The Armour Archive

Hello Everybody,

I have a really cool friend who is doing pottery, and we have convinced her to start doing period Norse stuff. She is really good, and wants to do it as close to what has been found as possible.

She found this cool Finnish site that has alot of excellent pieces on it including cups, cook pots, and bowls.
http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/arla/keram/rk_f1.html

Unfortunately, no one around here speaks Finnish, so I am hoping someone here can help her out!! :0) She especially needs to know the sizes of the pieces and the dates & locations of the finds, if at all possible.

Thank you for all the help!
Respectfully,

Syr Theo

My wife is Finnish and here is a basic guide to what the site is.
This is a collection (public and private) of pottery (ceramics) in support of the study of archeology at the University of Helsinki.
· Rautakauden keramiikka = Iron age pottery (ceramics)
· Kuvien valintasivu = picture selection page
· Johdantosivu = Introduction page
· Kronologinen kaavio = Chronological diagram
· Seuraava kuva = Next picture

On the Chronological diagram page the headers are:
Kivikausi = Stone age
Pronssikausi / varhainen metallikausi = Bronze/ early metal age
Rautakausi = Iron age
The diagram / chart at the bottem is: Left column - years, across the top – Locations around Finland (different “living areasâ€

Cherish the content. It is for the study of prehistory at the department of archeology in the University of Helsinki and the adress it is already dated. It contains information on typology of prehistorical finnish pottery.
Upto ca. 1100 AD when our written history begins.

Unfortunately, it seems that they don't give any information on the size of the pieces.

Only the stuff named Rautakauden ie. Iron Age is relevant for someone doing "period" pottery. All else is from before ca. 200 AD. Some of the content freely translated:

Iron age coarse and fine ceramics:

In the early and later Roman Iron age style was still similar to Broze age Morby- ceramics. The following so called common Iron age pottery was made of coarse mix clay, with flat bottom and no decoration. Vessels were probably build with layering techique. ( sausage? zone?)

Finer Iron age pottery was done in Finland since merovingian times. It had thin sides, was often polished, burned black, and finely finished in both decoration and form. At the start of the viking age one started to do vessels with rounded bottoms, on the side of those with flat bottoms. Those with flat bottoms had round, jar-like walls. From the end of the viking age forward big vessels resembling flower pots were manufactured.

The ornamentation of iron age ceramics is usually limited to top part, usually close to shoulder corner or right beneath the rim. most common ornamentation in the vessels with round bottoms is zone of cornered lines, or zone of cord imprints. Also the flatbottomed vessels resembling flowerpots were decorated with cord. The latest Iron age flatbottomed ceramic has the zone of decoration bordered with lines at the top of the vessel.

Carelian ie. slavic ceramics

Vessels made with a potters wheel are known mainly in finds from Carelia and Savo from Iron age and early mediaval finds. (With Iron age upto 1100) Vessels are flat in the bottom, narrowing strongly towards it. The rim is turned strongly outwards, and the widest part with its shoulder corner resembles amforae. Ornamented with drawn lines and stamped decorations.

Thanks fellas!, I'm the friend of Eikbrandr who needed the translation.
Mikael,
It seems like you have a bit of knowlege stored up on this subject,
can you give me some reference material for the info you provided? I need documentation badly, and have been having difficulty finding current up to date info. I'm assuming the paraphrasing you provided wasn't just from this site.

I've been looking for viking age pottery both traded and produced in Scandinavia etc. I have come across so many contradictions as far as whether or not pottery was actually produced in Sweden or Norway at all, but have read that there is evidence of pottery production at Hedeby and Birka, in Iceland and Greenland but no actual info on the pots themselves. I'm looking for both finds of pottery produced in Scandinavia, and traded from the Rhineland, and Persia, with the Slavs, etc. I've read in many books that it exists, but no documentation of the finds themselves. If you could recommend some books, I would really appreciate it. I've searched my local art museum library, the art school here and have only found info pre 1980, but I have yet to go look at the items at the university library, they have a couple of archeological reports, but they are in German. (i speak only english unfortunately).
All I need are pictures, sizes, dates, location.
thanks so much!

I am sorry. I have very little knowledge of pre-historic or medieval ceramics. That was just a quick and dirty translation of the text on site under heading Iron Age.

The english references under it.
Uino, Pirjo 1986
An Iron Age Community at Ketohaka in Salo and Other Remains of Metal Period Buildings in Finland. Iron Age Studies in Salo I-II. Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistyksen Aikakauskirja 89:1.
Carpelan, Christian 1980
Contacts in the Northern Baltic Region as Shown by Ceramics. Fenno-Ugri et Slavi 1978. Helsingin yliopiston arkeologian laitos, moniste n:o 22.
They may be a bit hard to find though.

As you probably saw, most references were in Finnish, Swedish or German.

Thanks for all the help guys!!

That's right Gaston, I had forgotten about your wife being Finnish. Is everything going well for you? I know you had some really interesting plans for the future, as I recall from last Pennsics conversation at the camp where you were arm wrestling!! :0)

Cheers,
Theo

Things are going very well. We released our first real spacesuit and Pia has been busy whith her clients as well as a complete Global Effects web site upgrade.

Cheers