The Borgund Kaupang by Aalesund, western Norway Life and Death of a small town in the periphery of Europe.

The Borgund kaupang in Sunnmøre was one of 16 towns in Norway during the Middle Ages. The place has been investigated archaeologically during the pioneering phase of medieval archaeology as a modern discipling and it is sporadically mentioned in written sources. We reckon that Borgund dates back into the Viking Age and prospered until its late medieval abandonment. In order to understand why the small town emerged and eventually collapsed, our multi-disciplinary project explores what characterized the success during 300-500 years. Through re-assessment of available sources: a large set of archaeological sources (re-classification, stratigraphy and chronology) from more than 30 field seasons, as well as written sources and with a perspective from below approach, we study economic, cultural and social aspects of production, procurement and consumption of exotic and domestic objects and raw materials found in Borgund. Borgund is studied on various levels of enquiry as part of national, European and North Atlantic contexts. Our central questions are: What sort of economy characterised the place? Did a mono-economy or a diverse economy prevail? How did Borgund's inhabitants and guests take part in national and international networks? Our hypotheses are that: 1) The economy was diverse and that Borgund, as one of the small towns in Norway, had a central role in processing and refining natural resources from sea and land for domestic and international trade (fish, metals, boatbuilding?). 2) The inhabitants and guests of Borgund were part of international economic, cultural and social networks and enjoyed a lifestyle with influences from distant parts of Europe and the North Atlantic. Two PhD projects address (1) production and consumption of iron objects and (2) consumption of household soapstone- and pottery vessels. In addition, national and international experts in the project team approach a broad spectrum of sources: textiles, exotic and domestic everyday objects of leather and wood, bones of domesticated and wild birds, fish bones, stone and metal objects for indoor and outdoor use, gender related objects, raw materials for churches and secular buildings, literary sources and more. We hope that this diversified approach adds new insights about life in small communities on the periphery of Europe, and the roles they played in an international context. Read more about progress and results on our homepage: for internet search look up the keywords Borgund Kaupang | University of Bergen (uib.no). You can also follow us on Facebook with the key words BKP The Borgund kaupang project

Using multidisciplinary and pluralistic approaches involving the humanities and natural sciences, BKP addresses a largely unknown and poorly studied archaeological material. BKP will result in new understandings of the role the Borgund Kaupang and its actors (institutions, inhabitants and visitors) played at local, domestic and international levels. BKP addresses the economic and cultural prerequisites of Borgund from the late Viking Age throughout the late Middle Ages by asking: What sort of economy characterised the place? Did a mono-economy or a diverse economy prevail? How did Borgund's inhabitants take part in national and international economic, cultural and social networks? With a human level, Perspective from below approach, BKP studies economic, cultural and social aspects of production, procurement and consumption of exotic and domestic materials at Borgund within wider national and international contexts. BKP comprises five work packages that include two PhD projects dealing with (1) production and consumption of iron objects and (2) consumption of household soapstone and pottery vessels. 14 Studies by national and international experts approach a broad spectrum of sources: imported textiles, gender related objects, exotic and domestic everyday accessories, litterary sources and more. Our hypotheses are that 1) Borgund, as one of Norways small towns, had a diverse economy with a central role in processing and refining natural resources from sea and land for domestic and international trade. 2) The inhabitants of Borgund were part of international economic cultural and social networks and enjoyed a lifestyle with influences from distant parts of Europe and the North Atlantic. This approach adds new insights about life in small communities on the periphery of Europe, and the roles they played on the world stage. As a large broad empirically based study of medieval life in Norway outside the large towns BKP fills a huge research gap in medieval studies.