1. aardvarchaeology
  2. Things Going My Way

Things Going My Way

By aardvarchaeology on April 3, 2008.

I'm trainblogging again, somewhere between Norrköping and Nyköping, and the sun is shining. I am pretty pleased with things, not least with how my project about elite sites in Ãstergötland is working out.

Yesterday I received the Kaga parish landowner's permission to excavate in his field after the harvest, that is, in mid- and late September. This is where a gold-foil figure die turned up a year ago.

Then I received information that the Royal Academy of Sciences has given me the largest grant so far in my career, meaning that I wouldn't have to worry about my livelihood before Christmas 2009 even if I quit applying for more grants.

Today I went to Linköping and met with the County Archaeologist and the head of the County Museum's excavation unit. I received immediate permission to metal detect 4½ of the 6 sites I had applied for, and the remaining 1½ sites did not look too bad either. It was also hinted that an excavation permit for the Kaga site in September might not be entirely out of the question.

I was then treated to lunch by my dear colleagues at the museum, and handed over the finds from six of thirteen sites we have metal detected in the past six years. I am happy that the paperwork for those sites has now been processed in good order, as it means that I will have less stuff to take care of. I also handed over the Skamby amber gaming pieces found in a boat-burial in 2005. They are due to receive prominent exposure in the County Museum's new permanent exhibition, one of the highest honours a field archaeologist can aspire to.

The only disappointment really was not finding a certain geocache on Barefoot Lane near the Cathedral, and looking silly while searching for it.

(And by the way:

  • There is wifi not only on the fast X2000 trains, but also on Swedish Rail's slower but newer double-decker regional trains.
  • The sf podcast Escape Pod now has a second sibling in addition to the horror-themed Pseudopod. The newborn fantasy short fiction podcast is named Podcastle and has started out with a classic 1960s story by Peter S. Beagle. Check it out!

)

Tags
archaeology
sweden

More like this

Skamby Gaming Pieces on Display
In 2005, a team led by myself and Howard Williams excavated a 9th century boat inhumation burial at Skamby in Kuddby parish, Ãstergötland, Sweden. The finest finds we made in the grave were a collection of 23 amber gaming pieces. These are extremely rare, the previous Swedish set having surfaced…
Sättuna Signpost
We know quite a bit more now about the archaeology of Sättuna in Kaga parish, Ãstergötland, than we did before me and my homies started fieldwork there in April of 2006. My blog readers have had news of the site as it appeared, pretty much in real time. But now it's time to put up a new signpost…
Trainblogging
It's been more than four years since the first time I blogged about how cool it is to have broadband on a train. But I still haven't gotten over it. Trainblogging again! The sun is shining and Södermanland zips past outside the window. I'm on my way to Linköping to drop off finds at the County…
Skamby Visit, Farewell to Daub
It's always bittersweet to return to sites you've dug. I guess I'm particularly susceptible to this nostalgia since I tend to feel it very shortly after moving on from anything or any place. And since I usually only dig during the sunny season I remember my old excavations as summer country. Two…

Congratulations! It's always good when hard work pays off.

Congratulations on the grant and the permission! Is Olle Hörfors still at the Ãstergötland county museum?

/ Mattias

Thanks guys!

Yes, Matte, Olle is still there, though I didn't meet him today. Everybody was liaisoning with the local police, teaching them what to do, and NOT to THE FUCK to do, when they find ancient burials. ("Just check the jaw for fillings, OK?)

Congratulations Martin!

Slightly OT: any news on the Djurhamn sword?

Congratulations! And I'm very pleased to hear that the excavation will take place in September since my forthcoming job will end on August 31st! I'd love to join you in Kaga if the offer still stands! See you next week by the way.

Thanks!

The sword's conservation is complete and there is a display case for it at the Stockholm County Museum, but suddenly the people there don't seem so be in a hurry any more. It'll get there. And maybe I'll be lucky enough o find some more good stuff this summer.

Theres, certainly, I have plans for you.

Good news all around, it seems! Let's hope the weather gods also are on our side next week.

Hey, well finally some well deserved credit and some money on top! Not bad, Martin. Congratulations!! (Now, what took them so long?! Apparently we, your readers, know somehting they didn't up till now...)

By Christina (not verified) on 03 Apr 2008 #permalink

Good to know that it´s not entirely hopeless to try to make good reaserch archaeology! Congratulations, and hope to here more about your work soon.

Congrats on the grant, Martin!

By Denis Vlasov (not verified) on 03 Apr 2008 #permalink

Congrats!!!
See, when everything looks bleakest, that's where it turns around.
(Or so I keep telling myself)

Well deserved and overdue. :-)