12. Grave Monuments at Avaldsnes

Abstract

At least 36 graves are known from Avaldsnes headland and the immediately adjacent islets and islands. These include two monumental mounds, a raised stones monument, four stone packings, and 15 mounds or cairns that have been identified based on morphological traits across the headland; written sources account for one additional eradicated mound with a raised stone. Several of the monuments contained multiple burials. In addition, four stray finds likely representing graves have not been securely connected to known monuments. Most of these graves have not been the objective of professional excavations, although some documentation is preserved from the 19th-century excavation in Flaghaug. Nine of the graves of various forms were excavated or superficially examined professionally in the 20th century, in addition to the limited excavations of the remains of Flaghaug and Kjellerhaug grave mounds by Avaldsnes Royal Manor Project in 2011-12. The aim of the Flaghaug investigation was to obtain information on its construction and to assess the potential for recovery of artefacts from the remains. The details of the individual secondary burials in Flaghaug are published by Frans-Arne Stylegar and Håkon Reiersen in this volume. The aim of the investigation of Kjellerhaug was to reveal the construction details and stratigraphic relations of the mound as well as to recover datable material in order to obtain a more precise date for the monument. Although the excavations were limited in scope, they succeeded in providing datings of the monuments, along with insights into the landscape and the monuments' history. This chapter also provides an overview of all recorded graves and grave finds at Avaldsnes, which forms the basis for discussing the development of the ritual landscape at Avaldsnes and its relation to the contemporary settlement. The large number of grave monuments at Avaldsnes demonstrates the site's importance in terms of ritual activity and demarcation of social status in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The large grave mounds and the raised-stone monument held a special position, in part due to their clear visibility to people sailing through the strait.

What Makes a Mound? Earth-Sourced Materials in Late Iron Age Burial Mounds

“…Large late Neolithic structures such as Silbury Hill (Leary & Field 2013) and Bronze Age burial mounds (Holst & Rasmussen 2013; Østmo & Bauer 2018; Owoc 2002; 2005,) contain layers of soils and sediments that are added as the monument evolves through human interaction. In the case of Silbury Hill, Leary and Field (2013) observe that the final form has too often been the focus, ignoring the complexity of the construction.…”