A fishing hamlet on the Trøndelag coast during the Viking/medieval period
Some preliminary investigations of house-sites associated with ancient fisheries on the outer coast of the Trøndelag region are presented. These sites, which normally consist of house foundations combined with a place for pulling up boats located on ancient shores, differ significantly from later fishing hamlets (Norw. Fiskevær). Most sites contain one or two houses only, but at Almenningsværet in Roan remains of 22 houses were found, two of which are dated to the transition period between the Viking and Middle Ages. House remains at Kvalværet in Frøya are dated to the 14th and 15th centuries. These sites are interpreted as being remains of Iron Age/Early Medieval seasonal fisheries, their distribution reflecting periodical fluctuations in coastal fisheries.