Arkeologi mellom oppdagelse og glemsel Forståelse av et funn i en sprekk i virkeligheten

Abstract

Archaeology between discovery and forgetting The article examines an unexpected discovery of human skeletons in a hidden cave in Bølekointa at Bøle in Flatanger in mid-Norway, and focuses on how a discovery becomes archaeology, and the lifespan of archaeological finds from discovery to our oblivion. Does an archaeological find always end up as archaeology, and what is the end of an archaeological find? While climbing a gorge in a mountain at Bøle in April 1987, an auxiliary teacher at Drageid School Camp discovered the entrance to a large cave. Lacking a torch, he fumbled his way in the darkness and literally stumbled upon a human skeleton crouched by a campfire. Contrary to the view of every archaeologist concerned, the discovery was not treated as an archaeological find. The remains were in such good condition that the police launched an investigation into what they assumed was a murder case. Two human skeletons, showing signs of violent death, were removed for forensic examination. German prison records from World War II archives led historians to identify the two men as escaped Russian prisoners of war, a theory confirmed by local people. Archaeologists nevertheless insisted on a radiocarbon analysis, which dated the find to the Late Roman Iron Age and Migration period. The establishment of the find as prehistoric also marked the end of archaeological research into the discovery, and the material was stored away for 17 years. The sudden bloom of interest in1987 withered to nothing. In an attempt to bring the skeletons out of the cupboard: how do we neglect, and forget, our discoveries and the things we find?