Eldre jernalders tjæreproduksjon ut av tåken. Om tidlig norsk tjæreproduksjon med utgangspunkt i et funn på Averøy i Møre og Romsdal

Sammendrag

For many years it has been well known that tar was an available commodity in the Norwegian Iron Age, but until recently no production site or installation for such production was known. In this paper two recently discovered tar production sites, in south-eastern and mid-Norway respectively, are presented and discussed. Both are clay-lined funnel-shaped pits that are dug into the ground with an upper part where the wood was stacked and lit, and a lower part where the tar was collected in a container. The Norwegian tar production pits are similar to contemporary Swedish ones found in large numbers in mid-Sweden. The type is also known from the eastern part of Central Europe where they came into use a few centuries later than in Scandinavia.