Risvåg (gnr.16/1, 176), ID7841, Hasvik k. Finnmark

The Stone Age Demographics project investigates demographic patterns, their background and implications at different scales. Stone Age sites typically are located at different heights above sea level, which suggests different ages. Signs of reuse have previously been reported or indicated from a number of excavations of Stone Age sites in Scandinavia but have very rarely been a separate issue. The associated methodological and cultural-historical implications have been addressed to a very limited extent. The issue is central to the Stone Age Demographics research project. The Risvåg (ID 7841) site was originally registered by Povl Simonsen in 1962, and several features were excavated. Some were investigated in 1963. In 2016, 23 dwelling structures were identified. One of the previously excavated dwellings was re-investigated in the fall of 2019. The aim was to clarify whether and how multiple phases of use and possible reuse in individual structures can be demonstrated archaeologically. The investigation in house C (T15) in Risvåg emphasized observation and documentation of stratigraphy. Even with small fields available, it was possible to extract datable material from several contexts, both in the thick wall embankment and the thin settlement layers in the floor area. The datings were made on a small number of selected charcoal samples with documented relative stratigraphic placement, so that they constituted sequences in the profiles. The dates of ten selected samples spread over several separate time periods, spanning almost two millennia. Dating samples that have been extracted in sequences from secure stratigraphic contexts proves to be a good method for demonstrating both the first establishment date and reuse.