Skjeletta frå Stavanger domkyrkje - ei lang og innfløkt soge

Abstract

In 1967‒68 an area under Stavanger Cathedral was excavated, which revealed more than 30 inhumations without any grave goods. Remains of 22 skeletons were boxed individually and sent to the Anatomic Institute at the University of Oslo for analysis. For some unknown reason they kept some of them and returned two boxes containing many bones in a commingled and fragmentary state to Stavanger. Since 2004, The Museum of Archaeology has aimed to revitalize these skeletons for research. Results of 14C-dates state that they all died before the erection of the church which took place in the beginning of the 12th century. Osteometric sorting managed to combine some bones into individuals while analyses of stable isotopes gave insight into their diet. So far efforts to revitalize a miserable bone collection have added new understanding of past life conditions in SW Norway.