The research project "Eidsborg Rock" will shift focus towards the regional production and domestic trade in the late Iron Age (550–1050 CE). As such, the project will have a bottom-up approach and will advance the understanding of the beginning of surplus whetstone production from a regional perspective.
This will provide new knowledge and novel perspectives on the considerable whetstone production and trade in the Viking Age, which until now have been grounded in research projects outside of West-Telemark.
Previous research has shown an extensive surplus production in the hinterland based on outfield resources such as whetstone and iron and economic activities at towns and marketplaces along the coast in the Viking Age. These two research strands are not fully integrated, and major questions remain unanswered: what caused the regional surplus production and how were inland resources integrated into the larger economy? In order to address these issues, it is necessary to understand the infrastructure of domestic production and trade, and, not least, the rationales of the actors involved.
Collaboration
This collaboration project between the Museum of Cultural History and West-Telemark Museum, located in close proximity to the whetstone quarries in Eidsborg, will facilitate the bottom-up approach, offer an excellent opportunity to merge the local and regional knowledge, and facilitate wider understanding via an international research outlook.
We will explore the junction between wide networks and close interactions, as well as bridge the gap between the regional context and the overall social and economic development in the Viking Age.
Funding
The project Eidsborg rock – Production and trade of whetstone in the Viking Age (2023–2027) is funded by The Research Council of Norway, grant 341213.