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| Reconstructed longhouse at Gene Fornby |
23 SEPTEMBER, 2018 - 01:56 MICHELLE FRESON
Located just
outside Örnsköldsvik in northern Sweden, Gene Fornby is a reconstructed
archaeological open-air museum based on the finds of an ancient settlement. It
became a popular tourist attraction when it opened to the public in 1991 and
demonstrates how the village would have appeared during the period of
occupation more than 1500 years ago.
The family that
lived there lived well, and they had been doing so for generations. Food
was plentiful as they farmed the land, and the sea gave them fish and seals.
During occupation the water would have reached the edge of the village,
although currently the site sits 65 feet (20 meters) above sea level due to
environmental changes in the area. The family lived there when iron,
bronze and pearls were considered precious goods. They traded with nearby
settlements and provided items they made in the smithy. The surrounding
forests provided them with timber from which they built their homes, their
boats, and made crafts.
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| Reconstructed long house at Gene Fornby under snow. ( CC BY 2.5 ) |
Gene Fornby is
operated by the Örnsköldsvik Museum & Art Gallery and is open during summer
with interpreters and historians dressed in period costume. While education and
entertainment are deemed important, both the university and the local museum
are still involved in ongoing research.
The area was
excavated primarily from 1977 to 1988 by archaeologists from the University of
Umeå who found traces of human activity in the area dating back to the Nordic
Bronze Age (1700–500 BC), but the settlement itself dates back to the Roman
Iron Age and the Migration Period, from around the years 400-600 AD.
The Smithy Was
Large Enough To Contain Four Forges
The forge is
believed to have been one of the largest in prehistoric Scandinavia. Traces of
iron production and processing were uncovered as well as bronze casting refuse,
and even a textile workshop. The bronze casting molds for embossed buckles are
an unusual type that have only been found at about ten locations throughout the
Nordic region, and Genes Fornby is the only known manufacturing site. The
archaeological evidence show that an iron industry had been an important part
of the settlement.
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| Iron objects made in the forge (Örnsköldsvik Municipality) |
A cemetery with
nine low burial mounds was found in the main excavation area, while four more
burial mounds were found not far away. The thirteen burial mounds, thought to
be chieftain graves from the years 100 to 600 AD, are of great significance.
Contrary to the previous archaeological assumption that there was probably no
resident population in the northern parts of Sweden before the Viking Age (792
to 1066 AD), the graves prove Gene Fornby was one of the earliest settlements
in this part of Sweden.
Among the artifacts
found at the site are knives, arrowheads, bone combs, pottery, clothing buckles
and buttons, as well as beads of bronze, glass, bone and clay. Waste from
handicraft production indicates that a great number of objects were made on
site.
Gene Fornby spans
over two periods - during the first phase there was a longhouse, a barn which
held corn, as well as a workshop. Then the second phase started when they
demolished the old buildings and built a new longhouse, a barn and also the
large smithy.
In total, fourteen
houses were found in the excavation area. Thirteen of the buildings belong to
the Iron Age settlement, and one house dates to the 1200s.
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| A ‘grophus’ or house at Gene Fornby ( CC BY SA-3.0 ) |
Found just
northwest of the settlement were, among other things, several charred logs,
nail like objects, flint flakes and an iron key. Samples of the charred wood
have been dated to the Migration Period, which is consistent with the dating of
the key.
The Fight For
Preservation Lasted Over Ten Years
The site, however,
was not without controversy. For many years, the politicians of the City
Council of Örnsköldsvik argued over the ‘use’ of Gene Fornby and the site was
at risk even though it was marked by The Swedish National Heritage
Board as an archaeological location.
After several years of struggle,
those who fought for the preservation of the site generated more and more
followers and were eventually victorious in 2012. The site was transferred to the
Örnsköldsvik Municipality for preservation in 2013.
Top image:
Reconstructed longhouse at Gene Fornby Source: CC BY-SA 3.0
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