Reinjakt i reinens randsone – Økonomi som pådriver for en utmarksnæring i høymiddelalderen

The 13th century saw an increase in reindeer hunting in southern Norway, characterised by the use of intricate trapping systems and pitfalls to capture the animals. However, much remains unknown about the practical organisation of these hunts. An excavation in Buheii, Kvinesdal, Agder, uncovered a complete hunting station from this period, located at a natural landscape bottleneck at 700 masl. The site offers new insights into the medieval hunting practices and enables a new perspective on the organisation of the mountain hunt in the medieval period. The station included a rock shelter divided into four rooms by walls constructed from stones quarried on-site. Each room served specific purposes, such as living, storage, and as shooting blinds. Based on the organisation of the site, as well as faunal remains and artefacts, the site is interpreted as a well-organised, seasonal hunting and trapping station, established and frequented in the early to late-13th century by valley farmers

Bottleneck · Excavation · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology