
tany in France, including south-eastern Scotland,
England and Wales. e heathlands mostly lie on
at melt-water plains that were formed during the
ice ages. Sandy soil and high summer temperatures
reduce waterlogging and formation of mires. e
soils of these heathlands are nutrient-poor podzols
with only a thin layer of organic soil on top. e
farmers live in villages. In this region, there are good
conditions for developing large, green meadows, es-
pecially beside rivers and lakes. By combining the
meadows and large heathlands, farmers could breed
beef cattle. anks to the large concentrations of
population nearby, production on the heathland
farms soon became part of the market economy.
e farmers did not need to be self-supporting.
ey could exchange their products for cash at the
market. e heathlands were subjected to great
pressure for higher production. Parts of the heath-
lands were overexploited at a very early point and
the authorities put eorts into reshaping them into
more productive forms of landscape.
e colourful region of southern Europe
(gs. 8, 9) comprises the area from southern France
to northern Portugal. e heathland vegetation is
far more rich in species here than farther north.
Rainfall can be just as high as in north-western
Europe, but the high summer temperatures lead
to drought problems for the heather plants. e
Fig. 2. The famous painting of Johan Vermehren: “A Jutland shepherd on the heath” (1855) shows deep insight into the culture and
history of heathland farming. The three main participants in heathland farming are shown—man, animals and heather—against a
background of an open, treeless, never-ending cultural landscape. The shepherd is modest and diligent. He knits wool socks while
he looks after the sheep. Small grave mounds in the background remind us that this landscape has been used by man for several
thousands of years. © State Museum of Art, Copenhagen.
150 years after Vermehren painted his picture one can still meet shepherds on the heath in the National Park of Peneda-Gerês, Por-
tugal. (Fig. 9. bottom right).
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22
landscapes peter emil kaland
heathlands are therefore mostly up in the moun-
tains where it is cooler and there is more rainfall.
Peat bogs also develop in this landscape but to a
lesser extent than in north-western Europe. On
steep slopes in Spain and Portugal, terrace agricul-
ture is a good solution. e farmers collect the best
soil on the terraces, keeping it nutrient-rich and
productive with the aid of plant material, animal
dung and water. Here they can grow whatever they
want – vegetables, grain, olives, grapes – all based
on nutrients from the nearby heather heaths. Live-
stock is herded by the farmers as protection against
predators. e National Park of Peneda-Gerês in
northern Portugal is, in a European context, a par-
ticularly important region for knowledge about the
authentic land-use of heathlands. Some of the rural
Fig. 3. The hardy breed of the
traditional Norwegian sheep easily
manages to survive on heather and
seaweed during the winter (photo:
Svein Haaland).
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23heathlands – land- use, ecology and vegetation history
communities here still manage the heathlands and
pastoral areas in the traditional way.
Traditional land-use in the heathlands
Heathlands as a grazing resource. It is characteris-
tic of coastal heathlands that they are used as pasture
for appropriate breeds of sheep, goats, horses and
cows throughout the year. e winter green heather
has about the same nutritional value in winter as in
summer, and traditionally ensures winter fodder for
the livestock that graze outdoors. In coastal areas,
seaweed and sea grasses are also important fodder
Fig. 4. A block diagram of the land-
scape and resources of farms in the
heathlands of northern Europe (illustra-
tion: Ed Hazebroek).
Fig. 5. The coastal environment of the northern heathlands of Europe. Top, left: Heath landscape at the Heathland Centre, Norway
(photo: Egil Korsnes). Top, right: Fish and other marine resources have always been of vital importance. The boathouses and small
boats are in the foreground while the farmhouses are lying close by in the background (photo: Peter Emil Kaland). Bottom, left: Eu-
rope’s northernmost heathlands close to the Arctic Circle (photo: Aune Kunstforlag). Bottom, right: Europe’s most sporty sheep! The
traditional Norwegian sheep breed (photo: Adressavisen).
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24
landscapes peter emil kaland
supplements during the winter. In the summer, the
animals need access to grass and herbs, which have a
much higher nutritional value than heather. It is es-
sential for the production that pasture is optimally
organised so that the animals have enough fodder
for both summer and winter. e farmer achieves
this by creating a mosaic of heather-dominated and
grass-dominated pastures. e relationship between
them is controlled by heath burning (see below)
and through the impact from grazing.
Grazing pressure, which is too weak or too strong,
has unfortunate consequences. If it is too weak, the
heather will quickly become rough-grown and lose
nutritional value. If it is too strong, the heather will
be ousted by low-productive grasses, rushes and
sedges; then there will not be enough fodder for the
animals to be able to survive the winter.
Heath burning is a common land-use practice
throughout the European heathland region. In win-
ter, the grass and herbs that the livestock grazed dur-
ing the summer wither. e winter green heather
then constitutes an important part of the basic fod-
der. But the stems of the heather become lignied
when the plant gets older and the nutritional value
of the plant is thereby reduced. To renew the heather
plants, it is necessary to burn o parts of the heather
heaths. e ecological processes which result from
burning were rst published by the Scot, Charles
Gimmingham (1972). He showed that heather was
part of a management cycle where burning was an
important factor. He divided the life-cycle of heath-
er into four phases (g. 10). In the pioneer phase
(0-5 years), the stems are not lignied. In this pe-
riod, the livestock graze on the young heather dur-
ing both summer and winter. In the building phase
(6-15 years), the plant has established a rounded
shape, the stem is moderately woody and growth is
now at its strongest. e plant makes good winter
fodder. In the mature stage (15-25 years), the plant
becomes extremely lignied with an accompanying
reduction in nutritional value. e farmer will now
burn o the plants so that the heathland cycle re-
starts with the pioneer phase. e heathland cycle
has ensured optimum winter grazing for livestock
Fig. 6. A block diagram of the landscape and resources of farms in the heathlands of central Europe (illustration: Ed Hazebroek).
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25heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
for thousands of years, and burning in combination
with grazing prevents trees from establishing in the
heath vegetation.
If the farmer does not take care to burn the
heather in the mature phase, the stems will become
extremely lignied and production of foliage is
greatly reduced. e heather is now in the degen-
eration phase (25-50 years). A gradual migration of
trees into the heathland will now take place and the
vegetation develops into woodland.
e burning of heather (g. 11) releases the
plants’ nutrients to the ash and provides open soil.
is activates the seed bank in the soil, and it has
been demonstrated that smoke molecules initiate the
germination of heather (Måren & Vandvik 2009;
Måren et al. 2010, Vandvik et al. 2014). During the
early years, the vegetation surface is dominated by
grasses and herbs. is provides summer grazing for
the livestock. e small heather plants in the pio-
neer phase constitute only a minor part of the plant
community but, after a few years, the heather again
becomes the dominant species while the volume of
grasses and herbs in the vegetation is reduced. e
speed of this development is dependent on grazing
pressure and the availability of soil nutrients.
For the farmer, it is necessary to create a mo-
saic of vegetation surfaces dominated by herbs and
grasses (summer pastures) and heather elds (win-
Fi g. 7. The environment of the central heathlands of Europe. Top, left: Shepherds on Lüneburg Heath in Germany were responsible
for the animals’ security and for their health (photo: Nigel Webb). Top, right: The landscape of Gascogne in France was so flat that
the farmers used stilts to herd the sheep (photo: Felix Arandin @Parc naturel regional des landes de Gascogne). Bottom, left: Horses
are commonly used in the heathlands of the New Forest, south England (photo: Peter Emil Kaland). Bottom, right: Heathlands are
attractive for tourism and leisure; Lüneberger Heide 1999 (photo: Svein Haaland).
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26
landscapes peter emil kaland
ter) (g. 12). To achieve an optimal pasture with the
highest biodiversity, the area of the burnt surfaces
must be limited. e re will kill animals that are
unable to escape from the burning area or burrow
down into the ground. With small burnt surfaces of
1-3 hectares, a quick immigration takes place once
germination on the burnt land has started. In addi-
tion, the livestock get easy access to optimal pasture
plants throughout the year.
Heather mowing with scythe was previously
a common fodder gathering practice in the heath-
lands (g. 13), and right up to the 1970s a number
of farmers practised heather harvesting in western
Norway. is work traditionally took place in the
autumn every 3-8 years, according to requirements.
If the heather plants were too old and woody, a sickle
would have to be used. Sickle harvesting was much
more laborious and was only used when absolutely
necessary. e same harvesting areas were used for
centuries and they were rarely burned. e heather
was fed to the livestock that were kept in the barns
during the winter. It was common to mix heather
with hay and/or straw and some water. An authen-
tic lm about heather mowing has been produced
in western Norway (Sandberg & Kaland 1974).
e impact on vegetation after heather mowing
is dierent from the cycle after heath burning. With
mowing, one does not get bare soil, so the seed bank
is only slightly activated and the moderate fertilisa-
tion with ash does not take place. In addition, the
harvested heather is removed so that the soil con-
ditions become progressively more nutrient-poor.
One plant species favoured by heather mowing is
the black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum). It spreads
in the mowed areas and is a poorer pasture plant
than heather.
Heather mowing by machine is commonly em-
ployed nowadays as a cost-eective management
method in Denmark as well as in the central part
of the European heathland region (g. 14). When
Fig. 8. A block diagram of the land-
scape and resources of farms in
the heathlands of southern Europe
(illustration: Ed Hazebroek).
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27heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
machine mowing is carried out over large areas, the
heathland vegetation loses the dynamic between the
various succession phases that characterised the tra-
ditional heathland landscape. e traditional mosaic
structure preserves better nutritional value and gives
higher biodiversity in the heathland vegetation.
Peat cutting for energy.The lack of forest led
to the population covering its energy needs by
exploit-ing the peat resources of the mires (fig.
14). Turf collection was carried out in the
spring, after the spring chores and before the
grass harvesting. The peat was cut into square
slices and the peat turfs were dried on the slopes
during the summer. The act of digging peat has
left significant traces in the landscape.
In areas which did not have access to peat re-
sources, the people had to use the thin humus layer
under the heath vegetation which formed on sandy
soils with a podzol prole. In Jutland, it was esti-
mated that a family needed about 3,000 m2 each
year to meet their needs for heating and cooking.
Sod cutting (Plaggenwirtschaft). Another
traditional way of exploiting the peat resources
was by using dry crumbled peat as fertiliser (fig.
15). In the northern part of the heathland region
there are extensive peat resources and the peat for
fertiliser-use was collected from mires. A film about
Fig. 9. The environment of the heathlands of southern Europe. Top, left: The heathland vegetation is much more species rich than
farther north (photo: Jan Jansen). Top, right: Every morning Diogo Dias’s cows are given hay, then to the river to drink, and later
taken to graze on the gorse-rich heathlands (photo: Svein Haaland). Bottom, left: The heathland farmers in Spain and Portugal en-
large their infield area by constructing terraces on the hillsides. The soil on the terraces is fertilized with manure from the animals
which graze on the surrounding heathlands (photo: Jan Jansen). Bottom, right: 150 years after Vermehren painted his picture one
can still meet shepherds on the heath in the National Park of Peneda-Geres, Portugal. The plastic bag carrying the knitting material
is the only clue to the difference in time (photo: Svein Haaland 1999).
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28
landscapes peter emil kaland
the west Norwegian way of producing dry
crumbled peat has been produced (Sandberg et al.
1994).
In those regions with a podzolic soil prole, the
farmers obtained fertiliser from the thin humus
layer under the vegetation. It was necessary to peel
o large areas of heath each year to provide enough
humus. e lumps of heather peat (or humus) were
transported to the farm and mixed with livestock
manure. e mixture was used as a soil conditioner
and as a fertiliser in the cereal elds. is activity is
well described from heathlands in the central Euro-
pean heathland region (e.g. Behre 1976; Spek 1992).
Conclusion. e ethnological, historical and
ecological documentation of land-use methods in
the heathlands shows that this landscape is com-
pletely dependent on the farmer’s active land-use
in order to exist. As long as the farmer uses the
heathlands for year-round grazing and maintains
the pastures with heath burning and optimal graz-
ing pressure, the heathland cycle will continue to
work. If the farmer ceases to manage the heathland
traditionally, the competitive relationship between
plant species will be altered. A succession of new
vegetation types then arises. If the farmer fails to
act, the vegetation develops into a woodland envi-
ronment. If the farmer chooses to add fertiliser, a
succession towards grass heaths arises. If the farm-
er decides to plough the heather elds, they will
become elds.
Woodland, grass heaths and heather
vegetation as alternative outfield
systems
e annual production of plant material (primary
production) per unit area is an important ecologi-
cal factor when evaluating the dierent vegetation
types against each other. e greater the annual
production of digestible plant material, the less
space is needed to provide sucient fodder for the
livestock. In Norway, the approximate annual total
primary production (digestible + indigestible) for 3
currently comparable vegetation types is:
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29heathlands – la nd- use, ecology and vegetation history
Deciduous woodland with
grass vegetation 600-1,200 kg/1,000 m2
Grass heaths 500-900 kg/1,000 m2
Heathland 300-400 kg/1,000 m2
Heathland has the lowest primary production. De-
ciduous woodland, where animals graze and from
which the farmer gathers leaves, twigs, etc. pro-
duces signicantly more fodder. An open landscape
with grassy heath also provides much more fodder
per unit area. Why did farmers along the Atlantic
coast focus on heathland vegetation? In the struggle
for survival, it was important to ensure the high-
est possible food security with the minimum work.
e heathland’s major strength was that the animals
could graze outdoors all winter. e farmer then
avoided having to gather in so much fodder and it
was possible to keep a much larger herd of livestock
than there was space for in the byres. e time sav-
ings could be used for other ways of providing food.
Grass heathland withers in winter and is therefore
not very suitable for winter fodder. e deciduous
forest had to be pollarded to provide adequate win-
ter fodder. Both grass heath and pollarded wood-
land require a lot of work by the farmers and were
therefore not favoured.
The history of heathland vegetation
Ethnological, historical and vegetation ecological
studies have documented that, in historical times,
the heathlands have been an integral part of the
farm’s production area. e traditional land-use
with year-round grazing and heathland burning
prevented woodland establishment. Discoveries of
wood fragments and tree-stumps in bogs (g. 16)
have shown that the heathland regions were for-
merly covered with woodland. What is the reason
for the disappearance of the woodland? Was it a
change in climate conditions that made the grow-
ing conditions dicult for the ancient woodland,
or was it the farmers who in former times removed
the woodland to produce heathland pastures?
e climate theory, which built on the inter-
pretation of bog stratigraphy in northern Germany
and Scandinavia, was long considered the most
likely. In many bogs, a sharp transition could be
observed from dark, well-humied woodland peat
in the lowest part of the bog to light low-humied
moss peat (Sphagnum). It was assumed that this
transition was synchronous over large areas and that
Fig. 10. The life-cycle of heather (Cal-
luna vulgaris) and its relation to land-
use (illustration: Peter Emil Kaland/
Kjersti Isdal. Modified after Gimming-
ham 1972).
Fig. 11. Heath burning is a temporary
disaster for plants and animals. Eve-
rybody tries to escape from the fire.
Some of the animals manage to es-
cape into small cavities underneath the
surface (illustration: Ed Hazebroek).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 29 17/09/14 10.25
30
landscapes peter emil kaland
it had been caused by the climate having changed
from relatively warm and dry to a cooler and rainier
oceanic climate. e pioneers for this theory were
the Norwegian botanist Axel Blytt (1876) and his
Swedish colleague Rutger Sernander (1910, 1912).
Sernander connected the climate theory to Edda’s
tale of the Fimbul winter and, by using archaeologi-
cal artefacts in the bog proles, the change in the
bogs was dated to around 500 years BC.
It was not until the 1950s that major objections
towards the climate theory began in earnest. e
Danish botanist H. Jonassen (1950) provided evi-
dence for the establishment of heathland both in the
Bronze Age and later in the Iron Age. e Swedish
scientist L. Romell (1952) referred both to Jonassen’s
studies and to the German scientist Mager (1930)
who, by using historical sources, documented that
the heathlands in Schleswig have gradually expanded
at the expense of woodland in the course of the last
900 years. Likewise, he pointed out that the wood-
land on Iceland disappeared as a result of grazing by
the settlers livestock in the Viking Age. e creation
of heathlands had thus taken place both before and
after the assumed climate deterioration. Romell’s
opinion was that winter grazing was a heavy strain
on the regrowth of the woodland because the young
seedlings were grazed away. He claimed that it was
the sum of all agricultural activity in the coastal
landscape that had created the heathland landscape.
e farmers had created a land-use and a vegetation
type which was adapted to an oceanic climate with
mild winters with relatively little snow.
After Romell presented his hypothesis on the
anthropogenic heathland landscape, no major
heathland studies were carried out in Scandinavia
before the Norwegian interdisciplinary Lindås pro-
ject was conducted in Nordhordland in 1971-1976.
It included a major study of the history of coastal
heathland vegetation (Kaland 1974, 1979, 1986).
Compared to previous heathland projects, the 14C-
method was now available for the dating of vegeta-
tion changes in pollen diagrams and, as part of the
pollen analysing work, the frequency of microscop-
ic charcoal dust was registered. e extensive peat
bogs in the west Norwegian coastal landscape also
provided good opportunities for creating more pol-
len diagrams along transects from the ineld areas
of farms and out into the surrounding heathlands.
A total of 26 farms and villages along a gradient
from west to east through the heathlands in Nord-
hordland (north of Bergen) were studied (g. 20).
pollen diagrams from bog localities
Pollen diagrams were prepared from both bogs and
lake sediments. e bog localities have provided in-
formation about the development of the local vege-
tation, while the lake sediments reected the pollen
deposition from a larger area. A study of vegetation
changes in the bog areas always started by digging
Fig. 12. Heathlands with a mosaic landscape from western Norway (left) and north-western Spain (right) with green grass heath for
summer pasture and brown heather heath for winter pasture. This traditional mosaic vegetation provides the highest possible biodi-
versity of the heathlands (photos: Peter Emil Kaland).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 30 14/08/14 09.35
31heathlands – l and -use, ecology and vegetation history
a trench (g. 17) so that the bog stratigraphy could
be thoroughly investigated. At the bottom, there is
a good humied layer of peat with wood fragments
and tree stumps. In west Norwegian bogs, a sharp
transition is seen from forest peat at the bottom to
moorland peat at the top, and, characteristic of the
division between the two bog layers, there is always
a layer of charcoal fragments. Even during the eld-
work, it was thus established that re had been an
instrumental part of the deforestation process.
e pollen diagrams also show a characteristic
development (g. 18). In the stratigraphy column
on the left of the pollen diagram, the stratication
is shown with forest peat at the bottom, a charcoal
layer and an upper moorland peat layer. e next
column, “Trees”, provides a measure of the amount
of all the pollen from tree species in relation to the
amount from dwarf shrubs and herbs, while the
curve on the far right, “Charcoal Dust”, shows the
frequency of microscopic charcoal in relation to the
total amount of pollen.
In the forest peat layer, the pollen diagram is
completely dominated by the pollen of tree species,
conrming that the bog was once forested. At the
charcoal layer horizon, the frequency of tree species
pollen drops sharply and a characteristic sequence
starts. e charcoal curve rises sharply and remains
high right up towards the surface of the bog. If the
charcoal layer had only represented an accidental for-
est re, this would have been recorded as a short-term
maximum in the charcoal dust curve in the pollen
diagram, and woodland would have regenerated rap-
Fig. 13. Traditional and modern heather mowing. Top, left and bottom left: Heather mowing in western Norway (photos: Peter Emil
Kaland). Top, right: Farmer from Jutland ready for heather mowing (photo: Herning Museum). Bottom, right: Modern heather mow-
ing with machine gives a monotonous heathland with low biodiversity (photo: Johannes Prüter).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 31 14/08/14 09.35
32
landscapes peter emil kaland
idly. e high charcoal dust content throughout the
heather peat sequence shows however that the rst
re has been followed up with constant new res,
and the curve for “Trees” shows that the woodland
failed to regenerate after the rst fatal forest re.
e other curves in the pollen diagram also pro-
vide important information. Just above the charcoal
layer, we can see a striking sequence in the diagram.
e curves of the sedge family (Cyperaceae) and the
bog moss (Sphagnum) show a signicant maximum
just above the level of deforestation. is indicates
wetter conditions at the bog.
As long as there was woodland, the landscape
had a large evapotranspiration surface through the
leaves on the trees. As the woodland disappeared,
the evapotranspiration surface decreased with wa-
terlogging as a consequence.
At the bog moss (Sphagnum) maximum, the
heather pollen curve rises sharply, and from this
point on, heather is an important part of the plant
community on the bog. e “pasture herbs” curve
increases at the charcoal layer and then stays fairly
constant up to the surface of the bog. e decrease
in the amount of bog moss spores may be due to the
bog, after a period of rapid growth, having grown
above the groundwater table so that it has again be-
come somewhat drier. is changes the competitive
conditions to the heather’s advantage. At the very
top of the prole, the “Trees” curve increases again.
is is a result of woodland having begun to re-
establish on the heather elds.
pollen diagram from lakes
From the extreme western island of Fedje (g. 20),
a pollen diagram from the small lake of Grøne-
vasstjørna (g. 19) provides a good illustration of
how lakes yield information on vegetation devel-
opment that is representative of a larger area than
the pollen diagrams from bogs. Fedje is an approxi-
mately 8 km2-large island which is heavily exposed
to the ocean (g. 20). e island is known for its
large blanket bogs. Grønevasstjørna is located in the
middle of the island and has an area of about 0.6 ha.
e lake has been within the heathland area right
up until the present.
e pollen diagram provides an overview of the
development of the heathlands on the island. On
the left of the pollen diagram is a time axis with cal-
endar years and then follows a total diagram show-
Fig. 14. Peat cutting for energy. When the woodland was
removed, the bogs began to expand. After some thousands of
years, parts of the landscape in north-west Europe were cov-
ered by metres-thick layers of peat, which the farmers have
used as fuel and for soil improvement. Peat cutting activities
have left obvious traces in the landscapes of e.g. Ireland or
Orkney (left) (photo: Peter Emil Kaland). Peat cutting (right)
was hard work during the spring. The peat turfs are left to dry
over the summer (photo: Hans Müller, Germany).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 32 14/08/14 09.36
33heathl ands – land-use, ecology and vege tation history
ing how the relationship between trees, shrubs,
herbs and dwarf shrubs/heather has changed over
time.
Up until around 2500 BC, open woodland grew
around the lake. From the curves on the right of the
total diagram, we can see that hazel and birch have
been important elements in the deciduous wood-
land. ere is also more than 10% pine pollen, but
pine (Pinus sylvestris) produces large amounts of
pollen. It is most likely that pine has been a minor
element in the woodlands on Fedje. Hazel (Coylus
avellana) requires calcareous humus soil to thrive
and the inclusion of some elm (Ulmus glabra) and
oak (Quercus sp.) shows favourable growth condi-
tions on the island, despite the exposed position
towards the ocean.
But from 2500 BC, the curves for birch (Betu-
la pubescens), hazel and elm fall while heather and
charcoal dusts show a sharp increase. From now on,
typical pasture herbs such as tormentil (Potentilla
erecta), bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and
ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) become part
of the vegetation. e heathland is now being es-
tablished on Fedje, a fact which is conrmed by a
pollen diagram from a nearby bog. Yet there is still
quite a lot of birch woodland on Fedje, along with
small parcels of elm, oak, linden (Tilia cordata) and
ash (Fraxinus excelsior).
Fig. 15. Sod cutting (Plaggenwirtschaft) was a method the farmers used to increase the supply of plant nutrients to the infields. It
was practiced throughout the heathland area, but the method varied depending on the availability of peat. Top, left and right: In the
central part of the heathlands the most common approach was to use podsolic heather turfs. The farmers had to remove large ar-
eas every year (photos: Herning Museum and Felicitas Rose). Bottom, left: In the north, huge amounts of peat made it easy for the
farmers to scrape dried crumbled peat from the top of the bogs (photo: Peter Emil Kaland). Bottom, right: Plaggen soil profile from
the Viking-age farm Lurekalven, Nordhordland, western Norway (photo: Sigrid Kaland).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 33 14/08/14 09.36
34
landscapes peter emil kaland
e crucial heathland expansion that caused
the whole island to be converted into an open
landscape took place around the beginning of the
Christian era. e pollen diagram shows a signi-
cant doubling in the frequency of heather at this
point in time and a further increase in the frequen-
cy of charcoal dust. Tormentil, a plant favoured by
heath burning, also shows a noticeable increase.
e landscape now has the appearance of modern
times.
From a cultural-historical point of view, we can
see that the landscape changes at Fedje occur syn-
chronously with the agricultural expansion phases
in Norway established from archaeological inves-
tigations. e rst heathland expansion started at
the end of the Middle Neolithic (MN) and con-
tinued through the Late Neolithic (LN) and the
Bronze Age (BA). e second expansion occurred
at the transition between the Celtic period and the
Roman period, after iron had been brought into
Fig. 16. Before the heathland became established, woodland
covered the coast of Nordhordland right out to the utmost
islands (photo: Peter Emil Kaland).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 34 14/08/14 09.36
35heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
Fig. 17. Characteristic section of a bog in Nordhordland,
western Norway (photo and drawing: Peter Emil Kaland).
use as a revolutionary material for agricultural im-
plements.
The history of the heathlands in
Nordhordland
A summary of the history of the heathlands (Ka-
land 1979, 1986) for the 26 farms/villages studied
in Nordhordland is shown in gure 20. e empha-
sis here is to present the data that are available in
such a way that it allows a direct comparison of the
historical source material pertaining to vegetation
and culture. Figure 20 indicates for how long the
heathlands have existed on the farm as shown by a
solid column. A dotted column means only a part
of the outeld of the farm has been heathland.
e two oldest heathland areas have been found
on the two outer, wind-exposed islands of Lyn-
guksen and Fedje. Lynguksen is an uninhabited is-
land, the terrain of which is covered with blanket
bogs. Pollen analysis of the peat shows continuous
heathland with high charcoal dust values from the
present back to around 2900 BC (earliest part of
Middle Neolithic Period (MNA)). Farmers have ac-
cordingly kept livestock at pasture on Lynguksen
for at least 4,900 years. e sea around the island
has served as a boundary fence and has protected
the animals against predators.
It can be seen in gure 20 that the establishment
of the heathland vegetation is asynchronous. For
example, the distance between the islands Lynguk-
sen and Sævrøy is only 2 km and the climate in the
two localities is identical. Nevertheless Lynguksen
became deforested 3,850 years earlier than Sævrøy
(in 2900 BC and AD 950, respectively). e estab-
lishment of the heathland is without doubt based
on the farmers’ need for heathland as pasture.
Yet the climate is an important inuence for
how suitable the coastal landscape is for winter
pasture on heathlands in Nordhordland. is is be-
cause of powerful climatic gradients from the ocean
in the west to the mountainous regions in the east.
When the clouds approach the mountainous re-
gions, they are lifted up and discharge signicantly
more rainfall than farther west. At the same time,
the winter temperature drops gradually along the
climate gradient and this leads to greater amounts
of snow in the eastern part of the coastal landscape.
If the snow depth is too great, the livestock are un-
able to graze on the heather. en the farmer has
to give extra fodder to the animals. e amount of
snow in winter determines the inner boundary for
use of the heathlands, because the work involved in
feeding is too laborious. us it can be seen from
gure 20 that the establishment of heathlands be-
comes progressively younger as one moves eastward
in the coastal landscape. is is probably connected
with the greater need for heather pastures for the
livestock as the population increased and so sev-
eral areas in the less favourable eastern part of the
coastal landscape were cleared of woodland to make
heathlands.
A striking feature is that the dating of the histor-
ical vegetational and archaeological source material
is consistent when it comes to the creation of heath-
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 35 14/08/14 09.36
36
landscapes peter emil kaland
lands and farmsteads. Archaeologists have datable
artefacts from 11 of the 26 farms/settlement areas
investigated. For ten of them, dates coincided with
the establishment of the heathlands. e study in
Nordhordland also shows that the expansion of the
heathlands roughly falls within three eras. e old-
est heathland areas were established in the MNA/
LN. e next expansion took place in the late Iron
Age (AD 1-500) and the last in the Viking Age. is
also agrees with the archaeological source material.
The heathlands in south-west Norway
While the heathlands of Nordhordland are char-
acterised by small areas of arable land where the
farmers subsisted on a combination of farming and
shing, the areas farther south on the west coast
have far larger arable areas. Agriculture has played a
much larger role here for the survival of the popula-
tion. Particularly favourable agricultural conditions
can be found on Jæren and Lista (g. 21), where
large deposits of glaciogenic sediments from several
ice ages have shaped a landscape with many simi-
larities to Jutland. Large numbers of archaeologi-
cal artefacts in these areas reveal a high population
density in prehistoric times. Jæren and Lista have
therefore been important areas for both archaeolog-
ical and historical vegetation research. e classic
monograph on Jæren’s Holocene vegetation history
(Fægri 1940) provided the scientic basis for Nor-
wegian pollen analytical research, and Hafsten’s pol-
len diagrams from Lista (Prøsch-Danielsen 1996)
have provided the most important evidential basis
for the history of the vegetation in this area.
When Fægri completed his historical vegetation
studies on Jæren in the 1930s, there were still ex-
tensive heathlands, but during the previous century,
modern agricultural technology has totally altered
Jæren’s landscape through cultivation, fertilisation
and a marked increase in livestock numbers. Today,
there are only small areas of heathlands remaining
in the central part of Jæren, and many of Fægri’s
classic localities have been destroyed.
Researchers at the Archaeological Museum in
Stavanger (Prøsch-Danielsen & Simonsen 2000a,
b; Simonsen & Prøsch-Danielsen 2005) have made
a great contribution by AMS-dating several levels
of Fægri’s pollen diagrams, in addition to preparing
new pollen diagrams which have provided informa-
tion about the development of coastal heathlands.
In order to compare the pollen diagrams, they di-
vided the large area of the study into four regions
(g. 21). Region A covers the area north of the
central part of Jæren; region B is the central part
Fig. 18. Characteristic pollen diagram from bogs in Nordhord-
land, western Norway (Kaland 1979, 1986).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 36 14/08/14 09.36
37heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
of Jæren; region C includes the Dalane coastal area
with hard rock types which provide a nutrient-poor
soil; and region D, consisting of the Lista penin-
sula which has large sedimentary deposits along the
coast and an inner low-lying mountainous area.
e pollen diagrams have been compiled over
more than 60 years and a large proportion were
compiled for purposes other than the vegetation
history of the heathlands. is dierentiates this
source material from the study in Nordhordland
which was specically designed for the vegetation
history of the coastal heathlands, the relationship
with the development of the prehistoric farm set-
tlements and the identication of dierent land-use
methods connected with the coastal farms. How-
ever, the results from south-west Norway provide
solid dating material for the establishment of the
heathland vegetation in the three zones.
A summary of the results is given in gure 22, where
the dates from south-west Norway are compared with
the dates from Nordhordland. e comparison gives
an unbalanced picture of the data because all the dia-
grams from Jæren are presented in their own column,
while for Nordhordland, several pollen diagrams have
been combined into one column representing the es-
tablishment of the heathlands of one farm.
It can be seen from the diagram that heathlands
could have developed in two localities as early as the
Mesolithic period. ese will be discussed later in
the article. ere are three notable periods through
the Neolithic where the establishment of heathlands
clearly expands. e rst phase is in the Early Neo-
lithic (EN), 4000-3600 BC and these are the oldest
heathlands recognised in Norway. e second phase,
2500-2200 BC, is the MN/LN transition, and the
last phase is 1900-1400 BC during the LN and early
BA. ere are also clear expansion phases in the late
BA, pre-Roman Iron Age and throughout the Roman
period. e diagram indicates that much of the coast-
al landscape was transformed into heathland even
before the Christian era, but that in some parts heath-
land was not established until the early Iron Age. In
comparison, there are only two areas which were MN
heathlands in Nordhordland. e main establishment
of heathlands did not begin here until the pre-Roman
Iron Age and continued up to the early Middle Ages.
Figure 24 indicates how the establishment of
heathland is distributed among the four landscape
regions. All dated Neolithic heathlands lie in regions
A and B, which include the sediment deposition ar-
eas on Jæren and the islands to the north. In region
C, where the soil is poor in nutrients, the establish-
ment of heathlands did not start until the pre-Ro-
man Iron Age. ere are many similarities here to
Nordhordland. In region D, Lista, Hafsten’s pollen
diagrams from the lakes show early dates for grain
and pasture herbs and a clear delay in the expansion
of heathlands. e basic data for the establishment
of the heathlands are, however, suboptimal, and a
modern study in this area with another choice of
localities might give more reliable information on
the history of the heathlands on Lista.
Fig. 19. Pollen diagram from the lake
Grønevasstjørn, Fedje, Nordhordland,
Norway.
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 37 14/08/14 09.36
38
landscapes peter emil kaland
Are there any Mesolithic heathlands?
In gure 22, two localities are included where the
heather pollen and charcoal dust have been dated to
around 5800 BC. e pollen diagrams for these two
sites each have 10-30% heather pollen and about
20% and 10% charcoal dust, respectively, which
are low values for a heathland prole from a bog.
e tree species values are excessively high and none
of the characteristic pasture indicators are present.
Regardless of the dating, these two localities do not
meet the requirements for heathland vegetation.
Heather is a wild plant that has been present in
many types of plant communities in the Norwegian
vegetation throughout the Holocene. It has low nutri-
ent demands, but it requires light even if it can also
survive within a forest. Since it requires light and can
withstand re very well, it will be part of the vegetation
in small man-made openings in the forest, for exam-
ple around Mesolithic settlements. At such sites, one
can nd somewhat higher heather values than normal
and one can get continuous charcoal dust curves be-
cause of the smoke from res at the settlement. But
the characteristic pasture plants for heathland suit-
able for grazing will be missing and the Tree pollen
values will be too high. Mesolithic heather vegetation
is therefore easy to distinguish from heathlands con-
nected to livestock grazing and heath burning.
Historical vegetation studies of the
heathlands in Jutland
In Nordhordland, there is a clear west to east cli-
matic gradient, which, together with the sparse
availability of good agricultural soil, inuences the
history of the heathland vegetation. On the at
landscape of Jæren, the gradient is weaker until the
landscape rises towards High-Jæren and onward to-
wards the Ryfylke Mountains. e even atter Jut-
land landscape has a much weaker climatic gradient
from the outer coast to inland than the situation
in western Norway. Like Jæren, the soil consists of
mineral soil. What inuence do the dierent natu-
ral conditions have on the history of the heathlands?
e pollen-analytical studies carried out on
Fedje
Lyngoksen
Krossøy
Sævrøy
Lauøy
Øksnes
Rebnor
Austrheim
Hopland
Førland
Litlelindås
Fonnes
Leirvåg
Kaland
Litlås
Hope
Lurekalven
Lauvås
Verås
Rosnes
Syslak
Lindås
Fonnebust
Fjellanger
Vabø
3000 BC
2000 BC
1000 BC
0
1000 AD
2000 AD Farm names:
Mongstad
10 km
N
Fig. 20. The establishment of heath-
lands on selected farms in Nord-
hordland. Solid column: The outfield
area of the farm/area, dominated by
heathland vegetation. Dotted column:
Part of the outfields, dominated by
heathland vegetation (modified after
Kaland 1979, 19 86).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 38 14/08/14 09.36
39heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
the heathlands in Jutland (Iversen 1941; Jonassen
1950, 1957; Odgaard 1992, 1994, 2006; Odgaard
& Nielsen 2009) provide information on the devel-
opment of the heathlands in western Jutland, where
the heather grows on nutrient-poor, leached sand
and clay. In the Jutland landscape, historical and ar-
chaeological sources show that the nutrient status of
the various soil types has been an important factor
for population density and land-use in agriculture.
Interviews with farmers in the early 1900s, studies
of old farmers’ diaries, written accounts of land-use
practices and legal documents show that the heath-
land farmers used the same land-use methods as
farmers in western Norway, after adapting for the
heather vegetation of Jutland mostly is growing on
mineral soils with a podzol prole.
Odgaard has made thorough palaeoecologi-
cal studies of the three lakes of Skånsø, Solsø and
Kragsø (cf. map g. 25), with detailed pollen dia-
grams showing vegetation development throughout
the Holocene, including the development of the
heathland vegetation around the lake basins. e
soil conditions around the lake basins are dier-
ent. Skånsø lies in an area with both sandy soils and
glacial moraine deposits, and is the area with the
most nutrient-rich soil. e many grave mounds in
the area indicate that the area was relatively densely
populated in prehistoric times. Around Solsø, the
soil consists of leached uvioglacial sediments from
Fig. 21. Map of the investigation area in south-west Norway
(Prøsch-Danielsen & Simonsen 2000).
Fig. 22. Establishment of heathland
or grassland and permanent infields in
south-west Norway and Nordhordland
(Prøsch-Danielsen & Simonsen 2000).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 39 14/08/14 09.37
40
landscapes peter emil kaland
the Saale ice age. e archaeological monuments
indicate that this area also had some settlement,
even though soil conditions were less favourable.
e sandy soil around Kragsø is equally as poor in
nutrients as that at Solsø, and the existence of very
few ancient monuments indicates a marginal loca-
tion in relation to prehistoric settlement.
e pollen diagrams show a metachronous de-
velopment of heathland vegetation around the three
lakes. e Skånsø diagram (g. 24) shows a signi-
cant agricultural expansion around 4000 BC with
the initial opening of the forest. Odgaards (2004)
detailed diagram shows a decline in the elm curve
barley (Hordeum) pollen and grazing indicators
such as ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and
sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella).Heather shows an
increase, together with a significant increase in
charcoal dust (figs. 24, 25), but the heathland
vegetation is not a major factor before around
1000 BC. Odgaard interprets this as the soil in
this area being so beneficial in Neolithic times
that nutrientrich grass heaths, with associated low
fire intensity, formed most of the grazing area.
Grazing, however, slowly depleted the nutrient
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 40 14/08/14 09.37
41heathlands – land-use, ecology and vegetation history
content of the soil so that heathland gradually be-
came the dominant vegetation type during the
early Bronze Age.
In the Solsø area (gs. 24, 25), agricultural ex-
pansion did not start until round 3000 BC (MNA)
even though grazing indicators signal some grazing
activity back to the early Neolithic period. e for-
est was opened up at MNA as a result of the estab-
lishment of heathland. e diagram shows a sharp
increase in the curves for heather and charcoal dust,
synchronous with the start of the curve for barley
and increasing values for grazing indicators. e
vegetation development at this point is interpreted
as a result of the soil being too poor in nutrients
to provide good growing conditions for nutrient-
demanding grass vegetation. Heathlands with high
re intensity were therefore the optimal grazing re-
source as early as the Middle Neolithic.
e Kragsø diagram (gs. 24, 25) shows, that this
area has only been marginally used for agricultural
production. ere is a slight decrease in the wood-
land, including elm, from 4000 BC and a slight
increase in herbs, pasture indicators and heather.
As shown in gure 25, the charcoal dust frequency
increases slightly, and there is no evidence for active
heathland land-use throughout the Neolithic. From
around 2000 BC, the heather curve begins to rise,
but there is no signicant increase in the charcoal
dust curve until around AD 600. From this point,
there is clear management of the heathlands.
Odgaard’s study shows the close relationship be-
tween anthropogenic heathland vegetation and the
use of heath burning to maintain an optimal heath-
land pasture. is is demonstrated by the high cor-
relation between the curves for heather and char-
coal dust (g. 25). e metachronous start of the
heathland vegetation in the three pollen diagrams
gives the same signal as the studies in western Nor-
way. e diagrams show that the heathlands were
created by farmers in prehistoric times, and were
not initiated by climatic changes. Odgaard em-
phasises that it was the nutritional value of the soil
type that determined whether it was most protable
for farmers to establish heathlands or pasture with
more nutrient-demanding grasses. Gradually, live-
stock grazing led to a leaching of the soil, and this
led to heathland pastures being the most advanta-
Fig. 23. The deforestation of the four investigated regions
of south-west Norway (modified after Prøsch-Danielsen &
Simonsen 2000).
Fig. 24. Summary pollen diagrams of
the lakes Solsø, Skånsø and Kragsø in
Jutland (Odgaard 1994).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 41 14/08/14 09.37
42
landscapes peter emil kaland
geous land-use practice even on soils that originally
had high nutrient content.
Statistical modelling of the pollen data
provides more reliable estimates for the
area coverage of the heathlands
Over the past 40 years, there has been a pronounced
development in statistical programs that seek to
provide a better correlation between pollen depo-
sition and vegetational composition. Odgaard &
Nielsen (2009) have carried out an extensive pro-
ject in Denmark to study the relationship between
land cover and pollen deposition in the Danish
countryside. Based on modern pollen spectra from
29 calibration lakes and digitised land-use of the
area around the lakes, it was found, using statistical
software (Nielsen & Sugita 2005), that the highest
correlation was achieved within a circle of 1,800 m
radius around the lakes.
After this, nine new lakes in Denmark were se-
lected, of which four were from heathland areas in
Jutland where dated pollen diagrams exist. For these
lakes, the pollen spectra from AD 1800 have been
compared with contemporary maps where dierent
types of land are mapped. It was found that there
was a good correlation between the area coverage
calculated from the pollen composition and that
given on the maps. Following this, with the help of
two other computer programs (Sugita 2007a, b), it
has been possible to calculate the historic and pre-
historic coverage of grass, grain, heather and trees
for the period from around 100 BC to AD 2000.
Although the statistical models are still under de-
velopment, it is obvious that they are allowing pol-
len analysis to provide more accurate estimates of
the area of coverage that dierent plant assemblages
have had in the past.
e area diagram for Skånsø, one of the lakes
examined (g. 26), shows that heathland vegetation
expanded during the period 1000 BC to AD 1500,
while grass heaths showed a corresponding decline.
is has been interpreted as the result of a gradual
leaching of the soil while the short-term variations in
the curves are due to variations in re intensity. High
re intensity led to the expansion of the heathland
area. Grain production was relatively high from AD
300, and from AD 600 the dominant grain type was
rye (Secale cereale). e incidence of red sorrel (Ru-
mex acetosella) is an indicator of elds lying fallow.
In common with other heathland areas, there is high
intensity land-use in the period AD 600–1000.
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 42 14/08/14 09.37
43heathl ands – l and -use, ecology and vegetation history
The ecological contribution to the
knowledge of resource utilisation in
prehistoric heathlands
e interdisciplinary collaboration between eth-
nologists, historians, agricultural geographers, veg-
etation ecologists and livestock researchers in Nor-
way has led to greatly increased knowledge about
the Norwegian coastal heathlands as an ecosystem
dependent on human land-use. e traditional
land-use which belongs to this cultural landscape
and its impact on the vegetation are known in de-
tail. Pollen analysts have become involved in this
research by collecting pollen samples from surface
vegetation in heather elds corresponding to the
dierent land-use methods. In addition, forest eco-
logical research has good data on the consequences
of forest res, both in terms of vegetation succes-
sion and about changes in evapotranspiration from
vegetation surfaces. Overall, this provides the key to
interpreting pollen diagrams of the vegetation his-
tory of heathlands.
Instead of reading the pollen diagram in the
traditional way, from the oldest part to the mod-
ern, one can begin with the surface spectrum or
the level at which the pollen spectrum is tied to a
specic land-use practice in the heathland ecosys-
tem. From this level, the land-use practice can be
followed down the diagram until the curve shows
a transition to a dierent vegetation type. e sedi-
ment can then be 14C-dated from this lower level.
In most cases, it is professionally satisfying to con-
sider the curve manually, but statistical methods
can expand the interpretation basis, as Odgaard &
Nielsen (2009) has demonstrated from the Jutland
heathlands and Hjelle (1999 a, b) has conducted for
west Norwegian cultural landscapes.
e ability to identify heathland as a livestock-
dependant ecosystem in the pollen diagram is a
Fig. 25. Comparison of pollen curves
of heather (Calluna vulgaris) and
curves of microscopic charcoal dust
from pollen diagrams for Solsø,
Skånsø and Kragsø (modified from
Odgaard 2006).
Fig. 26. Areal cover diagram (1000
BC–AD 2000) for cereals, grass,
heather and trees in the Skånsø area,
and pollen curves of selected species
from the pollen diagram for Skånsø
(modified after Odgaard 2009).
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 43 14/08/14 09.37
44
landscapes peter emil kaland
great professional armation of the source value of
pollen analysis. It is not based anymore on one or
a few grazing indicators, but on a whole set of cri-
teria which are unique to the heathland ecosystem.
When the criteria are satised, there is enough pro-
fessional weight to assert that heathland with graz-
ing livestock is evidenced by the pollen diagram. In
addition, it is possible to document several land-
use practices within the heathland ecosystem, such
as heather harvesting, sod cutting and peat cutting
(Kvamme 1982; Kaland, 1979, 1986).
is will have implications for the future docu-
mentation of the agricultural history of Norway’s
long coastline. All the way up to slightly north of the
Arctic Circle, there is a belt of coastal heathlands,
and there has been dense settlement throughout the
prehistoric period. Along the coast, resource utilisa-
tion has been adapted to local conditions with a var-
ying emphasis on ocean resources and on farming.
Such diversity is clearly demonstrated by the dier-
ent historical courses taken by heathlands on Jæren
and in Nordhordland. Farther north, there are areas
with favourable sedimentary deposits which provide
better farming conditions than in Nordhordland,
and future research here will provide new, exciting
information. Currently, northwards along the coast,
heathland studies of the historical vegetation have
only been carried out to a limited extent (e.g. Hjelle
et al., 2010; Tveraabak, 2004 a, b).
In Norway, there has been a long discussion
about how and when the oldest agriculture took
place along the Norwegian coast. e archaeologi-
cal, osteological and botanical sources provide the
same signal of farming back to the MN/LN, but
the disciplines dier for any agricultural activity
in MNA and EN (Bakka & Kaland 1971; Prøsch-
Danielsen & Simonsen 2000a, b; Hjelle et al. 2006;
Prescott 2009; Glørstad 2009, 2012; Olsen 2012).
In the many sedentary coastal settlements connected
to marine resources along the tidal currents, neither
seeds of grain nor bones of animals have been found,
but at the settlement at Kotedalen in Nordhordland,
pollen analysis has demonstrated both ribwort plan-
tain (Plantago lanceolata) and barley (Hordeum),
both in cultural layers and in a nearby bog, dated to
the transition between EN and MNA around 3400
BC (Hjelle 1992; Kaland 1992). ese empirical
ndings, which have been obtained according to
international scientic standards, are referred to
by Prescott (2009 p. 197): “…a reasonable conclu-
sion remains that reports on EN and MN agriculture
are mostly dubious and methodologically awed”. It
would be wise of Prescott to keep an open mind to
the possibility that the population from sedentary
coastal settlements could have gradually adapted to
new forms of resource utilisation. Subsequently, the
increased need for better agricultural areas led to
settlements being abandoned in the transition from
MN to LN in favour of farming connected to sedi-
mentary deposits (Bakka & Kaland 1971; Kaland
1992; Hjelle et al. 2006; Olsen 2012).
e oldest livestock bone in western Norway is
from Stangelandshelleren in Klepp on Jæren and is
dated to MNA (3255-2915 BC). Prøsch-Danielsen
& Simonsen (2000 a, b) have published two pol-
len diagrams from Jæren (zone B, localities 34 and
37) which have both been interpreted as managed
heathland dated to EN (3944-3759 BC and 4025-
3826 BC). In addition, the regional pollen diagram
from Sandvikvatn, Tysvær, in Rogaland’s coastal
landscape (Eide & Paus 1982), shows a clear fall
in elm (Ulmus) followed by a continuous curve for
ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and an in-
crease in charcoal dust dated to the transition from
EN to MNA (around 3400 BC). e increased
regional charcoal dust content indicates increased
re frequency in the landscape without this being
connected with heathlands. In the coastal land-
scape during the Neolithic, several cultural land-
scape types such as elds, meadows and harvested
woodlands were established, and it took time be-
fore heathland became the dominant pasture veg-
etation.
Conclusions
Comprehensive interdisciplinary research has clari-
ed that heathland is an ecosystem that is com-
pletely dependent on the grazing of livestock and
heath burning to be maintained as a landscape type.
e strength of heathlands is the exploitation of a
mild winter climate that allows livestock to graze
on the winter green heather. Farmers could thereby
keep more livestock than they had houses for on the
farm, the need to gather winter fodder was smaller
and the farmers gained free time that they used for
Nordlige verdener Ombr 25.6.indd 44 14/08/14 09.37
45heathl ands – land-use, ecology a nd vege tation history
other activities, which increased food security for
the family.
e pollen analytical studies of the heathlands
of Nordhordaland, south-west Norway and Jutland
have documented that heathlands are anthropo-
genic and that the oldest of these were created as
early as early Neolithic times. e studies document
a metachronous establishment of heathlands in all
these three areas. e winter climate and soil condi-
tions are the decisive factors for when coastal heath-
lands were created. In Nordhordland, winters with
little snow are more likely found farther west in the
coastal landscape, and the oldest heathlands, going
back to MNA, are found here. A little farther east in
the coastal landscape, heathlands were not created
until the Iron Age and rst formed in the farming
areas where the soil consists of marine sedimentary
deposits.
In south-west Norway, the large sedimentary de-
posits on Jæren have been crucial to the early agri-
cultural settlements and to the rapid opening of the
landscape through the Neolithic and Bronze Age,
and heathlands have been documented back to the
early Neolithic times. But there are also local dier-
ences. e coastal region of Dalane, just south of
Jæren, is characterised by anorthosite, a rock type
which gives nutrient-poor soil. e expansion of
the heathlands here did not begin until the Celtic
period, in a similar way to the central coastal zone
in Nordhordland. On Lista, there are large sedi-
mentary deposits along the coast and farming has
been demonstrated here back to EN, while the start
of the heathlands seems rst to have occurred in
the Iron Age, according to the pollen diagrams now
available. Instead, extensive grass heaths developed.
ere is a good correlation between the results
from Jutland and western Norway. In Jutland, there
is no obvious climatic gradient from the coast and
inland. e pollen diagrams and archaeological
studies here indicate that soil conditions were im-
portant for the localisation of settlements and the
establishment of heathland. In the area around the
Skånsø basin, where there is mostly nutrient-rich
soil, we see a similar development to that on Lista.
On the introduction of agriculture in the EN, it
was the more nutrient-demanding grass heaths that
dominated, while the heathlands did not begin in
earnest until the Bronze Age, probably because the
soil had become more nutrient-poor. Around Solsø,
the soil is nutrient-poor and there was a signicant
increase in heathlands here in MNA, without an in-
tervening period of grass heaths. is was also the
usual development on poor soil in the west Nor-
wegian coastal landscape north of Jæren. e area
around Kragsø is marginal in relation to settlement
and the soil is poor. No large heathlands were estab-
lished here until the Iron Age.
e interdisciplinary research on the heathland
ecosystem has led to a high degree of certainty in
the interpretation of the pollen diagrams in terms
of resource utilisation in the coastal landscape. It
has been possible to identify the dierent land-use
practices within the heathland ecosystem in pollen
diagrams from bogs which reect the development
of the local vegetation. By using a set of species cri-
teria, we can determine whether it is anthropogenic
coastal heathland that has been created and man-
aged by the grazing of livestock and heath burning.
Heathland dated to EN and MNA shows that live-
stock became part of the resource utilisation early
on in the coastal landscape.
Pollen diagrams from lakes have the strength
that they provide information about regional de-
velopment, but their weakness previously has been
that it is dicult to determine the land cover of
the dierent vegetation types. e development of
computer software for statistical modelling of pol-
len diagrams now leads to much better estimates for
land cover, as Odgaard has shown for the Jutland
pollen diagrams.
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