Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway

Lisbeth Skogstrand

doi:10.1080/08003831.2023.2192604

Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway

Skogstrand, Lisbeth 2023-01-02 00:00:00 ACTA BOREALIA https://doi.org/10.1080/08003831.2023.2192604 Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway Lisbeth Skogstrand Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Received 18 February 2022 In Hallingdal, southern Norway, a number of round dwelling Accepted 13 February 2023 structures have been documented. A contemporary parallel to these constructions is the stállo foundations in the mountains KEYWORDS along the Norwegian-Swedish border, which are recognized as a Saami; dwelling practice; Saami type of dwelling from the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages stállo foundations; ethnicity; AD (800-1300). Based on analyses of the round structures in Viking Age; Middle Ages; Hallingdal and stállo foundations further north, the paper suggests southern Norway that the dwellings in Hallingdal may represent similar ethnic processes that initiated a homogenization and standardization of Saami material culture and consolidation of Saami identity all over Sápmi in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, and that Saami identity was manifested and materialized through practices of dwelling in the mountains of Hallingdal. Introduction For many years, an accepted truth among historians and archaeologists was that the Saami immigrated from the north into central Scandinavia during the seventeenth century (Nielsen 1891; Bergstøl 2008, 222). This idea of a late arrival has been tenacious, leaving the burden of evidence to those who argue that Saami groups exploited areas in southern Norway in the Iron Age (see also Schanche and Olsen 1983; Bergstøl 2008, 169; Hansen and Olsen 2014,93–96). Consequently, research on South Saami prehistory has been preoccupied with assembling arguments and assessing evidence of Saami presence in the south. Following the pioneering research of Zachrisson (1997) numerous studies (e.g. Narmo 2000; Bergstøl 2008; Bergstøl and Reitan 2008; Gjerde 2008, 2010; Olofsson 2010; Amundsen and Os 2015; Gjerde 2015; Severinsen 2016; Amundsen 2017; Norberg 2019; Gjerde 2020) have produced a solid base of knowledge, substantiating that Saami groups populated mountain and forest areas in central Scandinavia in the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. Still, we lack knowledge of how and where they lived – their distribution, mobility patterns, dwelling practices, or economy, and how diﬀerent Saami groups were related. In this paper, I will argue that Saami groups settled areas northeast of Hardangervidda in southern Norway during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages (AD 800-1300). A number of round (deﬁned as encompassing both oval and circular) dwellings from this CONTACT Lisbeth Skogstrand Lisbeth.skogstrand@iakh.uio.no Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group 2 L. SKOGSTRAND area will be analyzed and compared to Saami stállo foundations further north and a recently excavated site at Øsmundset will work as a case study. I will discuss what shared practices the dwellings may reﬂect, how they may have created and communi- cated ethnic identity and how processes of ethnic consolidation occurred among South Saami groups in the heart of southern Norway during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. Round dwelling structures in Hallingdal Hallingdal is a long and broad valley bordering the north-eastern fringe of Hardanger- vidda in southern Norway (Figure 1). In its uppermost mountainous areas, around 30 round dwelling structures have been registered, mainly during the Hallingdal Project in 1986–89 (Bloch-Nakkerud and Lindblom 1994). Many sites have been subject to test pitting, two sites are partly excavated (Gjerde 2015), while one is fully excavated (Skog- strand 2019). The following discussions and analyses comprise 25 structures from Halling- dal, mainly documented by Gjerde (2008) and some by the Hallingdal Project (Bloch- Nakkerud and Lindblom 1994). In addition, the site at Øsmundset is discussed in detail (Skogstrand 2019). The sites are generally found in the treeline zone, 900–1350 masl (Figure 2), on slopes and plateaus facing south and with a broad view of the landscape (Gjerde 2008, 49). The documented structures are circular, oval, or rectangular with rounded sides. Many have low embankments of earth and stones without any trace of an entrance, and a sunken ﬂoor with a central hearth. The outer diameter varies from 4-10 m but on average they extend 6.5 m. Fifteen foundations are found singly, while three sites have two structures, and two sites have three. Bone remains from wolf, grouse, ﬁsh, reindeer, beaver and dog have been collected in some of the dwellings (Bloch-Nakkerud and Lindblom 1990, appendix 10). More than half of the structures have been dated, mainly to AD 1000– 1300 (Gjerde 2008, 53; Skogstrand 2019). Øsmundset At Øsmundset, by the present shore of the lake Strandavatnet, a large longhouse with solid stone walls and a small round hut with embankments and a sunken ﬂoor were exca- vated in 2018. The two dwelling structures were located side-by-side and the C-datings indicate they were contemporary. Their relative placement and stratigraphy make prob- able that the round dwelling was the initial feature, rapidly succeeded by the longhouse. The longhouse was 29 m × 8 m with straight, up to 2 m wide, wall foundations made of earth and 30-50 cm large stones (Figure 3). The building was divided into four or ﬁve sep- arate rooms by transverse rows of stones. The southern wall had ﬁve openings, probably entrances. A hearth framed by standing slabs and dated to AD 1085–1275 (830 ± 40 BP, on Betula; LuS – 14009), was placed in the middle of the house (Figure 3). In this section, a number of artefacts, mainly remains of tools like a whetstone, a loomstone/ﬁshing weight, a baking plate with parallel grooves, pottery, mountings, a horseshoe, and boat nails (Skogstrand 2019). The round house had an oval embankment extending 9.5 m × 7.5 m, with a sunken ﬂoor inside the walls extending 7.5 m × 5.5 m, providing a room of ca. 30 m (Figure 4). ACTA BOREALIA 3 Figure 1. Map showing the location of the discussed sites. The embankment was uninterrupted, 1-1.6 m wide, and consisted of earth and 0.1-0.6 m large stones. A few ﬂat stones were revealed along the inside of the embankment. Some were standing, others seemed overturned, and might have been raised against the wall (Figure 5). 4 L. SKOGSTRAND Figure 2. Map showing sites with round dwellings in Hallingdal. Data from the national cultural heri- tage database Askeladden. Figure 3. Orthophoto model of the longhouse and the round structure (above to the right) during excavation. Orthophoto model: Steinar Kristensen, Museum of Cultural History. ACTA BOREALIA 5 Figure 4. Drawing of Tuft 2, Øsmundset; the red stones mark the hearth. Figure 5. Proﬁle through Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, showing the overturned slab to the right. In the back- ground, the stone-ﬁlled embankment is clearly visible in the proﬁle. Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. 6 L. SKOGSTRAND In the middle of the structure was a large hearth, ca. 3.6 m × 2.2 m, made of stones in diﬀerent sizes, many ﬁre-cracked, scattered in a messy pile. Originally, the many large slabs may have framed a hearth ﬁlled with smaller stones (Figure 4). Charcoal was mainly concentrated between and beneath the stones, but also speckled the surrounding ﬂoor. At the bottom of the charcoal layer was a fatty white-grey layer, containing minor fragments of burnt bones, and below this red-burnt sand. In the middle of the structure was the only artefact related to the dwelling; a baking plate of schistous stone, fractured into several pieces (Skogstrand 2019). The ﬂoor was visible as a distinct dark layer of charcoal and earth in the proﬁle, and micromorphological analyses revealed small fragments of burnt bones and iron trampled into the ground (see report of Richard McPhail in Skogstrand 2019). Burnt bones from the ﬁreplace were dated to AD 1190–1300 (755 ± 40 BP; LuS-14010), while a sample of char- coal (Betula) from the ﬂoor layer was dated to AD 1275–1400 (655 ± 35 BP; LuS-14012) (Skogstrand 2019). Above the ﬂoor, and covering the hearth, was an up to 40 cm thick heterogeneous layer containing several iron objects, among them half a horseshoe of medieval type and boat rivets similar to those found in the longhouse. The layer is clearly secondary to the phase of inhabitation and its heterogeneous character, the numerous objects, and the micromorphological analyses indicate that it was made up of debris accumulated during the settlement phase of the longhouse. In addition, the micromorphological ana- lyses showed no sign of revegetation above the ﬂoor layer, suggesting that the ﬁlling of the depression occurred immediately after the inhabitation (Skogstrand 2019). While the longhouse at Øsmundset has numerous contemporary parallels (e.g. Martens 1973; Finstad 2009; Martens 2009) and continues a 3000 year long custom of house con- structions and dwelling practice in southern Norway (e.g. Helliksen 1997; Eriksen 2019; Løken 2020), the round dwelling at Øsmundset and its equivalents in Hallingdal are rather unique in southern Norway. Similar round house structures are documented at Tyinn (Helmen 1949), Innerdalen (Gustafson 1988), Resenn (Gjerde 2011) and possibly in Flå (Gjerde 2008, 27; 2015, 130-138), but otherwise, the building traditions in southern Norway during the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages are predominantly long and square. However, if we move beyond the Norse context and look to the north, we ﬁnd an estab- lished tradition and numerous contemporary parallels of round dwellings. Sápmi in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages It is generally agreed that Saami identity emerged in Fennoscandia within a multi-cultural setting during the last millennium BCE (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 31). While cultural diﬀer- ences are evident during this period, no speciﬁc traits characterize the hunting population in the traditional Saami settlement areas in the time span AD 200-800, and the archaeo- logical ﬁndings are generally poor. This apparent anonymity is probably a result of regional diﬀerences and a corresponding lack of common features (Hansen and Olsen 2014,45–46). During the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages (AD 550-1200) pronounced changes took place within the Saami communities. A deliberate and symbolic articulation of Saami ethnicity arose through a standardization of ritual expressions and formalization of settlement organization which in all likelihood signiﬁed a consolidation and ACTA BOREALIA 7 manifestation of Saami identity and ethnicity (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 30, 132). This development was most likely sparked and inﬂuenced by the ongoing extensive cultural, economic, religious, and socio-political transformations that occurred in the contempor- ary neighbouring Nordic/Finnish/Russian societies. Especially, Christianization, trade, and state formation aﬀected interethnic relationships and thus the Saami societies them- selves. Interactions that previously were characterized by local relations, redistributive economies, and a shared set of religious values, became unpredictable and less symmetri- cal. In addition, some scholars have suggested that reindeer pastoralism began at this time (e.g. Storli 1994; Hedman 2003; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013). During these turbulent circumstances a formalization and uniﬁcation of Saami cultural expressions may have been a way of coping with the situation (Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013; Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013; Hansen and Olsen 2014). Round dwellings in the north – stállo foundations One of the most conspicuous changes in Saami material culture during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages is a restructuring of settlements. From around AD 800, row-orga- nized sites emerged all over Sápmi. Settlements were established in new areas and display novel and distinct features in terms of organization of domestic space (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 152). One speciﬁc type is the stállo sites, which are mainly found along the mountain regions between Norway and Sweden, from Frostviken in Jämtland to Devddesvuopmi in Troms (Figure 5). More than 500 stállo foundations are known from this area (Bergman et al. 2008, 98). Stállo foundations are round, i.e. circular, oval, or nearly rectangular dwelling struc- tures, generally 6-8 m in outer extension, and 4-6 m in inner extension, with a central hearth in the middle of a sunken ﬂoor surrounded by a broad ﬂat embankment without obvious entrances. When three or more dwellings occur at the same settlement they are usually organized in rows, but one or two foundations at a locality are also common (Bergman et al. 2008, 99). The sites may also contain other structures like storage pits and free-laying hearths and are often located on ﬂat terraces that provide a wide view over the surrounding landscapes, mainly in the birch treeline zone. The foun- dations are mainly dated to the Viking Age and ﬁrst half of the Middle Ages, AD 800-1300. Although there are variations, especially with regard to the size of the foundations and the construction of the hearths, the structures and their locations and datings are strik- ingly similar (Manker 1960; Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010; Aronsson 2020). In the following, I will brieﬂy account for four locations with documented structures that are commonly recognized as stállo sites. Frostviken Frostviken is the northernmost parish of Jämtland County in Sweden and comprises several large lakes and waterways in between mountains (Figure 1). Three sites with altogether 11 stállo foundations in groups of three and ﬁve have been documented. They were located by the slopes of the mountains, on ﬂat terraces with a wide view over the landscape just below the present treeline at 640–750 masl (Manker 1960). 8 L. SKOGSTRAND None of the structures were excavated or dated but all foundations were oval, 5.6-8 m in longest outer length and 4-6.1 m in inner measurements. The embankments were low but distinct, and around 1 m broad without traces of entrances. All structures had a sunken ﬂoor and a central hearth, some with a rectangular frame of stones placed perpendicular to the length of the foundation (Manker 1960, 267–271). Lønsdalen Lønsdalen is a broad north–south oriented valley at 650–700 masl at Saltfjellet in Nord- land, Norway (Figure 1). Altogether, 75 stállo foundations have been registered (Hedman 2010, 10) and 32 structures at eight sites have been partly excavated (Storli 1994). Most structures were circular or oval, some nearly rectangular. The embankments were low and often ﬂat on top, usually unbroken without entrances. The external extent was 6-8 m, while the slightly sunken ﬂoors on the inside extended 4-5 m. Typically, there was an oval or rectangular centrally placed hearth. At the investigated eight localities, ﬁve had three or more stállo foundations, all organized in rows, while the others had one or two house features. Except for some sherds of soapstone vessels, a spindle whorl, pieces of whetstones and some iron fragments, no objects were found. The dwellings were all dated within the time span AD 900–1350 (Storli 1994, 47). Adamvalldá Adamvalldá is a broad valley that ﬂows into the lake Bieskehávrre in Norrbotn, Sweden, close to the Norwegian border, only 60 km as the crow ﬂies northeast of Lønsdalen (Figure 1). Thirty-one stállo foundations have been recorded at twelve diﬀerent sites, 625–800 masl. Most commonly, two or three foundations occur together but the numbers vary from one to ﬁve (Bergman et al. 2008). A large number of structures have been excavated (Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003). Most dwellings were oval, some circular or nearly rectangular. The embankments were often irregular, though usually unbroken. Outer length was generally 5-6 m while the mean inner length was 4.2 m. They all had a sunken ﬂoor with a central hearth, usually rectangular, often framed and sometimes ﬁlled by large stones and placed perpendicular to the length of the foundation. Only a few arte- facts were discovered, like strike-a-lights and fragments of iron, whetstones and soap- stone vessels. Most dwellings were dated within the period AD 800–1050 (Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Devddesvuopmi Devddesvuopmi is a densely forested valley where the river Devddesvuomejohka ﬂows into the lake Devddesjávri east of Dividalen in Inner Troms in northern Norway (Figure 1). Twelve stállo foundations have been registered in the area, and four of them have been partly excavated. They were organized in a row and located at a moraine terrace, 580–585 masl. All structures were circular, 5-6 m in outer and 3.2-4 m in inner extension, with a sunken ﬂoor and a central hearth. The embankments were 0.5-1 m broad and slight depressions were documented in the south-western part, indicating an entrance and suggesting that all huts were positioned in the same direction. No artefacts were ACTA BOREALIA 9 found. All structures were dated within the time span AD 650-1210, and in three of the dwellings, the datings indicate repeated visits (Sommerseth 2009, 217–233). Stállo huts – constructions and functions The preceding brief review of stállo sites shows variations over a deﬁned theme. Even though the structures may vary in size, their shape, construction, location, and datings are similar from Frostviken to Devddesvuopmi, and they most likely represent a speciﬁc way of dwelling for a certain period of time. Probably, the foundations are remains of hut dwellings made of mountain birch and birch bark on a bow-pole framework (see Manker 1960, 823; Liedgren and Bergman 2009 for further discussions). The solid con- struction suggests that they were built to last. The stállo settlements might have been inhabited for short or longer time spans as part of yearly migration routes. Some have interpreted the stállo sites as villages (e.g. Manker 1960; Mulk 1994), while others have suggested that their linear orientation results from successive habitations (Storli 1994, 47–48; see also Olsen 2019, 20 for discussions on line organization). In Adamvalldá, each site was in use for a limited period of time, and all dwellings at the same locality were more or less contemporaneous (Liedgren et al. 2007). Each stállo house may have constituted an independent household, usually comprised of a nuclear family in various stages of its life cycle (Bergman et al. 2008, 104–105). Palaeoecological studies reveal that Adamvalldá was deforested during the time of the stállo occupation. The pattern is consistent with a persistent practice of cutting down mountain birch trees for fuel and wooden constructions (Östlund et al. 2015). Similar human impact on vegetation is found in relation to other stállo sites (Karlsson, Shevtsova, and Hörnberg 2009; Staland, Salmonsson, and Hörnberg 2010), suggesting that they rep- resent long-term and repeated stays, maybe for centuries (for another view see Aronsson 2020). Most scholars (e.g. Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009; Hansen and Olsen 2014; Gjerde 2015; Hedman 2015; Aronsson 2020; see also Manker 1960; Mulk 1994; Storli 1994) agree that the stállo sites are remains of Saami settlements, based on two main arguments. First, the round layout is the basic shape of traditional Saami dwellings and a genuine Saami building custom known at least back to the ﬁrst century AD (Ränk 1949; Mulk 1994, 136–142; Storli 1994, 17; Hesjedal et al. 1996, 227–228; Liedgren and Bergman 2009, 14). The size and design resemble his- torically known Saami turf huts and exhibit a continuity in the organization of lived space and practices of dwelling. In addition, the row organization of many stállo sites has a con- temporary parallel in the Saami hearth-row settlements (Hedman, Olsen, and Vretemark 2015; Olsen 2019). Second, which is sometimes left implicit, is their geographical location within traditional Saami settlement areas, and thus spatial continuity. In addition, the dis- tance from known contemporary Norse farming communities is often great. The remote- ness of the settlements makes a Norse aﬃliation less likely and accordingly, interpretations of a Saami connection less controversial (Schanche and Olsen 1983; Bergstøl 2008, 8). The function of the settlements has been vividly debated. Breaking with previous settlement patterns, the stállo sites are repeatedly located in the landscapes between forest and mountain. Also, reindeer seek the treeline zone for pastures, mating, and 10 L. SKOGSTRAND calving. This correlation in use of landscapes suggests a human adaption to animal habits and several researchers argue that the stállo sites are related to an increasing economic importance of reindeer in the Viking Age (e.g. Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009). Surveys of stállo sites have also revealed more recent cultural remains such as storage pits and free-laying hearths associ- ated with historically known reindeer herding settlements (Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Liedg- ren 2001, 2002, 2003; Bergman et al. 2008; Hedman 2010; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013). This location continuity may substantiate the interpretation of stállo sites as related to reindeer behaviour. However, there is no agreement whether it was mainly a matter of hunting (e.g. Mulk 1994; Sommerseth 2009) or rather represents an adjustment to initial herding and pastoralism (Andersen 2002; Storli 2007; Andersen 2008; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013; Bjørklund 2013; Hansen and Olsen 2014). Hunting pits are found in the proximity of several stállo sites, but there is no con- tradiction between continued reindeer hunting and emerging pastoralism (e.g. Bjørklund 2013; Bergstøl 2020). Locations in the border zone enabled exploitation of numerous resources in the moun- tains as well as the forests and rivers. An expanding trade in an increasingly globalized market, but also taxation, may have boosted the demand for marketable commodities (Mulk 1994; Hansen and Olsen 2014, 91, 127-129) and may have sparked an intensiﬁcation of hunting for reindeer and fur-bearing animals as well as ﬁshing (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 180; Bergman and Ramqvist 2018). Constructions compared – round dwellings in Hallingdal and stállo foundations The archaeological documentation of prehistoric sites is always situated within a certain context and scientiﬁc tradition. The comparison of structures investigated by diﬀerent persons, with diverging experience, research problems and methods, is challenging. In the north, the stállo foundations have been an established template which has inﬂuenced the observation and documentation of structures and most are, for instance, simply termed “oval”. In Hallingdal, the main reference among the early registrars was local build- ing traditions of square stone sheds and, accordingly, the investigators meticulously looked for corners, stonewalls, and entrances. Similar structures may therefore be described and measured diﬀerently. Furthermore, most sites are not excavated, but mainly described and measured on the vegetated surface. While a large number have been subjected to limited investigations, full excavations have been carried out only in Adamvalldá and at Øsmundset. Accordingly, the same data are not available everywhere and especially the estimations of size may be inﬂuenced by the extent of excavation. The following analyses and discussions will emphasize variations in documentation practices and how these are dealt with. Shape and size The shape and extension of stállo foundations are often indistinct, and diﬀering practices of describing and delimiting structures make comparisons of shapes and sizes inaccurate. We might also expect that the embankments appear broader when covered with turf and ACTA BOREALIA 11 vegetation than after unearthing. Accordingly, in unexcavated structures the inner size might be underestimated while the outer is overrated. As the share of fully excavated structures is considerably higher in Adamvalldá than elsewhere, these foundations may, relatively speaking, have a larger inner diameter and smaller outer extent than struc- tures from other sites. Otherwise, inconsistent documentation practices and various extents of excavations probably intersect rather randomly and do not cause systematic diﬀerences. As this study aims to generate broad patterns, and does not compare individ- ual structures or sites directly, the discrepancy in measurements may counterbalance each other and do not alter the general picture. Further, nearly all stállo foundations in Frostviken, Lønsdalen and Adamvalldá are termed oval-shaped, while some in Adamvalldá and all in Devddesvuopmi are circular. Gjerde (2008) describes the foundations in Hallingdal as round. Based on measurements, most are oval, some circular, and a few are described as rectangular with rounded sides, a shape that is also observed at several sites in Adamvalldá (Liedgren and Bergman 2009,12). Figure 6 illustrates the inner size of documented round dwellings from the smallest, with an inner length of only 2.5 m, to the largest, at 8 m. The majority of structures, regardless of location, have an inner length of 4-6 m. The dwellings in Hallingdal are among the bigger, a tendency that perhaps is in line with Liedgren and Bergman’s (2009, 13) observation that stállo foundations are generally larger further south (see also Manker 1960, 270–280). Figure 7 shows the outer length of the documented foundations and changes the picture somewhat. Outer extension varies from 4.2–10 m and the dwellings from Halling- dal are more evenly spread out along the spectrum. The largest structures are still found in Hallingdal, but so are some of the smallest. This discrepancy between inner and outer length is probably mainly because in many structures only outer or inner length is docu- mented. As such, Figures 6 and 7 do not represent completely the same structures. Together, the ﬁgures illustrate that the round dwellings in Hallingdal might be more varied in size but are, in the main, still within the same range of variation as further north. This observation is supported by calculations of median values. While median outer length is 6.4 m in Hallingdal, the corresponding value in Lønsdalen is 6.5 m, in Adamvalldá 6 m and in Frostviken 6.8 m. Median inner length is 4.2 m in Hallingdal, 4 m in Lønsdalen, 4.1 m in Adamvalldá and 5 m in Frostviken. The structures are thus generally rather cor- responding in size regardless of location. Liedgren and Bergman (2009, 12) show that there is a nearly ﬁxed relation between the length and width of the stállo foundations in Adamvalldá and surrounding areas in Figure 6. The longest inner length of documented round foundations in Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, Devddesvuopmi, Frostviken, and Hallingdal, all sorted by increasing length and breadth. Each column represents one structure. 12 L. SKOGSTRAND Figure 7. The longest outer length of round foundations in Devddesvuopmi, Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, Frostviken, and Hallingdal, sorted by increasing length and breadth. Each column represents one structure. Arjeplog, with a mean inner width/length ratio at 0.78. In Lønsdalen the corresponding ratio is 0.81, in Frostviken 0.78, and in Hallingdal 0.86. The resemblance is conspicuous and suggests established and shared ideas regarding the proportion of the dwellings and similar principles in the construction of the buildings (Liedgren and Bergman 2009, 19). Stállo settlements are often referred to as row-organized. However, although this organization occurs, the most common number of stállo foundations at a site is two, fol- lowed by three and one structure (Bergman et al. 2008, 99). In Hallingdal three foun- dations in a row possibly occur at Hollo and Grasbakkan (Gjerde 2015), but otherwise the dominating pattern is one or two dwellings at the same place, which corresponds to most stállo sites. Construction Various construction elements have been documented. The sunken ﬂoor, dug 0.1-0.3 m into the ground, is a characteristic feature observed at most known stállo foundations and documented in some structures in Hallingdal. At Øsmundset, the depression was evident (Figure 8). The embankments consist of earth and stones in diﬀerent sizes. Some have suggested that they were made up of the masses removed to make the sunken ﬂoor (Storli 1994,49– 50). The arrangement of these masses into a low, ﬂat, round, and rather even embank- ment was, nevertheless, probably due to a need for a foundation for the walls (Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Generally, the embankments in Lønsdalen, Adamvalldá, and Frostvi- ken are 0.5-1.5 m broad. In Hallingdal the embankments are 1-2 m broad, but they are documented only in four cases. In Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, the embankment was measured as 2 m broad on the surface but proved to be 1 m when unearthed and examined. Figure 9 illustrates how the embankment in Tuft 2 was built of small and middle-sized stones, earth, and sand, and was clearly delimited on the inside but rather indistinct on the outside. Another recurring construction element is the lack of visible entrances. With a few exceptions, all the analyzed stállo foundations form closed circles without depressions, openings or any markings of entries (e.g. Storli 1994; Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Liedg- ren and Bergman (2009, 21) suggest that as the walls of the hut are slanting, the door would rest upon the embankment, and the entrance would thus be above it, which may explain why there are no traces of passage through the structure. In Hallingdal, ACTA BOREALIA 13 Figure 8. The proﬁle through the upper layers in Tuft 2 at Øsmundset clearly displays the sunken ﬂoor, curving gradually from the embankments towards the hearth in the middle and noticeable through all the layers. Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. this is not well documented but few structures have a deﬁned entrance (Gjerde 2008). Tuft 2 at Øsmundset was closely examined but the embankment was unbroken, lacking any indication of where the entrance might have been, noticeably contrasted by the many openings in the wall of the nearby longhouse (see Figure 3). Hearths Nearly all investigated stállo foundations have a centrally placed hearth, often oval or rec- tangular, around 1.5 m × 1 m in extension and built of slabs. Liedgren (2001, 4), however, notes that the size and construction of the hearths in Adamvalldá vary greatly. Some are carefully built with frames, with or without stone packing and sometimes with large stones in one or both ends. Others seem thrown together without much care. Similar vari- ations are documented in Lønsdalen (Storli 1994) and Frostviken. Several hearths have also Figure 9. Proﬁle through the northern embankment of Tuft 2 at Øsmundset shows a distinctly delim- ited embankment built of stones, earth and sand. The inside is to the left, the outside to the right. Drawing: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. 14 L. SKOGSTRAND been cleaned out and rebuilt, leaving the original shape uncertain (Manker 1960;see also Mulk 1994, 142; Liedgren 2001,4; Liedgrenetal. 2007,1285;Sommerseth 2009, 229). The messy pile of a hearth in Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, with its central placement, large slabs, and layer of smeary soil above red burned sand at the bottom – a feature also observed in most hearths excavated in Adamvalldá (Liedgren and Bergman 2009,14) – ﬁts well within the range of hearth variations among the stállo foundations. The excavated hearths at Urevass- botn (Ho200) and Byrkjedalen (Ho138) in Hallingdal are also irregular piles with a mix of slabs and smaller stones. The hearth in Byrkjedalen was also interpreted to have been cleaned out and rebuilt (Gjerde 2015,140–145). Artefacts Few artefacts are found at stállo sites, mainly remains of broken items: fragments of vessels, pieces of whetstones, spindle whorls and iron fragments. In Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, the only object was a fragmented baking plate, sharply contrasted by numerous tools and equipment found in the nearby longhouse (Skogstrand 2019). No objects beyond burnt bones have been found in any of the round structures in Hallingdal (Gjerde 2015, 148). The lack of artefacts may be due to an extensive use of decomposable materials like bone, antler and wood, and a corresponding low share of stone and iron. Perhaps more important was a mobile way of living, restricting the number of belongings to what could be carried (Hedman and Olsen 2009, 16). Location Liedgren and Bergman (2009, 4) provide an appealing diagram illustrating how the alti- tude of stállo localities in Sweden is inversely proportional to the latitude. This relation arises from the typical location of the stállo sites in the present treeline zone. If the sites in Hallingdal had been added to the diagram they would have extended the graph nicely, indicating that their locations were quite similar to the stállo sites with regard to altitude. The accounts of locations repeatedly describe terraces with a wide view of the landscape, often close to waterways or lakes (Mulk 1994; Sommerseth 2009). However, Hedman (2015, 42) stresses that the location of stállo structures in Lønsdalen varies, especially with regard to the view. It should be stressed that while Devd- desvuopmi, Lønsdalen, and Adamvalldá might be considered as closed landscapes where new dwellings would relate to older settlements, the sites in Hallingdal and Frostviken are dispersed in separate areas, each constituting a new establishment. Datings A large number of stállo foundations have been radiocarbon dated, mainly on charcoal. The majority of datings cluster within the time span AD 800–1300 (Storli 1994; Liedgren et al. 2007; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010). Especially the dwellings in Adamvalldá have been thoroughly dated. The results from there indicate that some sites were inhab- ited for a rather short period, while the larger localities may have been visited recurrently over a longer time, where diﬀerent house grounds may represent successive settlements (Liedgren et al. 2007). ACTA BOREALIA 15 Figure 10. Radiocarbon datings of stállo foundations in Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, and Devddesvuopmi, and the round structures in Hallingdal. Many of the bars represent several dates from each structure (calibrated at 95.4% using OxCal 4.4, IntCal20). For more speciﬁc details regarding particular datings see Storli 1994; Liedgren 2003; Liedgren et al. 2007; Gjerde 2008; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010; Gjerde 2015; Skogstrand 2019. Figure 10 illustrates the distribution of datings related to sites and how the settlements in Adamvalldá and Devddesvuopmi are generally prior to those in Lønsdalen and Halling- dal. Unfortunately, none of the structures in Frostviken have been dated. All datings have been recalibrated with OxCal 4.4, IntCal20, and the diagram demonstrates how all the dated round dwellings in Hallingdal are contemporary with the stállo settlements, especially those in Lønsdalen. Summing up The preceding analysis reveals that both stállo foundations and the round dwellings in Hal- lingdal are heterogeneous categories. Furthermore, the structures in Hallingdal are deﬁci- ently documented and we lack reliable information about the construction of embankments, ﬂoors, and hearths. Still, the documented measurable construction elements – inner and outer size, width/length ratios, locations, and datings, despite inaccuracy and variations in investigation strategies, cluster within rather clearly deﬁned ranges of variation where the round dwellings in Hallingdal correspond to the stállo foundations. In addition, shapes are nearly always round, and when documented, embankments are broad and low, ﬂoors are sunken, entrances and artefacts few, hearths centrally placed, large and vari- ably built – in Hallingdal as well as in the north. That is not to say that the round dwellings in Hallingdal are stállo foundations. Given that only one structure is fully excavated, more inves- tigations are needed. Nevertheless, Tuft 2 at Øsmundset checks all the boxes of a typical stállo site. Most important is that the corresponding appearance of dwelling remains may reﬂect similar architectural traditions, and the repeated small and round outline of the huts and their placement in the landscape may represent shared practices of dwelling. Practices of dwelling The way people choose to build their homes is deeply integrated in the way they live, in their daily practices, and their conceptions of the world, among others clearly illustrated by Pierre Bourdieu’s(1979) seminal analyses of the Kabyle house. Bourdieu (1977,89–90) 16 L. SKOGSTRAND elaborates on how humans learn through practice and thereby acquire embodied experi- ence and social schemes from childhood. Especially inhabited space, and above all the house, he argues, is a principal locus for the objectiﬁcation of these social systems. As such, the house constitutes an opus operandum – a place for actions – where its spatial organization is read by the body as well as inscribed in it (Bourdieu 1977, 90). A dwelling engenders a tangible classifying system which mediates divisions and hierarchies between things, persons, and practices. Its material design continuously inculcates and reinforces the taxonomic principles underlying its construction (Bourdieu 1977, 89) and constitutes a material organization of social spaces by creating places for social practices. As a long-lasting material space, the house creates possibilities of repetitious actions and serves as a physical locale of collective remembering (Olsen 2010, 123). Bourdieu’s analy- sis might be outdated regarding its underlying strong structuralism, but his discussions of how the house generates movements, provides bodily experiences and produces collec- tive and individual identities, still stands and oﬀers a strong tool for exploring and under- standing the relations between materiality, practice, and identity (Olsen 2010). Dwelling practices compared Similarity or diﬀerence is always a question of perspective and scale. The level of focus may decide whether we see varieties and change or resemblances and continuity (Barth 1967, 111; Grønhaug 1978, 78). In the following, I will concentrate on what practices the round dwellings may reﬂect and discuss whether variations might represent diﬀerent or similar practices of dwelling. The round structures are remains of rather small dwellings. There is no necessary equiv- alence between the size of a house and the number of inhabitants. However, while a large longhouse may be the home of many or only a handful people, a small dwelling eﬀec- tively restricts the number of individuals that may reside in it. The variety in size among the round foundations is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. The large majority have 2 2 a ﬂoor area of 8–20 m . A few are only 3–6m and might have housed only one or two persons or are perhaps not dwellings at all. A handful of structures are more than 20 m ; these are mainly found in Hallingdal, but also in Frostviken and Lønsdalen. If the dwellings reﬂect group sizes, then the number of inhabitants varied within the same range in all areas. However, larger groups may have occurred more frequently in Frostviken and Hallingdal than in Adamvalldá and Devddesvuopmi. Bergman et al. (2008) suggest that each stállo hut housed a family group through its varying stages of a life cycle, and if the family group grew, a new hut could be erected at the same site. Each settlement may thus have represented a family unit resembling the historically known Saami sijte. A similar social structure related to materiality is plausible in Hallingdal, too. Like the stállo sites, most round dwellings in Hallingdal occur alone or in pairs. Only two sites are comprised of three or more structures, possibly organized in rows at both places (Gjerde 2008, 37, 41). The contemporaneity of the structures is not established, but their row organization shows that they actively relate to each other spatially (see Olsen 2019). The round shape of the structures in Hallingdal and the stállo foundations constituted similar frames for the individual physically moving in space, for family life and daily prac- tices (Yates 1989). Bourdieu (1977) shows how the architecture in itself might express but ACTA BOREALIA 17 also be an important source of central cultural metaphors. Especially in Hallingdal, the proximity to “square” ways of dwelling, might have strengthened the consciousness of circular practices, how these were shared with hunter-gatherer groups further north, and their contrast to the square dwelling practices of the longhouses. Central to the round frame was the hearth, constituting the heart of the house (Carsten 1995, 114) and the focal point around which all indoor activities literally circled. Its central location conditioned and structured the use of the room, and the doughnut-shaped space may have been divided into sections related to speciﬁc activities, gender, and notions of purity and danger, as known from more recent Saami dwellings (Ränk 1949; Storli 1994, 61–64). No traces of such divisions, nor båassjoe stones were detected at Øsmundset (Ränk 1949; see also Bergstøl and Reitan 2008). The small ﬂoor areas considered, most hearths are relatively big and made of considerable amounts of large stones (see Figure 4), suggesting comparable heating practices. Repeated cleaning out and rebuild- ing of the hearths are documented in stállo foundations as well as in round structures in Hallingdal. Ritual cleaning and rebuilding of the hearth is known from circumpolar groups (Vaté 2013, 192), but whether this was the case in hearths of round foundations in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages needs to be further investigated. It is still tempting to suggest that the similar hearths reﬂect shared ritual practices related to common beliefs concerning relations between home, hearth, and household (Vaté 2013, 184). Several researchers have argued that the inhabitants of the stállo sites moved between several diﬀerent settlements in a yearly cycle (Storli 1994,76–77; Liedgren and Bergman 2009,6–7; Sommerseth 2009, 258). The lack of objects and absence of cultural layers (Storli 1994; Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003; Sommerseth 2009) support an image of short visits, while the repeatedly documented deforestation indicates recurrent stays (Karlsson, Shevtsova, and Hörnberg 2009; Staland, Salmonsson, and Hörnberg 2010). At Øsmundset, the distinct but thin ﬂoor layer in the round dwelling points in the same direction and the solitary baking plate left in the ﬁreplace is sharply contrasted by the numerous tools and equipment found in the succeeding longhouse, reﬂecting divergent practices of living. While the latter probably implied long-term settling, enabling accumulation of belong- ings and generating numerous worn objects, the former was characterized by short- term repeated visits where the dwelling was cleaned, emptied, and closed after each stay (Gjerde 2015, 148). The stállo settlements and the round dwellings in Hallingdal may thus have been nodes in larger networks of settlements where mobile family units or task groups moved between and repeatedly returned to the same sites. Along Kjølen (the Caledonian Mountains), human migration routes between the mountains and the boreal forests in the east have been suggested (e.g. Storli 1994; Bergman, Zachris- son, and Liedgren 2013). From the mountains in upper Hallingdal, similar movement pat- terns along the river valleys Hallingdal, Hemsedal, and Numedal towards large forest areas in the east are imaginable. The recurrent placement of stállo sites and round dwellings in Hallingdal in the border zone between forest and mountains is striking. The altitude of the treeline ﬂuctuates over time and is conditioned by local weather as well as global climate, and during the last decades the upper treeline has raised noticeably in many areas. However, the middle temperature in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages was comparable to the early twen- tieth century (e.g. Ljungqvist et al. 2012). Accordingly, the broad zone of open birch tree vegetation, gradually losing its height and density towards the bare mountains, where 18 L. SKOGSTRAND most round dwellings were registered, by and large resemble the scenery into which the huts were initially built (Sommerseth 2009, 242). The repeated choice of location in similar landscapes indicates that comparable considerations were made with regard to the inhabitants’ practical requirements in Hallingdal as well as further north. Whether this was related to incipient reindeer herding is a complex discussion beyond the scope of this study, but we may assume that the stállo foundations and the round dwellings in Hal- lingdal represent equivalent phenomena concerning the reason why the settlements were established in the mountain regions. More excavations are needed, especially in the south, but based on the available data from round dwellings in Hallingdal and stállo foundations further north, a number of com- parable dwelling practices may be inferred. Shared everyday practices are essential in the constitution and reproduction of a group and crucial in the construction and reproduc- tion of collective identities (Damm 2012). But do similar practices make the dwellers in Hallingdal Saami? Saami practices in Hallingdal It is possible that the mechanisms that initiated expansions into mountain areas and the establishment of stállo sites in the north also spurred long-distance migrations southwards. It is hard to believe, however, that highly mobile groups of hunter-gath- erers residing across Fennoscandia did not utilize resources in the wide forests and extensive mountains south of Dovre, occasionally, seasonally, or on a permanent basis (e.g. Bergstøl 2008; Amundsen 2011). A signiﬁcant backdrop for considering Saami presence in southern Norway is long-term studies that reveal how two diver- gent material cultures and economic adaptions developed along a border zone north- east of Mjøsa from the Neolithic and throughout the Bronze and Iron Age – continuous traditions that are recognized as Norse and Saami in the Early Middle Ages (Bergstøl 2008; Amundsen 2011). Diverse practices are not equivalent to ethni- city, neither do diverging ethnicities necessarily equal contrasting practices. However, ethnic sentiments and interests are derived from similarities in the habitus, and identities might be generated and produced when cultural diﬀerences are made relevant and systematically communicated in social interactions between groups that consider themselves to be distinct. Material culture facilitates but is also created and structured by everyday material practices and is thus frequently impli- cated in the performance and reproduction of ethnic identity (Jones 1997,87–91; 2000, 450; Eriksen 2002,12–13; Damm 2010, 13). In this context, the hunting ground graves in the mountains and forests regions of central Scandinavia might be relevant. These remotely located small cairns, sometimes containing hunting equipment and often dated to the Late Iron Age, have been discussed as a speciﬁc South Saami Iron Age burial custom (e.g. Ambrosiani, Iregren, and Lahtiperä 1984; Zachrisson 1997; Bergstøl 2008; Skogstrand 2008). Gjerde (2015) stresses that the category lacks a consistent deﬁnition and embraces a rather heterogeneous material. More studies are needed, but the divergence from Germanic/Norse burial custom, especially with regard to location (Skogstrand 2008), might indicate that cultural diﬀer- ences were increasingly accentuated by people with a Saami aﬃliation and that these groups were indigenous to the interior of southern Norway. ACTA BOREALIA 19 Less ambiguous is the hearth-row site at Aursjøen, on the border between Oppland and Møre and Romsdal (Reitan 2006; Bergstøl and Reitan 2008). The site is contemporary with the ﬁrst row-organized settlements in Adamvalldá (Liedgren et al. 2007) and a strong indication that Saami groups repeatedly visited this area during the eighth to tenth cen- turies AD, performing dwelling practices structured by the same social principles as further north. A handful of other settlement sites south of Dovre have been considered as Saami, mainly due to round shapes of the dwellings, and dated from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries (Gjerde 2015, 130–138). Recent explorations have documented a large number of Saami cultural remains from 1600–1900 AD in Trollheimen (Hellqvist 2012, 2014) and Røros/Aursunden/Femunden (Pareli 1985; Fjellheim 1999), and along with historical sources they testify to a sustained Saami use of these landscapes until modern times. Also, medieval textual sources mention Saami people in southern Norway. Early Chris- tian law (Borgartingsloven, 31) from the Oslo Fjord area, probably written before AD 1120, explicitly prohibits going to the Saami for prophecies or believing in Saami sorcery. The ban suggests such actions or beliefs were common, or there would be no need to forbid them, but also that Saami groups were present in nearby areas on a rather regular basis. Furthermore, Snorri writes that Harald Fairhair married the Saami princess Snøfrid at Dovre and that Halvdan the Black tortured a Saami man at Hadeland, just north of Oslo, to get information (Zachrisson 2008; Hansen and Olsen 2014,98–100). These stories might not refer to actual events, but they situate Saami individuals within southern Norway as a matter of course, suggesting that their presence was common knowledge (see Wang 2023). Besides, they demonstrate that the Norse population ascribed certain groups an identity as Saami and, thus, that these people most likely deﬁned themselves as such. An additional indication of Saami presence is several objects of Finno-Ugric origin from the Early Middle Ages found mainly in the inland (Gjerde 2010; Hansen and Olsen 2014, 118–120), but also by the Oslo Fjord (Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, cat- alogue number C63618). Such artefacts commonly occur in Saami contexts in northern Fennoscandia, and their repeated occurrence in oﬀerings and burials are related to the ritual standardization that took place all over Sápmi during the Early Middle Ages (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 132–133). Additionally, funnel-shaped reindeer mass-trapping systems in Alvdal, Rendalen and Engerdal, with parallels in Varanger in Finnmark, have been related to Saami groups (Amundsen and Os 2015, 2020). The round dwellings in Hallingdal may thus ﬁt into a broader context of ﬁndings creat- ing an image of a mobile Saami population that sporadically but consistently utilized and inhabited large areas of southern Norway. Their seemingly sudden appearance might be explained by the general homogenization and standardization of Saami material practices during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages, constituting a distinct and recognizable visibility in the archaeological record, not only in northern Fennoscandia (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 180), but also in Hallingdal. Ethnicity always involves active pro- cesses of performance (Jones 2000, 252). In the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, the Norse population increasingly exploited outﬁeld resources (e.g. Martens 1973; Weber 1986; Indrelid, Hjelle, and Stene 2015) and the contact between members of the Norse society and small groups of mobile hunter-gatherers, loosely related to Saami networks, culture and identity, may have grown more frequent. This increased interaction may have 20 L. SKOGSTRAND generated ethnic processes that produced a more consistent deﬁnition of and aﬃliation to Saami identity and provoked conscious strategies to manifest Saami presence – like establishing round dwellings. The choice of building round dwellings in a landscape of square longhouses appears as a deliberate performance and a strong message of identity and entitlement. However, communication and construction of ethnic identity is a mutual process between groups and actors (Barth 1969), involving the Norse communities just as much as the Saami. The placement of the longhouse at Øsmundset might give a hint of how the Norse perceived the meaning of the round dwellings and how they employed the same means of expression in the communication. On a large ﬂat terrace (Figure 11), with endless opportunities of placing a construction, the builders chose to put up the longhouse almost into the round dwelling, and thereby obstructing further settlement. During the following years of inhabitation, they ﬁlled the depression of the hut with debris. The action has an aspect of brute force, physically preventing the original occu- pants from entering the hut, and the symbolic meaning of ﬁlling the foundation with waste communicated a rather clear message that the settlement at the place had come to an end. The symbolic language applied by displacing the round hut with a longhouse (see Figure 3) suggests that the round dwelling was perceived as a performance that required a ﬁrm reply. Accordingly, the longhouse was not just a physical replacement but may also have communicated the identity and culture of the majority. The house Figure 11. Shared landscapes at Øsmundset in Hallingdal. The water level in the regulated lake Stran- davatnet was at this point only a few metres above original level. The round dwelling and longhouse are located in the grass covered area to the right behind the lavvo (tent). Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. ACTA BOREALIA 21 was a materialization of Norse practices of dwelling (Martens 1973; Finstad 2009; Martens 2009). The square houses also represented an expanding Norse society in which power and privileges were gradually backed up by a state, laws of common land, rules of Christianity, and the church. The laws of commonality (Landsloven 1915 VI, 61-63; Frostatingslova 1994 XIV, 7-9; Gulatingslova 1994, 145) state that anybody may hunt, ﬁsh, put up a shelter or exploit other resources in the outﬁelds, and explicitly proclaim that usage and rights are supposed to remain as they have been from old times. The laws are based on ancient long-term customs of resource management but were also developed to increase the power and control of the crown during the thirteenth century (Solem 2003). The codes were formulated by and for the Norse society, and while the legislation permitted anyone to use outﬁeld areas, and thus guarded the rights of Saami groups to settle and exploit resources, it also attached various conditions concerning continuity (Solem 2003; Tveiten 2010). The laws were not adapted for a nomadic lifestyle, and as the economic interests in the outﬁelds increased during the Viking Age, we might expect that dwellings left unattended for long periods of the year could be regarded as not fulﬁlling old requirements to claim an area. However, the law also states that it is forbidden to burn down shelters and huts in the outﬁelds (Landsloven VII, 62; Frosta- tingslova XIV, 8), which may indicate that conﬂicts concerning custom rights were fre- quent, regardless of ethnicity. According to the law, the round huts could not be burned or simply removed. At the same time, the habit of raising houses to claim an area in the outﬁelds increased by the end of the Viking Age (Tveiten 2010, 254). In this perspective, the placement of the longhouse, overlapping the hut, makes not only a phys- ical and symbolic statement, but also a juridical claim to the area. Only 3 km to the south- east, another longhouse was raised at Langegard at the same time (Lindblom 1994; Kile- Vesik 2017). More research into the relations between Saami and Norse groups in southern Norway is needed. While the case of Øsmundset indicates a situation of ongoing conﬂict, others have suggested that especially large-scale reindeer trapping implied cooperation between Saami and Norse people (e.g. Amundsen 2017; Solli 2018; Amundsen and Os 2020). Studies of northern Fennoscandia have revealed extensive trade and complex relations between the Saami and various other groups (e.g. Bruun 2007; Olsen, Urbańczyk, and Amundsen 2011; Hansen and Olsen 2014; Bergman and Edlund 2016; Henriksen 2016; Bergman and Ramqvist 2018). As was the case further north, the boundaries between Saami and Norse societies were probably permeable, facilitating cooperation, inter- ethnic marriages, and entangled relations and interactions, but also incompatible inter- ests and increasing inequalities in power. Conclusion During the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, a consolidation of Saami identity, restruc- turing of society and homogenization of material culture occurred all over Sápmi. Most likely, this development also inﬂuenced scattered groups with Saami aﬃliation in southern Norway. The round house structures documented in Hallingdal resemble stállo foundations in nearly every respect. This mutual materiality of the home generated shared practices and bodily experiences that may have created a common identity and 22 L. SKOGSTRAND conceptions of the world. To live round is in itself not equivalent with a shared identity. However, the contrast between the round and the square houses at Øsmundset, and the diﬀerent practices of dwelling they represent, must have been meaningful and shaped diverging identities that were acknowledged by both groups. The choice of building round huts in a land of square houses appears as a conscious manifestation, probably expressing a material and ideological strategical essence of Saami culture (see e.g. Spivak 1996 [1985], 76; Eide 2010). The expansion of the Norse society – physically, legally, and religiously – activated responses by the Saami societies all over Sápmi. While the Saami in the north constituted relatively large communities, and were rather equal to other actors in the region in terms of power in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages (e.g. Hansen and Olsen 2014,48–52), the situation might have developed diﬀerently in the south, where the Saami constituted a clear minority, living in close proximity to the King’s estates and the growing coloniza- tion of the outﬁelds. We need to explore interethnic interactions in southern Norway to understand how ethnic identities emerged and developed, not only among the Saami but also among the Norse population. Notes 1. South Saami orthography is used in this paper. 2. A large stone at the rear of a hearth that helps mark the sacred space in the back of the dwelling. 3. The baking plate in Tuft 2 is thick with a smooth even surface and of a distinctly diﬀerent type than the typical medieval baking plate for lefse or crisp bread found in Tuft 1, and the plates may reﬂect diﬀerent food practices. Acknowledgements Many thanks to Marte Spangen and Hege S. Gjerde for insightful comments and discussions and to Steinar Kristensen for producing orthophotos and technical help. Many thanks also to the two anon- ymous reviewers and to the editors for helpful comments and valuable suggestions. A special thank you to Bryan Hood for recalibrating all the datings. Disclosure statement No potential conﬂict of interest was reported by the author(s). Funding This work was supported by the Museum of Cultural History and the UiO Nordic-project Gendering the Nordic Past at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. ORCID Lisbeth Skogstrand http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-6082 ACTA BOREALIA 23 References Ambrosiani, Björn, Elisabeth Iregren, and Pirjo Lahtiperä. 1984. Gravfält i fångstmarken. Undersökningar av gravfälten på Smalnäset och Krankmårtenhögen, Härjedalen. Riksantikvarieämbetet och statens historiska Museer Rapport 1984:6. 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Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
ISSN: 1503-111X
eISSN: 0800-3831
DOI: 10.1080/08003831.2023.2192604
Publisher site: See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ACTA BOREALIA https://doi.org/10.1080/08003831.2023.2192604 Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway Lisbeth Skogstrand Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Received 18 February 2022 In Hallingdal, southern Norway, a number of round dwelling Accepted 13 February 2023 structures have been documented. A contemporary parallel to these constructions is the stállo foundations in the mountains KEYWORDS along the Norwegian-Swedish border, which are recognized as a Saami; dwelling practice; Saami type of dwelling from the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages stállo foundations; ethnicity; AD (800-1300). Based on analyses of the round structures in Viking Age; Middle Ages; Hallingdal and stállo foundations further north, the paper suggests southern Norway that the dwellings in Hallingdal may represent similar ethnic processes that initiated a homogenization and standardization of Saami material culture and consolidation of Saami identity all over Sápmi in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, and that Saami identity was manifested and materialized through practices of dwelling in the mountains of Hallingdal. Introduction For many years, an accepted truth among historians and archaeologists was that the Saami immigrated from the north into central Scandinavia during the seventeenth century (Nielsen 1891; Bergstøl 2008, 222). This idea of a late arrival has been tenacious, leaving the burden of evidence to those who argue that Saami groups exploited areas in southern Norway in the Iron Age (see also Schanche and Olsen 1983; Bergstøl 2008, 169; Hansen and Olsen 2014,93–96). Consequently, research on South Saami prehistory has been preoccupied with assembling arguments and assessing evidence of Saami presence in the south. Following the pioneering research of Zachrisson (1997) numerous studies (e.g. Narmo 2000; Bergstøl 2008; Bergstøl and Reitan 2008; Gjerde 2008, 2010; Olofsson 2010; Amundsen and Os 2015; Gjerde 2015; Severinsen 2016; Amundsen 2017; Norberg 2019; Gjerde 2020) have produced a solid base of knowledge, substantiating that Saami groups populated mountain and forest areas in central Scandinavia in the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. Still, we lack knowledge of how and where they lived – their distribution, mobility patterns, dwelling practices, or economy, and how diﬀerent Saami groups were related. In this paper, I will argue that Saami groups settled areas northeast of Hardangervidda in southern Norway during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages (AD 800-1300). A number of round (deﬁned as encompassing both oval and circular) dwellings from this CONTACT Lisbeth Skogstrand Lisbeth.skogstrand@iakh.uio.no Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group 2 L. SKOGSTRAND area will be analyzed and compared to Saami stállo foundations further north and a recently excavated site at Øsmundset will work as a case study. I will discuss what shared practices the dwellings may reﬂect, how they may have created and communi- cated ethnic identity and how processes of ethnic consolidation occurred among South Saami groups in the heart of southern Norway during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. Round dwelling structures in Hallingdal Hallingdal is a long and broad valley bordering the north-eastern fringe of Hardanger- vidda in southern Norway (Figure 1). In its uppermost mountainous areas, around 30 round dwelling structures have been registered, mainly during the Hallingdal Project in 1986–89 (Bloch-Nakkerud and Lindblom 1994). Many sites have been subject to test pitting, two sites are partly excavated (Gjerde 2015), while one is fully excavated (Skog- strand 2019). The following discussions and analyses comprise 25 structures from Halling- dal, mainly documented by Gjerde (2008) and some by the Hallingdal Project (Bloch- Nakkerud and Lindblom 1994). In addition, the site at Øsmundset is discussed in detail (Skogstrand 2019). The sites are generally found in the treeline zone, 900–1350 masl (Figure 2), on slopes and plateaus facing south and with a broad view of the landscape (Gjerde 2008, 49). The documented structures are circular, oval, or rectangular with rounded sides. Many have low embankments of earth and stones without any trace of an entrance, and a sunken ﬂoor with a central hearth. The outer diameter varies from 4-10 m but on average they extend 6.5 m. Fifteen foundations are found singly, while three sites have two structures, and two sites have three. Bone remains from wolf, grouse, ﬁsh, reindeer, beaver and dog have been collected in some of the dwellings (Bloch-Nakkerud and Lindblom 1990, appendix 10). More than half of the structures have been dated, mainly to AD 1000– 1300 (Gjerde 2008, 53; Skogstrand 2019). Øsmundset At Øsmundset, by the present shore of the lake Strandavatnet, a large longhouse with solid stone walls and a small round hut with embankments and a sunken ﬂoor were exca- vated in 2018. The two dwelling structures were located side-by-side and the C-datings indicate they were contemporary. Their relative placement and stratigraphy make prob- able that the round dwelling was the initial feature, rapidly succeeded by the longhouse. The longhouse was 29 m × 8 m with straight, up to 2 m wide, wall foundations made of earth and 30-50 cm large stones (Figure 3). The building was divided into four or ﬁve sep- arate rooms by transverse rows of stones. The southern wall had ﬁve openings, probably entrances. A hearth framed by standing slabs and dated to AD 1085–1275 (830 ± 40 BP, on Betula; LuS – 14009), was placed in the middle of the house (Figure 3). In this section, a number of artefacts, mainly remains of tools like a whetstone, a loomstone/ﬁshing weight, a baking plate with parallel grooves, pottery, mountings, a horseshoe, and boat nails (Skogstrand 2019). The round house had an oval embankment extending 9.5 m × 7.5 m, with a sunken ﬂoor inside the walls extending 7.5 m × 5.5 m, providing a room of ca. 30 m (Figure 4). ACTA BOREALIA 3 Figure 1. Map showing the location of the discussed sites. The embankment was uninterrupted, 1-1.6 m wide, and consisted of earth and 0.1-0.6 m large stones. A few ﬂat stones were revealed along the inside of the embankment. Some were standing, others seemed overturned, and might have been raised against the wall (Figure 5). 4 L. SKOGSTRAND Figure 2. Map showing sites with round dwellings in Hallingdal. Data from the national cultural heri- tage database Askeladden. Figure 3. Orthophoto model of the longhouse and the round structure (above to the right) during excavation. Orthophoto model: Steinar Kristensen, Museum of Cultural History. ACTA BOREALIA 5 Figure 4. Drawing of Tuft 2, Øsmundset; the red stones mark the hearth. Figure 5. Proﬁle through Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, showing the overturned slab to the right. In the back- ground, the stone-ﬁlled embankment is clearly visible in the proﬁle. Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. 6 L. SKOGSTRAND In the middle of the structure was a large hearth, ca. 3.6 m × 2.2 m, made of stones in diﬀerent sizes, many ﬁre-cracked, scattered in a messy pile. Originally, the many large slabs may have framed a hearth ﬁlled with smaller stones (Figure 4). Charcoal was mainly concentrated between and beneath the stones, but also speckled the surrounding ﬂoor. At the bottom of the charcoal layer was a fatty white-grey layer, containing minor fragments of burnt bones, and below this red-burnt sand. In the middle of the structure was the only artefact related to the dwelling; a baking plate of schistous stone, fractured into several pieces (Skogstrand 2019). The ﬂoor was visible as a distinct dark layer of charcoal and earth in the proﬁle, and micromorphological analyses revealed small fragments of burnt bones and iron trampled into the ground (see report of Richard McPhail in Skogstrand 2019). Burnt bones from the ﬁreplace were dated to AD 1190–1300 (755 ± 40 BP; LuS-14010), while a sample of char- coal (Betula) from the ﬂoor layer was dated to AD 1275–1400 (655 ± 35 BP; LuS-14012) (Skogstrand 2019). Above the ﬂoor, and covering the hearth, was an up to 40 cm thick heterogeneous layer containing several iron objects, among them half a horseshoe of medieval type and boat rivets similar to those found in the longhouse. The layer is clearly secondary to the phase of inhabitation and its heterogeneous character, the numerous objects, and the micromorphological analyses indicate that it was made up of debris accumulated during the settlement phase of the longhouse. In addition, the micromorphological ana- lyses showed no sign of revegetation above the ﬂoor layer, suggesting that the ﬁlling of the depression occurred immediately after the inhabitation (Skogstrand 2019). While the longhouse at Øsmundset has numerous contemporary parallels (e.g. Martens 1973; Finstad 2009; Martens 2009) and continues a 3000 year long custom of house con- structions and dwelling practice in southern Norway (e.g. Helliksen 1997; Eriksen 2019; Løken 2020), the round dwelling at Øsmundset and its equivalents in Hallingdal are rather unique in southern Norway. Similar round house structures are documented at Tyinn (Helmen 1949), Innerdalen (Gustafson 1988), Resenn (Gjerde 2011) and possibly in Flå (Gjerde 2008, 27; 2015, 130-138), but otherwise, the building traditions in southern Norway during the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages are predominantly long and square. However, if we move beyond the Norse context and look to the north, we ﬁnd an estab- lished tradition and numerous contemporary parallels of round dwellings. Sápmi in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages It is generally agreed that Saami identity emerged in Fennoscandia within a multi-cultural setting during the last millennium BCE (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 31). While cultural diﬀer- ences are evident during this period, no speciﬁc traits characterize the hunting population in the traditional Saami settlement areas in the time span AD 200-800, and the archaeo- logical ﬁndings are generally poor. This apparent anonymity is probably a result of regional diﬀerences and a corresponding lack of common features (Hansen and Olsen 2014,45–46). During the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages (AD 550-1200) pronounced changes took place within the Saami communities. A deliberate and symbolic articulation of Saami ethnicity arose through a standardization of ritual expressions and formalization of settlement organization which in all likelihood signiﬁed a consolidation and ACTA BOREALIA 7 manifestation of Saami identity and ethnicity (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 30, 132). This development was most likely sparked and inﬂuenced by the ongoing extensive cultural, economic, religious, and socio-political transformations that occurred in the contempor- ary neighbouring Nordic/Finnish/Russian societies. Especially, Christianization, trade, and state formation aﬀected interethnic relationships and thus the Saami societies them- selves. Interactions that previously were characterized by local relations, redistributive economies, and a shared set of religious values, became unpredictable and less symmetri- cal. In addition, some scholars have suggested that reindeer pastoralism began at this time (e.g. Storli 1994; Hedman 2003; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013). During these turbulent circumstances a formalization and uniﬁcation of Saami cultural expressions may have been a way of coping with the situation (Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013; Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013; Hansen and Olsen 2014). Round dwellings in the north – stállo foundations One of the most conspicuous changes in Saami material culture during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages is a restructuring of settlements. From around AD 800, row-orga- nized sites emerged all over Sápmi. Settlements were established in new areas and display novel and distinct features in terms of organization of domestic space (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 152). One speciﬁc type is the stállo sites, which are mainly found along the mountain regions between Norway and Sweden, from Frostviken in Jämtland to Devddesvuopmi in Troms (Figure 5). More than 500 stállo foundations are known from this area (Bergman et al. 2008, 98). Stállo foundations are round, i.e. circular, oval, or nearly rectangular dwelling struc- tures, generally 6-8 m in outer extension, and 4-6 m in inner extension, with a central hearth in the middle of a sunken ﬂoor surrounded by a broad ﬂat embankment without obvious entrances. When three or more dwellings occur at the same settlement they are usually organized in rows, but one or two foundations at a locality are also common (Bergman et al. 2008, 99). The sites may also contain other structures like storage pits and free-laying hearths and are often located on ﬂat terraces that provide a wide view over the surrounding landscapes, mainly in the birch treeline zone. The foun- dations are mainly dated to the Viking Age and ﬁrst half of the Middle Ages, AD 800-1300. Although there are variations, especially with regard to the size of the foundations and the construction of the hearths, the structures and their locations and datings are strik- ingly similar (Manker 1960; Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010; Aronsson 2020). In the following, I will brieﬂy account for four locations with documented structures that are commonly recognized as stállo sites. Frostviken Frostviken is the northernmost parish of Jämtland County in Sweden and comprises several large lakes and waterways in between mountains (Figure 1). Three sites with altogether 11 stállo foundations in groups of three and ﬁve have been documented. They were located by the slopes of the mountains, on ﬂat terraces with a wide view over the landscape just below the present treeline at 640–750 masl (Manker 1960). 8 L. SKOGSTRAND None of the structures were excavated or dated but all foundations were oval, 5.6-8 m in longest outer length and 4-6.1 m in inner measurements. The embankments were low but distinct, and around 1 m broad without traces of entrances. All structures had a sunken ﬂoor and a central hearth, some with a rectangular frame of stones placed perpendicular to the length of the foundation (Manker 1960, 267–271). Lønsdalen Lønsdalen is a broad north–south oriented valley at 650–700 masl at Saltfjellet in Nord- land, Norway (Figure 1). Altogether, 75 stállo foundations have been registered (Hedman 2010, 10) and 32 structures at eight sites have been partly excavated (Storli 1994). Most structures were circular or oval, some nearly rectangular. The embankments were low and often ﬂat on top, usually unbroken without entrances. The external extent was 6-8 m, while the slightly sunken ﬂoors on the inside extended 4-5 m. Typically, there was an oval or rectangular centrally placed hearth. At the investigated eight localities, ﬁve had three or more stállo foundations, all organized in rows, while the others had one or two house features. Except for some sherds of soapstone vessels, a spindle whorl, pieces of whetstones and some iron fragments, no objects were found. The dwellings were all dated within the time span AD 900–1350 (Storli 1994, 47). Adamvalldá Adamvalldá is a broad valley that ﬂows into the lake Bieskehávrre in Norrbotn, Sweden, close to the Norwegian border, only 60 km as the crow ﬂies northeast of Lønsdalen (Figure 1). Thirty-one stállo foundations have been recorded at twelve diﬀerent sites, 625–800 masl. Most commonly, two or three foundations occur together but the numbers vary from one to ﬁve (Bergman et al. 2008). A large number of structures have been excavated (Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003). Most dwellings were oval, some circular or nearly rectangular. The embankments were often irregular, though usually unbroken. Outer length was generally 5-6 m while the mean inner length was 4.2 m. They all had a sunken ﬂoor with a central hearth, usually rectangular, often framed and sometimes ﬁlled by large stones and placed perpendicular to the length of the foundation. Only a few arte- facts were discovered, like strike-a-lights and fragments of iron, whetstones and soap- stone vessels. Most dwellings were dated within the period AD 800–1050 (Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Devddesvuopmi Devddesvuopmi is a densely forested valley where the river Devddesvuomejohka ﬂows into the lake Devddesjávri east of Dividalen in Inner Troms in northern Norway (Figure 1). Twelve stállo foundations have been registered in the area, and four of them have been partly excavated. They were organized in a row and located at a moraine terrace, 580–585 masl. All structures were circular, 5-6 m in outer and 3.2-4 m in inner extension, with a sunken ﬂoor and a central hearth. The embankments were 0.5-1 m broad and slight depressions were documented in the south-western part, indicating an entrance and suggesting that all huts were positioned in the same direction. No artefacts were ACTA BOREALIA 9 found. All structures were dated within the time span AD 650-1210, and in three of the dwellings, the datings indicate repeated visits (Sommerseth 2009, 217–233). Stállo huts – constructions and functions The preceding brief review of stállo sites shows variations over a deﬁned theme. Even though the structures may vary in size, their shape, construction, location, and datings are similar from Frostviken to Devddesvuopmi, and they most likely represent a speciﬁc way of dwelling for a certain period of time. Probably, the foundations are remains of hut dwellings made of mountain birch and birch bark on a bow-pole framework (see Manker 1960, 823; Liedgren and Bergman 2009 for further discussions). The solid con- struction suggests that they were built to last. The stállo settlements might have been inhabited for short or longer time spans as part of yearly migration routes. Some have interpreted the stállo sites as villages (e.g. Manker 1960; Mulk 1994), while others have suggested that their linear orientation results from successive habitations (Storli 1994, 47–48; see also Olsen 2019, 20 for discussions on line organization). In Adamvalldá, each site was in use for a limited period of time, and all dwellings at the same locality were more or less contemporaneous (Liedgren et al. 2007). Each stállo house may have constituted an independent household, usually comprised of a nuclear family in various stages of its life cycle (Bergman et al. 2008, 104–105). Palaeoecological studies reveal that Adamvalldá was deforested during the time of the stállo occupation. The pattern is consistent with a persistent practice of cutting down mountain birch trees for fuel and wooden constructions (Östlund et al. 2015). Similar human impact on vegetation is found in relation to other stállo sites (Karlsson, Shevtsova, and Hörnberg 2009; Staland, Salmonsson, and Hörnberg 2010), suggesting that they rep- resent long-term and repeated stays, maybe for centuries (for another view see Aronsson 2020). Most scholars (e.g. Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009; Hansen and Olsen 2014; Gjerde 2015; Hedman 2015; Aronsson 2020; see also Manker 1960; Mulk 1994; Storli 1994) agree that the stállo sites are remains of Saami settlements, based on two main arguments. First, the round layout is the basic shape of traditional Saami dwellings and a genuine Saami building custom known at least back to the ﬁrst century AD (Ränk 1949; Mulk 1994, 136–142; Storli 1994, 17; Hesjedal et al. 1996, 227–228; Liedgren and Bergman 2009, 14). The size and design resemble his- torically known Saami turf huts and exhibit a continuity in the organization of lived space and practices of dwelling. In addition, the row organization of many stállo sites has a con- temporary parallel in the Saami hearth-row settlements (Hedman, Olsen, and Vretemark 2015; Olsen 2019). Second, which is sometimes left implicit, is their geographical location within traditional Saami settlement areas, and thus spatial continuity. In addition, the dis- tance from known contemporary Norse farming communities is often great. The remote- ness of the settlements makes a Norse aﬃliation less likely and accordingly, interpretations of a Saami connection less controversial (Schanche and Olsen 1983; Bergstøl 2008, 8). The function of the settlements has been vividly debated. Breaking with previous settlement patterns, the stállo sites are repeatedly located in the landscapes between forest and mountain. Also, reindeer seek the treeline zone for pastures, mating, and 10 L. SKOGSTRAND calving. This correlation in use of landscapes suggests a human adaption to animal habits and several researchers argue that the stállo sites are related to an increasing economic importance of reindeer in the Viking Age (e.g. Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Bergman et al. 2008; Liedgren and Bergman 2009; Sommerseth 2009). Surveys of stállo sites have also revealed more recent cultural remains such as storage pits and free-laying hearths associ- ated with historically known reindeer herding settlements (Mulk 1994; Storli 1994; Liedg- ren 2001, 2002, 2003; Bergman et al. 2008; Hedman 2010; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013). This location continuity may substantiate the interpretation of stállo sites as related to reindeer behaviour. However, there is no agreement whether it was mainly a matter of hunting (e.g. Mulk 1994; Sommerseth 2009) or rather represents an adjustment to initial herding and pastoralism (Andersen 2002; Storli 2007; Andersen 2008; Bergman, Zachrisson, and Liedgren 2013; Bjørklund 2013; Hansen and Olsen 2014). Hunting pits are found in the proximity of several stállo sites, but there is no con- tradiction between continued reindeer hunting and emerging pastoralism (e.g. Bjørklund 2013; Bergstøl 2020). Locations in the border zone enabled exploitation of numerous resources in the moun- tains as well as the forests and rivers. An expanding trade in an increasingly globalized market, but also taxation, may have boosted the demand for marketable commodities (Mulk 1994; Hansen and Olsen 2014, 91, 127-129) and may have sparked an intensiﬁcation of hunting for reindeer and fur-bearing animals as well as ﬁshing (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 180; Bergman and Ramqvist 2018). Constructions compared – round dwellings in Hallingdal and stállo foundations The archaeological documentation of prehistoric sites is always situated within a certain context and scientiﬁc tradition. The comparison of structures investigated by diﬀerent persons, with diverging experience, research problems and methods, is challenging. In the north, the stállo foundations have been an established template which has inﬂuenced the observation and documentation of structures and most are, for instance, simply termed “oval”. In Hallingdal, the main reference among the early registrars was local build- ing traditions of square stone sheds and, accordingly, the investigators meticulously looked for corners, stonewalls, and entrances. Similar structures may therefore be described and measured diﬀerently. Furthermore, most sites are not excavated, but mainly described and measured on the vegetated surface. While a large number have been subjected to limited investigations, full excavations have been carried out only in Adamvalldá and at Øsmundset. Accordingly, the same data are not available everywhere and especially the estimations of size may be inﬂuenced by the extent of excavation. The following analyses and discussions will emphasize variations in documentation practices and how these are dealt with. Shape and size The shape and extension of stállo foundations are often indistinct, and diﬀering practices of describing and delimiting structures make comparisons of shapes and sizes inaccurate. We might also expect that the embankments appear broader when covered with turf and ACTA BOREALIA 11 vegetation than after unearthing. Accordingly, in unexcavated structures the inner size might be underestimated while the outer is overrated. As the share of fully excavated structures is considerably higher in Adamvalldá than elsewhere, these foundations may, relatively speaking, have a larger inner diameter and smaller outer extent than struc- tures from other sites. Otherwise, inconsistent documentation practices and various extents of excavations probably intersect rather randomly and do not cause systematic diﬀerences. As this study aims to generate broad patterns, and does not compare individ- ual structures or sites directly, the discrepancy in measurements may counterbalance each other and do not alter the general picture. Further, nearly all stállo foundations in Frostviken, Lønsdalen and Adamvalldá are termed oval-shaped, while some in Adamvalldá and all in Devddesvuopmi are circular. Gjerde (2008) describes the foundations in Hallingdal as round. Based on measurements, most are oval, some circular, and a few are described as rectangular with rounded sides, a shape that is also observed at several sites in Adamvalldá (Liedgren and Bergman 2009,12). Figure 6 illustrates the inner size of documented round dwellings from the smallest, with an inner length of only 2.5 m, to the largest, at 8 m. The majority of structures, regardless of location, have an inner length of 4-6 m. The dwellings in Hallingdal are among the bigger, a tendency that perhaps is in line with Liedgren and Bergman’s (2009, 13) observation that stállo foundations are generally larger further south (see also Manker 1960, 270–280). Figure 7 shows the outer length of the documented foundations and changes the picture somewhat. Outer extension varies from 4.2–10 m and the dwellings from Halling- dal are more evenly spread out along the spectrum. The largest structures are still found in Hallingdal, but so are some of the smallest. This discrepancy between inner and outer length is probably mainly because in many structures only outer or inner length is docu- mented. As such, Figures 6 and 7 do not represent completely the same structures. Together, the ﬁgures illustrate that the round dwellings in Hallingdal might be more varied in size but are, in the main, still within the same range of variation as further north. This observation is supported by calculations of median values. While median outer length is 6.4 m in Hallingdal, the corresponding value in Lønsdalen is 6.5 m, in Adamvalldá 6 m and in Frostviken 6.8 m. Median inner length is 4.2 m in Hallingdal, 4 m in Lønsdalen, 4.1 m in Adamvalldá and 5 m in Frostviken. The structures are thus generally rather cor- responding in size regardless of location. Liedgren and Bergman (2009, 12) show that there is a nearly ﬁxed relation between the length and width of the stállo foundations in Adamvalldá and surrounding areas in Figure 6. The longest inner length of documented round foundations in Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, Devddesvuopmi, Frostviken, and Hallingdal, all sorted by increasing length and breadth. Each column represents one structure. 12 L. SKOGSTRAND Figure 7. The longest outer length of round foundations in Devddesvuopmi, Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, Frostviken, and Hallingdal, sorted by increasing length and breadth. Each column represents one structure. Arjeplog, with a mean inner width/length ratio at 0.78. In Lønsdalen the corresponding ratio is 0.81, in Frostviken 0.78, and in Hallingdal 0.86. The resemblance is conspicuous and suggests established and shared ideas regarding the proportion of the dwellings and similar principles in the construction of the buildings (Liedgren and Bergman 2009, 19). Stállo settlements are often referred to as row-organized. However, although this organization occurs, the most common number of stállo foundations at a site is two, fol- lowed by three and one structure (Bergman et al. 2008, 99). In Hallingdal three foun- dations in a row possibly occur at Hollo and Grasbakkan (Gjerde 2015), but otherwise the dominating pattern is one or two dwellings at the same place, which corresponds to most stállo sites. Construction Various construction elements have been documented. The sunken ﬂoor, dug 0.1-0.3 m into the ground, is a characteristic feature observed at most known stállo foundations and documented in some structures in Hallingdal. At Øsmundset, the depression was evident (Figure 8). The embankments consist of earth and stones in diﬀerent sizes. Some have suggested that they were made up of the masses removed to make the sunken ﬂoor (Storli 1994,49– 50). The arrangement of these masses into a low, ﬂat, round, and rather even embank- ment was, nevertheless, probably due to a need for a foundation for the walls (Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Generally, the embankments in Lønsdalen, Adamvalldá, and Frostvi- ken are 0.5-1.5 m broad. In Hallingdal the embankments are 1-2 m broad, but they are documented only in four cases. In Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, the embankment was measured as 2 m broad on the surface but proved to be 1 m when unearthed and examined. Figure 9 illustrates how the embankment in Tuft 2 was built of small and middle-sized stones, earth, and sand, and was clearly delimited on the inside but rather indistinct on the outside. Another recurring construction element is the lack of visible entrances. With a few exceptions, all the analyzed stállo foundations form closed circles without depressions, openings or any markings of entries (e.g. Storli 1994; Liedgren and Bergman 2009). Liedg- ren and Bergman (2009, 21) suggest that as the walls of the hut are slanting, the door would rest upon the embankment, and the entrance would thus be above it, which may explain why there are no traces of passage through the structure. In Hallingdal, ACTA BOREALIA 13 Figure 8. The proﬁle through the upper layers in Tuft 2 at Øsmundset clearly displays the sunken ﬂoor, curving gradually from the embankments towards the hearth in the middle and noticeable through all the layers. Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. this is not well documented but few structures have a deﬁned entrance (Gjerde 2008). Tuft 2 at Øsmundset was closely examined but the embankment was unbroken, lacking any indication of where the entrance might have been, noticeably contrasted by the many openings in the wall of the nearby longhouse (see Figure 3). Hearths Nearly all investigated stállo foundations have a centrally placed hearth, often oval or rec- tangular, around 1.5 m × 1 m in extension and built of slabs. Liedgren (2001, 4), however, notes that the size and construction of the hearths in Adamvalldá vary greatly. Some are carefully built with frames, with or without stone packing and sometimes with large stones in one or both ends. Others seem thrown together without much care. Similar vari- ations are documented in Lønsdalen (Storli 1994) and Frostviken. Several hearths have also Figure 9. Proﬁle through the northern embankment of Tuft 2 at Øsmundset shows a distinctly delim- ited embankment built of stones, earth and sand. The inside is to the left, the outside to the right. Drawing: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. 14 L. SKOGSTRAND been cleaned out and rebuilt, leaving the original shape uncertain (Manker 1960;see also Mulk 1994, 142; Liedgren 2001,4; Liedgrenetal. 2007,1285;Sommerseth 2009, 229). The messy pile of a hearth in Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, with its central placement, large slabs, and layer of smeary soil above red burned sand at the bottom – a feature also observed in most hearths excavated in Adamvalldá (Liedgren and Bergman 2009,14) – ﬁts well within the range of hearth variations among the stállo foundations. The excavated hearths at Urevass- botn (Ho200) and Byrkjedalen (Ho138) in Hallingdal are also irregular piles with a mix of slabs and smaller stones. The hearth in Byrkjedalen was also interpreted to have been cleaned out and rebuilt (Gjerde 2015,140–145). Artefacts Few artefacts are found at stállo sites, mainly remains of broken items: fragments of vessels, pieces of whetstones, spindle whorls and iron fragments. In Tuft 2 at Øsmundset, the only object was a fragmented baking plate, sharply contrasted by numerous tools and equipment found in the nearby longhouse (Skogstrand 2019). No objects beyond burnt bones have been found in any of the round structures in Hallingdal (Gjerde 2015, 148). The lack of artefacts may be due to an extensive use of decomposable materials like bone, antler and wood, and a corresponding low share of stone and iron. Perhaps more important was a mobile way of living, restricting the number of belongings to what could be carried (Hedman and Olsen 2009, 16). Location Liedgren and Bergman (2009, 4) provide an appealing diagram illustrating how the alti- tude of stállo localities in Sweden is inversely proportional to the latitude. This relation arises from the typical location of the stállo sites in the present treeline zone. If the sites in Hallingdal had been added to the diagram they would have extended the graph nicely, indicating that their locations were quite similar to the stállo sites with regard to altitude. The accounts of locations repeatedly describe terraces with a wide view of the landscape, often close to waterways or lakes (Mulk 1994; Sommerseth 2009). However, Hedman (2015, 42) stresses that the location of stállo structures in Lønsdalen varies, especially with regard to the view. It should be stressed that while Devd- desvuopmi, Lønsdalen, and Adamvalldá might be considered as closed landscapes where new dwellings would relate to older settlements, the sites in Hallingdal and Frostviken are dispersed in separate areas, each constituting a new establishment. Datings A large number of stállo foundations have been radiocarbon dated, mainly on charcoal. The majority of datings cluster within the time span AD 800–1300 (Storli 1994; Liedgren et al. 2007; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010). Especially the dwellings in Adamvalldá have been thoroughly dated. The results from there indicate that some sites were inhab- ited for a rather short period, while the larger localities may have been visited recurrently over a longer time, where diﬀerent house grounds may represent successive settlements (Liedgren et al. 2007). ACTA BOREALIA 15 Figure 10. Radiocarbon datings of stállo foundations in Adamvalldá, Lønsdalen, and Devddesvuopmi, and the round structures in Hallingdal. Many of the bars represent several dates from each structure (calibrated at 95.4% using OxCal 4.4, IntCal20). For more speciﬁc details regarding particular datings see Storli 1994; Liedgren 2003; Liedgren et al. 2007; Gjerde 2008; Sommerseth 2009; Hedman 2010; Gjerde 2015; Skogstrand 2019. Figure 10 illustrates the distribution of datings related to sites and how the settlements in Adamvalldá and Devddesvuopmi are generally prior to those in Lønsdalen and Halling- dal. Unfortunately, none of the structures in Frostviken have been dated. All datings have been recalibrated with OxCal 4.4, IntCal20, and the diagram demonstrates how all the dated round dwellings in Hallingdal are contemporary with the stállo settlements, especially those in Lønsdalen. Summing up The preceding analysis reveals that both stállo foundations and the round dwellings in Hal- lingdal are heterogeneous categories. Furthermore, the structures in Hallingdal are deﬁci- ently documented and we lack reliable information about the construction of embankments, ﬂoors, and hearths. Still, the documented measurable construction elements – inner and outer size, width/length ratios, locations, and datings, despite inaccuracy and variations in investigation strategies, cluster within rather clearly deﬁned ranges of variation where the round dwellings in Hallingdal correspond to the stállo foundations. In addition, shapes are nearly always round, and when documented, embankments are broad and low, ﬂoors are sunken, entrances and artefacts few, hearths centrally placed, large and vari- ably built – in Hallingdal as well as in the north. That is not to say that the round dwellings in Hallingdal are stállo foundations. Given that only one structure is fully excavated, more inves- tigations are needed. Nevertheless, Tuft 2 at Øsmundset checks all the boxes of a typical stállo site. Most important is that the corresponding appearance of dwelling remains may reﬂect similar architectural traditions, and the repeated small and round outline of the huts and their placement in the landscape may represent shared practices of dwelling. Practices of dwelling The way people choose to build their homes is deeply integrated in the way they live, in their daily practices, and their conceptions of the world, among others clearly illustrated by Pierre Bourdieu’s(1979) seminal analyses of the Kabyle house. Bourdieu (1977,89–90) 16 L. SKOGSTRAND elaborates on how humans learn through practice and thereby acquire embodied experi- ence and social schemes from childhood. Especially inhabited space, and above all the house, he argues, is a principal locus for the objectiﬁcation of these social systems. As such, the house constitutes an opus operandum – a place for actions – where its spatial organization is read by the body as well as inscribed in it (Bourdieu 1977, 90). A dwelling engenders a tangible classifying system which mediates divisions and hierarchies between things, persons, and practices. Its material design continuously inculcates and reinforces the taxonomic principles underlying its construction (Bourdieu 1977, 89) and constitutes a material organization of social spaces by creating places for social practices. As a long-lasting material space, the house creates possibilities of repetitious actions and serves as a physical locale of collective remembering (Olsen 2010, 123). Bourdieu’s analy- sis might be outdated regarding its underlying strong structuralism, but his discussions of how the house generates movements, provides bodily experiences and produces collec- tive and individual identities, still stands and oﬀers a strong tool for exploring and under- standing the relations between materiality, practice, and identity (Olsen 2010). Dwelling practices compared Similarity or diﬀerence is always a question of perspective and scale. The level of focus may decide whether we see varieties and change or resemblances and continuity (Barth 1967, 111; Grønhaug 1978, 78). In the following, I will concentrate on what practices the round dwellings may reﬂect and discuss whether variations might represent diﬀerent or similar practices of dwelling. The round structures are remains of rather small dwellings. There is no necessary equiv- alence between the size of a house and the number of inhabitants. However, while a large longhouse may be the home of many or only a handful people, a small dwelling eﬀec- tively restricts the number of individuals that may reside in it. The variety in size among the round foundations is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. The large majority have 2 2 a ﬂoor area of 8–20 m . A few are only 3–6m and might have housed only one or two persons or are perhaps not dwellings at all. A handful of structures are more than 20 m ; these are mainly found in Hallingdal, but also in Frostviken and Lønsdalen. If the dwellings reﬂect group sizes, then the number of inhabitants varied within the same range in all areas. However, larger groups may have occurred more frequently in Frostviken and Hallingdal than in Adamvalldá and Devddesvuopmi. Bergman et al. (2008) suggest that each stállo hut housed a family group through its varying stages of a life cycle, and if the family group grew, a new hut could be erected at the same site. Each settlement may thus have represented a family unit resembling the historically known Saami sijte. A similar social structure related to materiality is plausible in Hallingdal, too. Like the stállo sites, most round dwellings in Hallingdal occur alone or in pairs. Only two sites are comprised of three or more structures, possibly organized in rows at both places (Gjerde 2008, 37, 41). The contemporaneity of the structures is not established, but their row organization shows that they actively relate to each other spatially (see Olsen 2019). The round shape of the structures in Hallingdal and the stállo foundations constituted similar frames for the individual physically moving in space, for family life and daily prac- tices (Yates 1989). Bourdieu (1977) shows how the architecture in itself might express but ACTA BOREALIA 17 also be an important source of central cultural metaphors. Especially in Hallingdal, the proximity to “square” ways of dwelling, might have strengthened the consciousness of circular practices, how these were shared with hunter-gatherer groups further north, and their contrast to the square dwelling practices of the longhouses. Central to the round frame was the hearth, constituting the heart of the house (Carsten 1995, 114) and the focal point around which all indoor activities literally circled. Its central location conditioned and structured the use of the room, and the doughnut-shaped space may have been divided into sections related to speciﬁc activities, gender, and notions of purity and danger, as known from more recent Saami dwellings (Ränk 1949; Storli 1994, 61–64). No traces of such divisions, nor båassjoe stones were detected at Øsmundset (Ränk 1949; see also Bergstøl and Reitan 2008). The small ﬂoor areas considered, most hearths are relatively big and made of considerable amounts of large stones (see Figure 4), suggesting comparable heating practices. Repeated cleaning out and rebuild- ing of the hearths are documented in stállo foundations as well as in round structures in Hallingdal. Ritual cleaning and rebuilding of the hearth is known from circumpolar groups (Vaté 2013, 192), but whether this was the case in hearths of round foundations in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages needs to be further investigated. It is still tempting to suggest that the similar hearths reﬂect shared ritual practices related to common beliefs concerning relations between home, hearth, and household (Vaté 2013, 184). Several researchers have argued that the inhabitants of the stállo sites moved between several diﬀerent settlements in a yearly cycle (Storli 1994,76–77; Liedgren and Bergman 2009,6–7; Sommerseth 2009, 258). The lack of objects and absence of cultural layers (Storli 1994; Liedgren 2001, 2002, 2003; Sommerseth 2009) support an image of short visits, while the repeatedly documented deforestation indicates recurrent stays (Karlsson, Shevtsova, and Hörnberg 2009; Staland, Salmonsson, and Hörnberg 2010). At Øsmundset, the distinct but thin ﬂoor layer in the round dwelling points in the same direction and the solitary baking plate left in the ﬁreplace is sharply contrasted by the numerous tools and equipment found in the succeeding longhouse, reﬂecting divergent practices of living. While the latter probably implied long-term settling, enabling accumulation of belong- ings and generating numerous worn objects, the former was characterized by short- term repeated visits where the dwelling was cleaned, emptied, and closed after each stay (Gjerde 2015, 148). The stállo settlements and the round dwellings in Hallingdal may thus have been nodes in larger networks of settlements where mobile family units or task groups moved between and repeatedly returned to the same sites. Along Kjølen (the Caledonian Mountains), human migration routes between the mountains and the boreal forests in the east have been suggested (e.g. Storli 1994; Bergman, Zachris- son, and Liedgren 2013). From the mountains in upper Hallingdal, similar movement pat- terns along the river valleys Hallingdal, Hemsedal, and Numedal towards large forest areas in the east are imaginable. The recurrent placement of stállo sites and round dwellings in Hallingdal in the border zone between forest and mountains is striking. The altitude of the treeline ﬂuctuates over time and is conditioned by local weather as well as global climate, and during the last decades the upper treeline has raised noticeably in many areas. However, the middle temperature in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages was comparable to the early twen- tieth century (e.g. Ljungqvist et al. 2012). Accordingly, the broad zone of open birch tree vegetation, gradually losing its height and density towards the bare mountains, where 18 L. SKOGSTRAND most round dwellings were registered, by and large resemble the scenery into which the huts were initially built (Sommerseth 2009, 242). The repeated choice of location in similar landscapes indicates that comparable considerations were made with regard to the inhabitants’ practical requirements in Hallingdal as well as further north. Whether this was related to incipient reindeer herding is a complex discussion beyond the scope of this study, but we may assume that the stállo foundations and the round dwellings in Hal- lingdal represent equivalent phenomena concerning the reason why the settlements were established in the mountain regions. More excavations are needed, especially in the south, but based on the available data from round dwellings in Hallingdal and stállo foundations further north, a number of com- parable dwelling practices may be inferred. Shared everyday practices are essential in the constitution and reproduction of a group and crucial in the construction and reproduc- tion of collective identities (Damm 2012). But do similar practices make the dwellers in Hallingdal Saami? Saami practices in Hallingdal It is possible that the mechanisms that initiated expansions into mountain areas and the establishment of stállo sites in the north also spurred long-distance migrations southwards. It is hard to believe, however, that highly mobile groups of hunter-gath- erers residing across Fennoscandia did not utilize resources in the wide forests and extensive mountains south of Dovre, occasionally, seasonally, or on a permanent basis (e.g. Bergstøl 2008; Amundsen 2011). A signiﬁcant backdrop for considering Saami presence in southern Norway is long-term studies that reveal how two diver- gent material cultures and economic adaptions developed along a border zone north- east of Mjøsa from the Neolithic and throughout the Bronze and Iron Age – continuous traditions that are recognized as Norse and Saami in the Early Middle Ages (Bergstøl 2008; Amundsen 2011). Diverse practices are not equivalent to ethni- city, neither do diverging ethnicities necessarily equal contrasting practices. However, ethnic sentiments and interests are derived from similarities in the habitus, and identities might be generated and produced when cultural diﬀerences are made relevant and systematically communicated in social interactions between groups that consider themselves to be distinct. Material culture facilitates but is also created and structured by everyday material practices and is thus frequently impli- cated in the performance and reproduction of ethnic identity (Jones 1997,87–91; 2000, 450; Eriksen 2002,12–13; Damm 2010, 13). In this context, the hunting ground graves in the mountains and forests regions of central Scandinavia might be relevant. These remotely located small cairns, sometimes containing hunting equipment and often dated to the Late Iron Age, have been discussed as a speciﬁc South Saami Iron Age burial custom (e.g. Ambrosiani, Iregren, and Lahtiperä 1984; Zachrisson 1997; Bergstøl 2008; Skogstrand 2008). Gjerde (2015) stresses that the category lacks a consistent deﬁnition and embraces a rather heterogeneous material. More studies are needed, but the divergence from Germanic/Norse burial custom, especially with regard to location (Skogstrand 2008), might indicate that cultural diﬀer- ences were increasingly accentuated by people with a Saami aﬃliation and that these groups were indigenous to the interior of southern Norway. ACTA BOREALIA 19 Less ambiguous is the hearth-row site at Aursjøen, on the border between Oppland and Møre and Romsdal (Reitan 2006; Bergstøl and Reitan 2008). The site is contemporary with the ﬁrst row-organized settlements in Adamvalldá (Liedgren et al. 2007) and a strong indication that Saami groups repeatedly visited this area during the eighth to tenth cen- turies AD, performing dwelling practices structured by the same social principles as further north. A handful of other settlement sites south of Dovre have been considered as Saami, mainly due to round shapes of the dwellings, and dated from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries (Gjerde 2015, 130–138). Recent explorations have documented a large number of Saami cultural remains from 1600–1900 AD in Trollheimen (Hellqvist 2012, 2014) and Røros/Aursunden/Femunden (Pareli 1985; Fjellheim 1999), and along with historical sources they testify to a sustained Saami use of these landscapes until modern times. Also, medieval textual sources mention Saami people in southern Norway. Early Chris- tian law (Borgartingsloven, 31) from the Oslo Fjord area, probably written before AD 1120, explicitly prohibits going to the Saami for prophecies or believing in Saami sorcery. The ban suggests such actions or beliefs were common, or there would be no need to forbid them, but also that Saami groups were present in nearby areas on a rather regular basis. Furthermore, Snorri writes that Harald Fairhair married the Saami princess Snøfrid at Dovre and that Halvdan the Black tortured a Saami man at Hadeland, just north of Oslo, to get information (Zachrisson 2008; Hansen and Olsen 2014,98–100). These stories might not refer to actual events, but they situate Saami individuals within southern Norway as a matter of course, suggesting that their presence was common knowledge (see Wang 2023). Besides, they demonstrate that the Norse population ascribed certain groups an identity as Saami and, thus, that these people most likely deﬁned themselves as such. An additional indication of Saami presence is several objects of Finno-Ugric origin from the Early Middle Ages found mainly in the inland (Gjerde 2010; Hansen and Olsen 2014, 118–120), but also by the Oslo Fjord (Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, cat- alogue number C63618). Such artefacts commonly occur in Saami contexts in northern Fennoscandia, and their repeated occurrence in oﬀerings and burials are related to the ritual standardization that took place all over Sápmi during the Early Middle Ages (Hansen and Olsen 2014, 132–133). Additionally, funnel-shaped reindeer mass-trapping systems in Alvdal, Rendalen and Engerdal, with parallels in Varanger in Finnmark, have been related to Saami groups (Amundsen and Os 2015, 2020). The round dwellings in Hallingdal may thus ﬁt into a broader context of ﬁndings creat- ing an image of a mobile Saami population that sporadically but consistently utilized and inhabited large areas of southern Norway. Their seemingly sudden appearance might be explained by the general homogenization and standardization of Saami material practices during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages, constituting a distinct and recognizable visibility in the archaeological record, not only in northern Fennoscandia (Halinen, Hedman, and Olsen 2013, 180), but also in Hallingdal. Ethnicity always involves active pro- cesses of performance (Jones 2000, 252). In the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, the Norse population increasingly exploited outﬁeld resources (e.g. Martens 1973; Weber 1986; Indrelid, Hjelle, and Stene 2015) and the contact between members of the Norse society and small groups of mobile hunter-gatherers, loosely related to Saami networks, culture and identity, may have grown more frequent. This increased interaction may have 20 L. SKOGSTRAND generated ethnic processes that produced a more consistent deﬁnition of and aﬃliation to Saami identity and provoked conscious strategies to manifest Saami presence – like establishing round dwellings. The choice of building round dwellings in a landscape of square longhouses appears as a deliberate performance and a strong message of identity and entitlement. However, communication and construction of ethnic identity is a mutual process between groups and actors (Barth 1969), involving the Norse communities just as much as the Saami. The placement of the longhouse at Øsmundset might give a hint of how the Norse perceived the meaning of the round dwellings and how they employed the same means of expression in the communication. On a large ﬂat terrace (Figure 11), with endless opportunities of placing a construction, the builders chose to put up the longhouse almost into the round dwelling, and thereby obstructing further settlement. During the following years of inhabitation, they ﬁlled the depression of the hut with debris. The action has an aspect of brute force, physically preventing the original occu- pants from entering the hut, and the symbolic meaning of ﬁlling the foundation with waste communicated a rather clear message that the settlement at the place had come to an end. The symbolic language applied by displacing the round hut with a longhouse (see Figure 3) suggests that the round dwelling was perceived as a performance that required a ﬁrm reply. Accordingly, the longhouse was not just a physical replacement but may also have communicated the identity and culture of the majority. The house Figure 11. Shared landscapes at Øsmundset in Hallingdal. The water level in the regulated lake Stran- davatnet was at this point only a few metres above original level. The round dwelling and longhouse are located in the grass covered area to the right behind the lavvo (tent). Photo: Lisbeth Skogstrand, Museum of Cultural History. ACTA BOREALIA 21 was a materialization of Norse practices of dwelling (Martens 1973; Finstad 2009; Martens 2009). The square houses also represented an expanding Norse society in which power and privileges were gradually backed up by a state, laws of common land, rules of Christianity, and the church. The laws of commonality (Landsloven 1915 VI, 61-63; Frostatingslova 1994 XIV, 7-9; Gulatingslova 1994, 145) state that anybody may hunt, ﬁsh, put up a shelter or exploit other resources in the outﬁelds, and explicitly proclaim that usage and rights are supposed to remain as they have been from old times. The laws are based on ancient long-term customs of resource management but were also developed to increase the power and control of the crown during the thirteenth century (Solem 2003). The codes were formulated by and for the Norse society, and while the legislation permitted anyone to use outﬁeld areas, and thus guarded the rights of Saami groups to settle and exploit resources, it also attached various conditions concerning continuity (Solem 2003; Tveiten 2010). The laws were not adapted for a nomadic lifestyle, and as the economic interests in the outﬁelds increased during the Viking Age, we might expect that dwellings left unattended for long periods of the year could be regarded as not fulﬁlling old requirements to claim an area. However, the law also states that it is forbidden to burn down shelters and huts in the outﬁelds (Landsloven VII, 62; Frosta- tingslova XIV, 8), which may indicate that conﬂicts concerning custom rights were fre- quent, regardless of ethnicity. According to the law, the round huts could not be burned or simply removed. At the same time, the habit of raising houses to claim an area in the outﬁelds increased by the end of the Viking Age (Tveiten 2010, 254). In this perspective, the placement of the longhouse, overlapping the hut, makes not only a phys- ical and symbolic statement, but also a juridical claim to the area. Only 3 km to the south- east, another longhouse was raised at Langegard at the same time (Lindblom 1994; Kile- Vesik 2017). More research into the relations between Saami and Norse groups in southern Norway is needed. While the case of Øsmundset indicates a situation of ongoing conﬂict, others have suggested that especially large-scale reindeer trapping implied cooperation between Saami and Norse people (e.g. Amundsen 2017; Solli 2018; Amundsen and Os 2020). Studies of northern Fennoscandia have revealed extensive trade and complex relations between the Saami and various other groups (e.g. Bruun 2007; Olsen, Urbańczyk, and Amundsen 2011; Hansen and Olsen 2014; Bergman and Edlund 2016; Henriksen 2016; Bergman and Ramqvist 2018). As was the case further north, the boundaries between Saami and Norse societies were probably permeable, facilitating cooperation, inter- ethnic marriages, and entangled relations and interactions, but also incompatible inter- ests and increasing inequalities in power. Conclusion During the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages, a consolidation of Saami identity, restruc- turing of society and homogenization of material culture occurred all over Sápmi. Most likely, this development also inﬂuenced scattered groups with Saami aﬃliation in southern Norway. The round house structures documented in Hallingdal resemble stállo foundations in nearly every respect. This mutual materiality of the home generated shared practices and bodily experiences that may have created a common identity and 22 L. SKOGSTRAND conceptions of the world. To live round is in itself not equivalent with a shared identity. However, the contrast between the round and the square houses at Øsmundset, and the diﬀerent practices of dwelling they represent, must have been meaningful and shaped diverging identities that were acknowledged by both groups. The choice of building round huts in a land of square houses appears as a conscious manifestation, probably expressing a material and ideological strategical essence of Saami culture (see e.g. Spivak 1996 [1985], 76; Eide 2010). The expansion of the Norse society – physically, legally, and religiously – activated responses by the Saami societies all over Sápmi. While the Saami in the north constituted relatively large communities, and were rather equal to other actors in the region in terms of power in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages (e.g. Hansen and Olsen 2014,48–52), the situation might have developed diﬀerently in the south, where the Saami constituted a clear minority, living in close proximity to the King’s estates and the growing coloniza- tion of the outﬁelds. We need to explore interethnic interactions in southern Norway to understand how ethnic identities emerged and developed, not only among the Saami but also among the Norse population. Notes 1. South Saami orthography is used in this paper. 2. A large stone at the rear of a hearth that helps mark the sacred space in the back of the dwelling. 3. The baking plate in Tuft 2 is thick with a smooth even surface and of a distinctly diﬀerent type than the typical medieval baking plate for lefse or crisp bread found in Tuft 1, and the plates may reﬂect diﬀerent food practices. Acknowledgements Many thanks to Marte Spangen and Hege S. Gjerde for insightful comments and discussions and to Steinar Kristensen for producing orthophotos and technical help. Many thanks also to the two anon- ymous reviewers and to the editors for helpful comments and valuable suggestions. A special thank you to Bryan Hood for recalibrating all the datings. Disclosure statement No potential conﬂict of interest was reported by the author(s). Funding This work was supported by the Museum of Cultural History and the UiO Nordic-project Gendering the Nordic Past at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. ORCID Lisbeth Skogstrand http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-6082 ACTA BOREALIA 23 References Ambrosiani, Björn, Elisabeth Iregren, and Pirjo Lahtiperä. 1984. Gravfält i fångstmarken. Undersökningar av gravfälten på Smalnäset och Krankmårtenhögen, Härjedalen. Riksantikvarieämbetet och statens historiska Museer Rapport 1984:6. 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Acta Borealia – Taylor & Francis

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Keywords: Saami; dwelling practice; stállo foundations; ethnicity; Viking Age; Middle Ages; southern Norway

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Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway

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Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway

Round or square? Ethnic processes and Saami dwelling practices in Hallingdal, southern Norway

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