Jakten på Varangermarkedet: Søk etter flerkulturelle møter i et samisk landskap

• Published in: Primitive Tider
• Main Authors: Spangen, Marte, Kleppe, Jan Ingolf
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Norwegian
• Published: University of Oslo Library 2023
• Subjects: Karlebotn; Norway; Stuorravuonna; North Sámi; saami; samisk; Varanger
• Online Access: https://journals.uio.no/PT/article/view/10825; https://doi.org/10.5617/pt.10825

Jakten på Varangermarkedet – søk etter flerkulturelle møter i et samisk landskap Based on historical, toponymic, and archaeological sources, we believe to have identified the location of the older Varanger market, which was a crucial meeting point in inner Varanger for Saami groups and tradesmen from Norway, Russia, and Sweden from at least 1530 to the closing of the market in 1760. A large river plain southeast of mountain Márkanoaivi (“the Market Hill”) by Karlebotn/Stuorravuonna, was surveyed with metal detector and visual inspection. This resulted in the discovery of 15–16 turf hut foundations, including a very large one that may be the remains of a so-called “King’s hut” that is mentioned in the written sources. “King’s huts” were used by the authorities for tax collection, court assemblies, and church services, often while markets were held. Only a small number of detector signals were excavated, but the finds included two coins from the late 17th and early 18th centuries and a lead seal, neither of which are common find categories in ordinary North Sámi settlement contexts. Surveys and metal detecting were subsequently performed in several areas that have been hypothesised to be thelocation of the old Varanger market, as well as in areas with similar topography as the river plain beneath Márkanoaivi. The surveys yielded interesting information about landscape use, but none of them resulted in signals or finds of the same character as by Márkanoaivi. Although we cannot prove continuity, an early 15th century radiocarbon dating at the river plain and the recorded amount of activity, suggest that the marketplace may have been located here from the 15th century until it was discontinued in 1760. The geographical location, topography, and relative uselessness of this area for other purposes, suggest that local Sámi groups influenced where the trade meeting could take place. Confirmation of this and a deeper understanding of the site depend on further archaeological investigations. The project exemplifies how ...