Slutten på en epoke. Pomorenes fangststasjon på Kapp Lee, Svalbard

Abstract

The end of an era. The fate of the Kapp Lee hunting station Remains of the Russian Pomors’ hunting activity are seen across Svalbard. Remnants of houses, graves and large, votive crosses are conspicuous and easily visible when travelling on foot in the barren, arctic landscape, which is little influenced by modern economic activity. These remains have been the object of extensive research, and many sites have been subject to excavations, mostly by Russian archaeologists but also by Polish and Norwegian researchers. Russian archaeologists have conducted extensive excavations searching especially for the oldest Pomor hunting stations on the western coast of Spitsbergen. This paper focuses on the late period of the Pomors’ hunt on Svalbard. Several hunting stations have been found on Edgeøya documenting a complex organization including headquarters surrounded by outpost huts. The Kapp Lee hunting station was part of such a system of small cabins with headquarter in Habenichtbukta, 70 km to the south. This distant outpost is studied to shed light on the final stages of the Pomor hunting activity on Svalbard.