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we invite you to join us for Norwegians getting a programme of music and a

commentary produced from materials provided by the Norwegian Broadcasting

Corporation.

Heard on this program will be several light compositions in addition to a documentary on the harms

the Arctic war in Bergen. We open with the Norwegian Droughns

composed by writer Thomas and Levin bear conducts the Norwegian

broadcasting orchestra.

The Norwegian broadcasting orchestra performing a Norwegian dance by Roger

Thomas and Norwegians got juice continues with the final documentary in

the series. The search for Norway's path was produced by

Radio Norway.

Our last program about the Viking Age brought us well into what we call

historic times. And with that our series on archaeology in Norway might

well have ended. But there is one great adventure in Norwegian archaeology which

we would still like to tell you about and that is the excavations of the old medieval

settlement in begging the Hanseatic war or Breggin as it is

called Still standing in a quaint row facing the waterfront in the

seafaring town that in all the characteristic wooden houses of begin the

old Hanseatic war. But about half of the original area was

destroyed by a fire in 1955. A fire which

destroyed the old houses but laid open the ground under them for

archaeological investigations. And this is where the adventure started

and the archaeologists began to ask questions whether German

hands yes the original founders of the begin settlement or did they merely

inherit an already existing structure. Where did the

coastline in those days run compared with today. What kind of

goods did the men trade and with whom. What kind of ships did they

use and how did they load and arm load them. By and

by through the 11 years of excavations most of these questions have been answered.

And the fuss about anyone else has found the answers is curator asked beyond

her take in charge of the beginning excavations. So once again we

took our recorder with us and went to back in to the site. We found Mr.

heartache busy at work some three yards below ground level among the

visible remnants of wood paved streets old houses and

pillars and planking some keys jutting out beyond what was once the shoreline.

Mister had to take this area is called the Hanseatic was right

the Hanseatic League match the real founder of the braking

area.

It has been many times that the president drew a ball the ball

and the game turning toward the arbor

and so on. This is a typical continental or typical German way

of building but no proof by

the archaeological material that this type of

building and the layout of the will mention that it must

go back to a period long before. And the time of going on in the

tins at all had anything to say here and there again

what is it we see in front of us here Mr. Houghton and

here.

Quite and I stayed in front of us we had been looking down

along the line on the old wall

from the time kings or from around about ten

hundred and then we started to excavate here

on the wall. We

expected to find the oldest part

of the habitation. But the means instead of finding

lemons. Apart from Hoess we found the

keys wrong key. One wall above the other

and this is one of the roles which we have excavated and it is in

fact 55 meet their long and I think it piece there along this part

of an old place that we will ever excavated in Northern Europe

and the key line is not the earlier as well because the

tone had been existing for many years and it

became very important for us to excavate plodded back

and. To see if it was possible to trace

the earliest situation and to trace the shindy on the origin of the shoreline from the

time of the foundation of the tone and then we have in

fact not found the origin of the shoreline because it has been

so far back. I meant May in this connection

mention that the piston key line here in baton rounds

hundred and fifty meet that into the origin of the harbor

Basin and that means that we need to

find the original shoreline about the same

distance and prodded it back but as yet we have not yet found it

but we have found the beach just in front of the shoreline and

this beach is connected by a payment so to say all the

small stones all carried by hands and they have

they have loaded and unloaded in the ships here by

low voltage and down for to make them beats more of

it with the boot to go on. They have painted the stones. And this

is this is your original situation and the original harbor

conditions and homes or places with such conditions with Long

Beach is very favored in the earliest or the early medieval period. Later on

when the ships developed and they became deeper

and they were forced to build out the harbor was a big key.

That means then that the place where we are standing now was once the actual

harbor that it was water here. Keys we see in front of it and the actual houses

even further in. Yes do we know it or what the houses

look like what what life was like here.

Well we we know and as I mentioned

earlier that the hoses

of today aren't made of the same type as they were

earlier and after each fire they

simply rebuilt exactly the same site.

Placing the streets at about was three houses I

have says and in this way we can draw the

conclusion that the delay o all devolves for the layout of the

town was exactly the same in the time

jointly before the round about 200 as it is today and we

have also succeeded in finding so much material

from one single construction that we have been able to reconstruct the house

from the first half of the 13th century and this hose is

remarkable in this vein that it is exactly of the same type as the

house to be had to devolve to day. Why is it that

the construction was the same through or at least some trace was then development

when it was in development in many ways it had then it kept

different. It then got different colors and it got the windows

of glass and then and then to cover on the roofs

was changed from that to all the materials and so on

but the main reason or for the preservation of that

layout then of the special type of building is perhaps also the

social system which.

Ross continued from age to age so

from sensitive to essentially talking of the social setup this was

and that society wasn't it. What countries devoted mainly

trade with Bergen was one of the most important

trading the centers in Europe in the medieval period

well known among the subsidies as no go to

be regaled Bruce Lee Beck

and many others.

And then. In in Baghran or in Norway they plaited be

in most European countries. This we know from written

sources but the archaeological material has been

has contributed with material all quite an

unexpected character. We we know that. We

have an IQ logical material from demented to Dany and from

from Eastern Europe perhaps via God we have material

from from the whole continent and from Greenland from Iceland

and from north and Norway but did the strongest

connections with those across the North Sea

beside their connections of in England and Scotland.

We have very strong contacts a lot of the countries of a continent especially live in

the Low Countries and Germany. And this is in fact

interesting because we do know very little about India's

context from the time between the end of the Viking at

about 2000 after the prized and credit

hundred then for the material from these two centuries becomes very

important.

We're talking about be actual fines. Could we go and have a look at the collection.

OK and here we are.

Among the collection of finds and I see here you have a collection of

runic inscriptions could we go and have a look at those.

They seem to be just bits of wood with runes on them what

do you mean.

Well them and then they are inscriptions

from the daily life here on the wall.

A lot of these inscriptions which we know have more than

500 and it is the biggest collection of runic inscriptions

ever found on one place.

And them these a lot of these inscriptions

merely label with the owner's.

Name in the genitive case for instance

book lave that means that and this this then

that then where on which to which the label has been

sticking has to have been owned by both.

All this refers to two.

The trade mercantile and so on we

have rules in dealing with real issues of young

boys and girls or young men and

we have a lot of them. And and the

blessings as well. Could one say that these were really in a way letters

then a few of them might

be letters and the two are

really little messages from different persons from a

person to another person.

There is one right in front of me here in translation. This seems to be a

kind of love letter. It says love me

I love thee. He kissed me.

I know me these runic

inscriptions gives one a picture of life in those days which I don't suppose the other

fines can give.

Now that brings us they bring us much. Into much closer

contact with the people with their sorrows and and joys and

troubles and so on. And it is a very rich contribution

and.

Do you know that daily life from customs or any other of

these runic inscriptions which you think we should read to our listeners

is in front of us and all the so called love letter and we have also here a complete

message Mercantile. But this level that

refers to a man who boasts about the

fact that he has met that girl in starving in the neighboring town also buying it and he

has written on the piece in you be are you love me when I was in the banger

we mentioned that this was a society.

Have we any proofs of what people did in their free time.

Works of on anything like that where

there are some written descriptions of the

larger war.

And besides that we have found a lot of pieces

of different things which refer directly to this

problem we have is we have in fact five or six different

gaming boards but chess and all the.

Place and a lot of gaming PC.

Yes we have we have a chess board I think in front of a Saturn and

they mutilate com and yeah some of these pieces are very

nicely Kob with shapes all men

and women and in metals and so on. And besides this we

have skates.

Made of bone on which they were running

partly on the eyes partly on the snow or on the on the

paved paved streets.

They were paid to do my bit of good playings

and use the gate on the street.

I think they also used this case skates in the streets or on the streets because the

truth was sloped down to the harbor and the common cold weather

though I think they were the better weather them through the fog.

This pup was running on on the streets but we also have

this instrument through

bone from about 200.

And all this morning it is more the troops of different kinds.

We're standing now in front of a glass case with the objects which

seem to have belonged to a woman or several women.

Did women have their natural place within the society here.

Now they did not. And because and especially in the

Hanseatic period the most and lived in the limousine.

And the access of all women to the wall

was from the regulated

but in fact all of these we see and especially from these

excavated finds that they have had access and some of

all the way to the bottom.

And with these notes from the 13th century Ben flute preserved for six centuries

in the moist soil we must return to the present day. For the big an area

that represents a problem to the authorities of Bakken. Like all modern expanding

set is Dagen is in great need of building sites in the central areas of the town

and many people have advocated a raising of the whole area to give room for a modern

regulated business quarter. Today the general public opinion has

turned in favor of a preservation and restoration of the old buildings still standing.

Whilst new houses which would blend with the old ones should be built on the

back tot area. The plans include also a center for OTs and crafts

which together with a begin museum would make a weapon a tourist attraction.

Much of the credit for this change in public opinion must go to Mr heartache

who in addition to his work to unveil the past has fought incessantly to

make people realise the value of preserving the past for present and future

generations.

For as he said himself it's a very

very rich. We ought to

remember in our daily lives and lives might be buying in.

You have been listening to the hounds the Arctic wharf in Bergen produced by

doll radio Norway No. 2 music

selections clowns by stud m Fantaisie R

by cost m gloom and Oyvind conducts the Norwegian broadcasting Orcus

drop.

And why.

The they.

Are.

Concluding this program of Norwegian sketches clones by Colbie on

Ofsted and the Fantaisie by custom crewman. The

Norwegian broadcasting Orchestra under the direction of Ivan bag this

programme was prepared at the University of Michigan by Marianne boards of Dr. Nichols

recruited from Dr. Robert Byrd.

This is Brett Hundley join us again next.

This is our national educational radio network.