Kongemosen

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Kongemosen - A Mesolithic Site in the Bog Aamosen, Zealand In the summer of 1952 thoroughgoing drainage and reclamation schemes were carried on in "Kongemosen", a portion of the large bog area known as Aamose in West Zealand. As a result of this work a number of scattered prehistoric objects came to light, and the present author identified, in a drainage ditch, an occupation layer about 25 cms. thick. This could be traced for a distance of about 30 metres and lay about 1 metre below ground level. The site was filled in again, but in the autumn of 1953 other portions of the same settlement, lying at a higher level and not previously known, were disturbed in the course of deep ploughing (to a depth of 40-50 cms.). Excavation was now necessary in order to rescue the site, and a test excavation was commenced in the summer of 1954. Violent and continuous rainfall, however, flooded the bog and made excavation impossible. Not before the summer and autumn of 1955 did it prove possible to carry out the planned test excavation, and Fig. 1 is a plan of the settlement area as revealed by the excavations then carried out. A total of 305 metres of trial trenches of a width of 1 metre was dug, as well as an area excavation of about 45 sq.m. The settlement was about 60 metres in length and about 20 metres in width. It had been sited on a fairly dry peat surface but its northern edge had run along the shore, of the open lake. In this lake lies a "rubbish-heap", running out in a tongue of gradually diminishing thickness for more than 50 metres from the shore. On the actual settlement the occupation layer was 10-15 cms. thick and, before ploughing, was overlaid by about 30 cms. of alder wood peat. It lies upon a layer of lightly decomposed swamp peat. The flint from this area is patinated to a greater or less degree; bones and wood are poorly preserved, and traces of dwellings or hearths have not yet been found. The upper half of the rubbish-heap consists of nut shells, pieces of bark, small sticks and charcoal, while its lower half contains quantities of flint, bones and antler. The flint is unweathered, and objects of organic material are in very good condition. Closest to the original shore line the layer is about 30 cms. thick, rests on lake marl and is covered by a later deposit of swamp peat. Further from the shore the stratum lies up to 2 metres deep, is only a couple of cms. thick and is embedded in fine detritus mud, which allows the possibility of a good pollen­analytical dating. Only one occupation level has yet been identified at the site, and the artifact material can be described as homogeneous. As it was a trial excavation only a small portion of the material was excavated systematically. This material was taken mainly from a strip, about 25 cms. wide, along the east wall of the longest north-south trial trench, between the points North 27.00 and North 34.00 (Fig. 1). In this stretch every trace of habitation was plotted in with three coordinates. With this technique of excavation 7417 items were obtained. In quantity, however, these objects fill only 14 bags from a total of over 400. The material has still not been sorted, so that the following figures give only minimum values, and the rough evaluation must be treated with caution. The flint material is dominated by the extremely large number of fine large blades and of the corresponding flaking cores, while the amount of swarf (chips and flakes) is extremely small. Fig. 2 shows a selection of typical blade tools. Nos. 1 and 2 are specimens of the large blades fashioned into daggers or spearheads, no. 2 having in addition incisions in the end for lashing. No. 3 shows the most usual type of scraper, a type which often has a scraping edge at both ends. A few small round scrapers of Maglemose type were, however, also found. Nos. 4 and 5 are type burins, which occur in hundreds. Blade knives, such as no. 6, are common, as are blade awls. But the most numerous class are the rhombic (asymmetrical) arrowheads, amounting to about 2500. Nos. 12-20 illustrate a selection. No. 12 is the specimen which, of all those found, most resembles a transverse arrowhead. Nos. 7-11 show the corresponding "burins". The microlith incidence is slight - a number of micro-blades, two handles striking cores and a very few triangular microliths. These may possibly be intrusive from a nearby Sværdborg site containing a large number of microliths. The asymmetrical (rhombic) axe dominates among the core tools (about 50 specimens, Fig. 3, no. 1); flake axes, on the other hand, do not occur. Fig. 3, no. 2 shows a fine core chisel or pick, while no. 3 illustrates the core awls which are found. Core and plane scrapers occur in large numbers, as well as a quantity of keeled scrapers, two of which are also handled striking cores. Finally three large picks of flint (25-30 cms. long, Fig. 4) were found, as well as several fragments of this class of artifact. Hammer stones and crushing stones of flint or granite occur in large numbers. Fig. 5 shows the artifacts of greenstone which were discovered. No. 1 is a fragment of a polished round axe, while nos. 2 and 3 are fragments of maceheads with shaftholes. A number of sandstone polishing stones, as well as large quantities of cooking stones, pebbles of blackened and scorched granite as large as a cricket-hall. Pieces of pyrites and the occurrence of touchwood show how fire was produced. Amber has not as yet been found. Flat bodkins formed of the metatarsal of roe deer are common (35 specimens); two of these may be seen in Fig. 6, nos. 1-2, while nos. 3-5 show various forms of rounded bodkins. Fig. 7, no. 1 is a dagger, fashioned of a cubitus, while no. 2 is the typical striker or pressure implement from the site (about 25 specimens). 5 axes of deer antler were found, of which the finest is illustrated in Fig. 7, no. 3. The drawing in Fig. 7 a reproduces its ornamentation. A number of single objects...

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