Gravfeltet i Hålandsmarka, Time kommune, SV-Norge

In 2008, a pre-development excavation examined a grave field on the ridge of Hålandsmarka. The burial ground was in use from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age, and the excavation provided an opportunity to gain new insights into the long-term use of a grave field. The Hålandsmarka excavation allowed archaeologists to explore not only reuse of the grave field throughout this period, but also variations in burial form, treatment of the corpse, and grave goods over shorter timespans. The aim of the project has been to challenge the normative approach to graves as containers of a single burial event, and call attention to construction processes and other practices demonstrating the repeated use and transformation of the graves and their surroundings. Graves can be viewed as places of recurring engagement between the living and the dead, and as opportunities to explore the importance, duration and entanglement of material culture. Hålandsmarka should not be considered as a unique site: the results presented here are heavily dependent on our choice of archaeological methods, and we have the responsibility to be aware of the potential for complexity in both past and present practices when planning future excavations. The findings from Hålandsmarka call attention to the multi-temporal and gathered nature of grave fields in particular, as well as the archaeological record in general.