Tuesday 30 June 2009

Nivaa Fossil-fjord

English summary: (see Danish below)

When the Ice-age finished around 11,000 years ago, the coastline of Denmark started to move dramatically. The difference between the high and the low was in excess of 125m – worth noting when talking about global warming today! In the period between ca 6500 and 4000 BCE a fjord-system covered the fields around Nivå, ca. 25Km north of Copenhagen. The area provided a rich eco-system for the hunters and gatherers of the time and so far 24 settlements have been found. I used to field-walk the area between 1968 and 1975 and found 13 of these settlements, 2 of which were unknown to the National Museum. Now one (my NV13/ Hørsholm Museum’s Nivå 10) has achieved international fame. With 12 burials and the rare remains of the hunters’ dwellings on what would have been a small island in the fjord, only Bøgebakken in Vedbæk (6Km further south) can boast an equal importance. Evidence of another settlement appeared in a cold-water supply ditch, which was dug just south of Åtoften. I managed to investigate it before it was covered again, retrieving a number of artefacts and taking a few photos of the Kongemose layer at the bottom. Now everything is covered by tennis courts. No doubt, there are more settlements to be found in the area, which is still arable land. Moreover, the 2-3m thick sand and gravel deposits from the many times the sea has risen during the past 9000 years, definitely cover a number of settlements, yet to be discovered. I have no illusions, however, about how long the open area will stay undisturbed. Nivå is an attractive area for developers and it shows!




Polished stone axe from Nivaa 10


Dansk:

I perioden 1967-75 var jeg jævnlig på markvandring i det rige stenalderlandskab i Nordsjælland. Min interesse koncentrerede sig navnlig om omraadet omkring Nivå og Vedbæk, hvor havet i tiden fra ca. 7000 til 4000 f.Kr. skar sig dybt ind i landet i et fjordsystem, der gav datidens jægere og samlere idelle eksistensbetingelser. I tiden efter istidens ophør, ca. 13000 f.Kr., har kystlinjen ændret sig dramatisk adskillige gange, enten som følge af havets fald og stigning eller fordi landmassen også bevægede sig. Men i den nævnte periode må disse fjordsystemer have været enormt attraktive, hvilket kan ses af den mængde af bopladser (mindst 24), der indtil nu er blevet lokaliseret. Jeg fandt personligt 13, inklusive den nu internationalt berømte “Nivå 10”, som på daværende tidspunkt ikke var kendt af Nationalmuseet. Derudover undersøgte jeg lagfølgen i en koldtvandsgroeft syd for Åtoften, hvor der i 2m dybde var et tydeligt Kongemoselag. Omraadet er i dag dækket af tennisbaner og bebyggelse – ligesom Bøgebakken i Vedbæk er forsvundet under en skole.




Sleben stenøkse fra Nivaa 10



Der er ingen tvivl om, at der er mere at finde i Nivå, dels ved yderligere professionel undersøgelse af de kendte pladser, men ogsaa ved fremtidige bopladsfund. Det meste af Nivå området er stadig udlagt til marker, men man skal nok skynde sig, hvis nye fund skal gøres, før Åtoften og Nivåvænge formerer sig og alt er tabt for bestandigt.

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