ANTLER COMBS FROM THE SALME SHIP BURIALS: FIND CONTEXT, ORIGIN, DATING AND MANUFACTURE/SALME LAEVMATUSTE SARVKAMMID: LEIUKONTEKST, PARITOLU, DATEERING JA VALMISTAMINE

In 2008 and 2010, two partly destroyed ship burials were discovered near Salme on the island of Saaremaa. During the archaeological excavations, at least 41 wholly or partially preserved skeletons were discovered, and a large number of artefacts were found, including a dozen single-sided antler comb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Eesti Arheoloogia Ajakiri 2020-06, Vol.24 (1), p.3
Main Authors: Luik, Heidi, Peets, Juri, Ljungkvist, John, Maldre, Liina, Maldre, Reet, Allmae, Raili, Munoz-Rodriguez, Mariana, McGrath, Krista, Speller, Camilla, Ashby, Steven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Archaeological dating
Archaeology
Caribou
Estonia
Excavations (Archaeology)
Moose
Norway
Protection and preservation
Radiocarbon dating
Radiometric dating
Scandinavia
Sweden
United Kingdom
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Summary:In 2008 and 2010, two partly destroyed ship burials were discovered near Salme on the island of Saaremaa. During the archaeological excavations, at least 41 wholly or partially preserved skeletons were discovered, and a large number of artefacts were found, including a dozen single-sided antler combs. On the basis of the finds, as well as radiocarbon dating, the ship burials were dated to the Pre-Viking Period, while both the isotopic and archaeological evidence point towards central Sweden as the most probable origin of the buried individuals. The combs from Salme have features that are generally consistent with the 8th century, with the closest parallels coming from the Malar region of central Sweden. According to ZooMS and aDNA analyses, they are made of elk (Alces alces) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) antler. Elk inhabited the Malar region, but reindeer antler had its origin in more northern regions. Most combs were clearly manufactured with great skill, and finished with care, though some details indicate differences in the skills of comb makers. Laevadesse paigutatud massmatuste ja skandinaaviapäraste esemetega unikaalne rauaaegne kalmistukoht asub Eestis Saaremaal Salme aleviku põhjaservas. Kahe matuselaeva (Salme I ja Salme II) jäänused avastati ja neid uuriti aastatel 2008 ning 2010-2012 (jn 1-2). Arheoloogiliste kaevamiste käigus leiti koos relvade ja isiklike esemetega maetud vähemalt 41 sõdalase jäänused ning arvukalt loomaluid. Peale rikkalike panustega massmatuste teeb leiukompleksi eriti unikaalseks selle samaaegsus, millele osutavad nii esemelise materjali ja matmisviisi suur sarnasus kui ka inimluude radiosüsinikanalüüside, DNA-uuringute ning hambaemaili isotoopanalüüside tulemused. Tõenäoliselt pärineb matusekompleks ühest umbes 750 pKr toimunud traagilisest "sündmusest", mille käigus relvakokkupõrkes langenud sõdalased-meresõitjad sängitati mererannale kahte laevasarkofaagi. Maetute hambaemaili isotoopanalüüside põhjal ei olnud mehed kohalikud, vaid olid sündinud Kesk-Rootsis Mälari piirkonnas, inimluude DNA-uuringud osutavad aga nende põlvnemisele väga lähedastest esivanematest. Salme kahest laevmatusest leiti kümmekond sarvest kammi, millest osa on säilinud peaaegu tervikuna, osa aga väikeste katketena (kammid 1-12; tabel 1; jn 3-20). Artikli eesmärgiks on anda ülevaade kammide leiukohtadest ja võimalusel siduda neid konkreetsete luustikega. On kirjeldatud kammide kuju ja ornamenti, mille abil on püütud kindlaks teha nende päritolu n
ISSN:1406-2933
DOI:10.3176/arch.2020.1.01