10 votes

A bronze cauldron dating back to the Roman Age has been unearthed in a burial cairn in central Norway

Posted by mycketforvirrad
Tags: norway.trondheim, archaeology, roman empire, metals, bronze, burials, cauldrons, author.david nikel, source.forbes, paywall
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/09/13/roman-age-discovery-in-central-norway-excites-archaeologists/#2925367c2b81

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Title
Roman Age Discovery In Central Norway Excites Archaeologists
Authors
David Nikel
Word count
491 words

6 comments

  1. [6]
    vakieh
    Link
    This is such an odd heading in so many ways... "The Roman Age" - what on earth does that even mean? That is an absolutely enormous time scale, anywhere from 500 to 1800 years depending on your...

    This is such an odd heading in so many ways... "The Roman Age" - what on earth does that even mean? That is an absolutely enormous time scale, anywhere from 500 to 1800 years depending on your definition. And yet at no point in any of those years was Trondheim (or whatever was at that spot back then) part of Rome - they barely touched Germany and never even got to Denmark ffs.

    2 votes
    1. [5]
      nacho
      Link Parent
      This surely has to do with translations. Norwegian archaeologists generally separate ancient history into material ages: bronze age, iron age, stone age etc. The problem is that the iron age in...

      This surely has to do with translations.

      Norwegian archaeologists generally separate ancient history into material ages: bronze age, iron age, stone age etc.

      The problem is that the iron age in Norway lasted from about 500 BC to 1050 AD. Therefore there's a common subdivision of the iron age:

      • Pre-Roman iron age (c. 500 BC to year 0, also known as Celtic Iron age)
      • Roman iron age (c. 0 to 400 AD)
      • Migration period (c. 400 -550 AD)
      • The Merovingian age (c. 550 -793)
      • The Viking age (793 - 1066)

      This broadly follows trends in European history, not Norwegian history. The Romans and Celts never came to Europe. There was no migration-period in Scandinavia up to 550 AD. The Merovingians (Franks) had their kingdom in France and Germany. The Viking age itself is demarked by two events in Great Britain: Lindisfarne and the Battle of Hastings. The Rus (creating the name and leading class in Russia) were the vikings that took control of a large area while what happened in Western Europe was of much lesser importance.

      So yeah, things get strange when the Norwegian terms are just translated.

      5 votes
      1. bbvnvlt
        Link Parent
        Thank you for this! Always nice to read about a surprising unknown unknown process/complication :). But also:

        Thank you for this! Always nice to read about a surprising unknown unknown process/complication :).

        But also:

        The archaeologist also said that such vessels were imported from the Roman Empire

        While mass produced at the time, such items are a rare find today. Believed to have been made in Italy or the Roman provinces of the Rhine, such vessels were traded or given as gifts.

        3 votes
      2. [3]
        imperialismus
        Link Parent
        By the way, there is no year 0. Would have made things much easier if there was. Then nobody could argue that the new millennium ack-shu-ally started in 2001. Doesn’t take away from anything you...

        By the way, there is no year 0. Would have made things much easier if there was. Then nobody could argue that the new millennium ack-shu-ally started in 2001. Doesn’t take away from anything you said, but I thought I’d mention it.

        3 votes
        1. nacho
          Link Parent
          Again by Norwegian convention, year 0 is used to denote the transition from BC to AD although there is no actual year 0 that lasts any time, much less 365 days. I was under the impression that...

          Again by Norwegian convention, year 0 is used to denote the transition from BC to AD although there is no actual year 0 that lasts any time, much less 365 days.

          I was under the impression that same convention is used in English, but I may simply be wrong. Writing 1 AD to circa 550 AD seems only specific at one end of the scale. What does one usually write in that case?

          2 votes
        2. vakieh
          Link Parent
          I find it a little funny that you are pooh-poohing the akshually of 2001 while ackshuallying yourself about the 0 or 1 CE thing.

          I find it a little funny that you are pooh-poohing the akshually of 2001 while ackshuallying yourself about the 0 or 1 CE thing.