Age, dimensions and classification: a multi‐causal absence of three‐aisled longhouses from aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark

Mathias Christiansen Broch

doi:10.1002/arp.1734

Age, dimensions and classification: a multi‐causal absence of three‐aisled longhouses from aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark

Bidragets oversatte titel: Alder, dimensioner og klassifikation: et multikausalt fravær af treskibede luftfotograferede langhuse fra Vestjylland, Danmark

Mathias Christiansen Broch

Saxo-Instituttet - Arkæologi, Etnologi, Historie og Græsk og Latin

Abstract

Denne artikel fokuserer på et væsentligt parameter i forbindelse med tolkningen af luftfotograferede treskibede langhuse fra Vestjylland, Danmark. I perioden mellem 2008 og 2013 er der i forbindelse med projektet Fortiden set fra himlen – Luftfotoarkæologi i Danmark fundet og registreret 672 treskibede langhuse. Disse er typologisk dateret således, at fire langhuse er fra ældre bronzealder (ca. 1700 – 1100 f.Kr.), og ingen langhuse er erkendt fra yngre bronzealder (1100 – 500 f.Kr.). Resten af langhusene falder hovedsageligt indenfor perioden mellem ældre jernalder og vikingetid (ca. 500 f.Kr. til 1050 e.Kr.). Fraværet af langhuse fra bronzealder er pt. forklaret som et resultat af alder og dimensionering. To faktorer, der især er relateret til formationen af afgrødespor. I nærværende artikel foreslås at klassifikationsmetoden, der anvendes til at tolke de luftfotograferede langhuse, har en afgørende betydning for fraværet af langhuse fra bronzealderen. De typologiske problematikker ved visuelle klassificeringer skitseres, hvorefter det afprøves, om der kan være bronzealderlanghuse latent i luftfotodatabasen. Problemstillingen afprøves igennem en række Principal Component Analysis (PCA), der i denne sammenhænge anvendes som et klassifikationsredskab. PCA-klassifikationen er udelukkende baseret på placeringen af interne tagbærende stolper. Analysen opsættes på baggrund af 202 udgravede treskibede langhuse, der sammenlignes med 120 luftfotograferede treskibede langhuse. Analysen resulterede i 16 langhuse, der potentielt kan være fra yngre bronzealder, både i henhold til indre tagbærende konstruktion og visuel fremtoning på luftfoto. Analysen leder til en diskussion af de typologiske problematikker, der relaterer sig til langhuse fra yngre bronzealder og ældre førromersk jernalder, samt til en vægtning af faktorerne: alder, dimensionering og klassifikation.

Bidragets oversatte titel	Alder, dimensioner og klassifikation: et multikausalt fravær af treskibede luftfotograferede langhuse fra Vestjylland, Danmark
Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	Archaeological Prospection
Vol/bind	26
Udgave nummer	3
Sider (fra-til)	199-210
Antal sider	12
ISSN	1075-2196
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1734
Status	Udgivet - 1 jul. 2019

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10.1002/arp.1734

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title = "Age, dimensions and classification: a multi‐causal absence of three‐aisled longhouses from aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark",

abstract = "This article focuses on a significant parameter associated with the interpretation of cropmarks of three-aisled longhouses on aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark. Between 2008 and 2013, during the first part of the project {\textquoteleft}An aerial view of the past – aerial archaeology in Denmark{\textquoteright}, 672 three-aisled longhouses were discovered. These longhouses have been dated typologically, identifying only four houses from the Early Bronze Age (ca 1700–1100 bc) and showing no recorded examples from the Late Bronze Age (1100–500 bc). The remaining longhouses fall primarily within the period from the Early Iron Age to the Viking Age (ca 500 bc–ad 1050). The absence of longhouses from the Bronze Age is presently explained as a consequence of age and dimensions. Two factors that revolve around the possibilities of cropmark occurrence. In this article, it is suggested that the method of classification used to interpret longhouses on aerial photographs is of crucial significance with respect to the virtual absence of Bronze Age examples. The typological problems associated with visual classification are outlined, after which the possible latent presence of Bronze Age longhouses in the aerial photograph database is investigated. The problems are addressed via a series of principal component analyses (PCAs), employed as a classification tool. The PCA classification of the longhouses is based exclusively on the arrangement of the internal roof-bearing posts. The analysis uses data from 203 excavated longhouses, which are compared with 120 longhouses recorded on aerial photographs. The analysis identified 14 longhouses that could potentially be from the Late Bronze Age, both with respect to internal roof-bearing construction and visual appearance on aerial photographs. This leads on to a discussion of the typological problems associated with identifying longhouses from the Late Bronze Age and Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, together with a weighting of the factors: age, dimensions and classification.",

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N2 - This article focuses on a significant parameter associated with the interpretation of cropmarks of three-aisled longhouses on aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark. Between 2008 and 2013, during the first part of the project ‘An aerial view of the past – aerial archaeology in Denmark’, 672 three-aisled longhouses were discovered. These longhouses have been dated typologically, identifying only four houses from the Early Bronze Age (ca 1700–1100 bc) and showing no recorded examples from the Late Bronze Age (1100–500 bc). The remaining longhouses fall primarily within the period from the Early Iron Age to the Viking Age (ca 500 bc–ad 1050). The absence of longhouses from the Bronze Age is presently explained as a consequence of age and dimensions. Two factors that revolve around the possibilities of cropmark occurrence. In this article, it is suggested that the method of classification used to interpret longhouses on aerial photographs is of crucial significance with respect to the virtual absence of Bronze Age examples. The typological problems associated with visual classification are outlined, after which the possible latent presence of Bronze Age longhouses in the aerial photograph database is investigated. The problems are addressed via a series of principal component analyses (PCAs), employed as a classification tool. The PCA classification of the longhouses is based exclusively on the arrangement of the internal roof-bearing posts. The analysis uses data from 203 excavated longhouses, which are compared with 120 longhouses recorded on aerial photographs. The analysis identified 14 longhouses that could potentially be from the Late Bronze Age, both with respect to internal roof-bearing construction and visual appearance on aerial photographs. This leads on to a discussion of the typological problems associated with identifying longhouses from the Late Bronze Age and Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, together with a weighting of the factors: age, dimensions and classification.

AB - This article focuses on a significant parameter associated with the interpretation of cropmarks of three-aisled longhouses on aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark. Between 2008 and 2013, during the first part of the project ‘An aerial view of the past – aerial archaeology in Denmark’, 672 three-aisled longhouses were discovered. These longhouses have been dated typologically, identifying only four houses from the Early Bronze Age (ca 1700–1100 bc) and showing no recorded examples from the Late Bronze Age (1100–500 bc). The remaining longhouses fall primarily within the period from the Early Iron Age to the Viking Age (ca 500 bc–ad 1050). The absence of longhouses from the Bronze Age is presently explained as a consequence of age and dimensions. Two factors that revolve around the possibilities of cropmark occurrence. In this article, it is suggested that the method of classification used to interpret longhouses on aerial photographs is of crucial significance with respect to the virtual absence of Bronze Age examples. The typological problems associated with visual classification are outlined, after which the possible latent presence of Bronze Age longhouses in the aerial photograph database is investigated. The problems are addressed via a series of principal component analyses (PCAs), employed as a classification tool. The PCA classification of the longhouses is based exclusively on the arrangement of the internal roof-bearing posts. The analysis uses data from 203 excavated longhouses, which are compared with 120 longhouses recorded on aerial photographs. The analysis identified 14 longhouses that could potentially be from the Late Bronze Age, both with respect to internal roof-bearing construction and visual appearance on aerial photographs. This leads on to a discussion of the typological problems associated with identifying longhouses from the Late Bronze Age and Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, together with a weighting of the factors: age, dimensions and classification.

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Age, dimensions and classification: a multi‐causal absence of three‐aisled longhouses from aerial photographs of western Jutland, Denmark

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