Clan Carruthers Int Society CCIS
Paviken Gotland, Carruthersland
The Paviken Research Project
It was mentioned that all the Carruthers ancestors, no matter how it is spelled, have the same 32-36 DNA markers, and our earliest location is Gotland. The same DNA takes us to 500 BC on the island of Gotland.”
This statement was made prior to the two year forensic Carruthers DNA Project.
“Our Ancestors were fierce shipbuilders. Because of their metal spinning craftsmanship, they could create the tools needed. They made ships mainly out of Ash Trees, which became a very sacred tree to them. When a new life was created or one had left this world they always planted an ash tree. When people from other regions saw the boats, they would put their order in, and thus it was quite profitable for the Ancestors. This is where they made the most of their money. Boats and ships were a major importance in everyday life and they were a symbol of wealth and power. Our ancestors were advanced in wood carpentry and it is mentioned often that these ships were lighter, slimmer, stronger and faster.
Carruthers ancestors were given land, by the pope, which is just south of Gutland which would be today Northern France and Germany. Papal lands were considered sacred and protected by such. This area was referred to as Aachen. Aachen is ahah in German meaning ” water”. In Latin it translates to Aqua or “water”. These were the men who come from the water. Similar to the beginning of Carruthers, which was at one time Carr was Cair, meaning, large fair men who walked on water.
Because of the importance and sacredness of the Ash Tree, used for personal rituals and for making these excellent ships, we were referred to as Ashman or Aachmen. That was our name on Gotland, before coming to Scotland. You will still see that name, mainly in Europe and what is interesting to me that many of the people who write books about ships, shipping, and in the shipping business are named Ashman.
We have basic live cell DNA matching up with people named Ashmen throughout northern Europe, Finland , Poland and Russia.
https://clancarruthers.home.blog/2019/07/30/carruthers-gotland-ashman/
After the Carruthers DNA Project of 2018, the genetic genealogist and the Genetic Historia both were able to match a lot of the forensic DNA found on the hoards of jewelry, coins, and even wood jewelry to the Carruthers DNA genome. Many Carruthers researchers knew this ahead of 2018 through other methods, but this was the confirmation they were all looking for.
The Paviken Research Project
Harbours and trading in the Baltic Sea during the Viking Age – an introduction
In our interpretation of prehistory we are highly influenced by the material we see in the landscape or by
coincidences found during archaeological surveys, and we forget or neglect to take into account the hidden
cultural landscape. This is particularly true when it comes to prehistory in Sweden.
As we completely lack written sources before the 12th century (with the exception of runic inscriptions) we have to rely on archaeological field material. An example of this problem is the question of Viking Age trade and its associated port activities. Extensive Viking material from Gotland suggests that the island had a lively exchange with the surrounding regions at that time in its history. This is reflected in the existence of numerous silver hoards; no area in northern Europe has such a concentration of silver from the Viking Age as Gotland. There are clear signs of an extensive and lively trade and exchange (or piracy, as some would argue), which in turn required docking points, ports and commercial centres. Despite a relatively large amount of good source material from the Viking Age, our knowledge of ports and trading centres as well as of the
scope of Viking trade and organisation remains limited to the well known Viking ports in the Baltic region; these include Birka in midSweden, Hedeby in northern Germany, Grobina in Latvia, Wolin in Poland and Paviken on Gotland.
Most of these significant Viking ports and trading centres are
mentioned in written sources and have largely informed our interpretation of the scope of trade and its organisation during the Viking Age; one thus easily gets the
impression that Viking Age trade around the Baltic Sea was essentially built around a small number of trading centres
.
The nature of the Swedish coastline suggests that this traditional interpretation of Viking Age ports and trading centres cannot be correct. In all likelihood, there were several ports and trading centres along the coast, ranging from small farm-related fishing villages, through bigger fishing ports consisting of several farms or villages, to central and more or less permanently inhabited sites. Here, ships were built and repaired, jewellery manufactured and trade activities carried out. Previously, only one Viking Age harbour was known on Gotland (Paviken).
Gotlandic ports and trading places during the period 600 -1100 AD
We have many indications that in the Viking Age there were more ports along the Swedish coast than we are currently aware of. The difficulty of identifying them makes our interpretation of Viking Age trade, its development and any changes that occurred over time potentially highly inaccurate. Current knowledge is based on the few known port facilities that were discovered more or less by accident or mentioned in written
sources. Presumably, the situation was similar around most of the Baltic Sea; during the period in question there was by all accounts a strong network of contacts between the countries around the Baltic Sea.
In 1987, a project was started with the aim of locating Viking Age /early mediaeval ports by means of a survey of the Gotland coastline. The project was called “Gotlandic harbours and trading centres between 600 and 1100 AD”. After some initial studies of old maps, archive material and literature, direct fieldwork was carried out between 1987 and 1995 as well as from 1998 to 2005.
The main hypothesis underpinning the project was that in the Viking Age Gotland had many more ports than are known to us today. It was assumed that Gotland had at least one harbour site in each coastal parish during the late Iron Age. The aim of the project was to highlight the location of ports and coastal trade centres, their distribution, numbers, structure, organisation and development over time during the period
from circa 600 to 1100 AD. For the purpose of the project, the term port was given the following definition: a place where boats land, regardless of the port’s scope, focus or construction or the size of ships.
Finding ports
The Gotland coast is about 800 km long in total. Field walking the entire length of the coast would be impractical, all the more so as due to natural conditions it is doubtful whether all stretches of the coast were used during the Viking Age It is probably more helpful to make assumptions regarding Viking Age ports on the basis of current
knowledge about ports, their general location and spatial organisation as well as certain features that are common to well-known Viking Age ports.
Birka, Hedeby and Wolin could be good starting points; all of them are located adjacent to creeks or bays or situated on main rivers. Graves are often found near these sites, and in some cases early mediaeval churches were built near the sea rather than in the centre of the parish. Conceptual results of the project during the first phase of the project, about sixty sites with indications of Viking activity were found along the coast .
Obviously, these places have different characteristics and range from small fishing villages to larger centres. However they are all possibly ports or trading centres.
Some places will not have had anything to do with Viking maritime facilities at all, while on the other hand a number of places were probably overlooked due to the method chosen. For example, it seems remarkable that no large port was found on the eastern coast; this is probably partly attributable to the difficulty in identifying sites. The east coast of Gotland is shallower than the western side of the island, making it much more difficult to find the exact location of any port. Excavations of some of the sites have confirmed Viking Age activities An overall evaluation of the project’s results suggests that a number of sites may have been major ports, and this assumption is backed up by the rich and varied find material from those sites. Among these ports/harbours is Paviken in
Västergarn.
Paviken – a port/trading centre
Nerman and Floderus were the first to raise, in a more serious
way, the issue of a Viking harbour at Paviken in 1934, but it
was Hans Hansson who in the 1960s began more direct field
studies. His aim was to trace port locations, not just at
Paviken but around the entire island. In his search for areas
with Viking activities, he relied heavily on phosphate
mapping as a method of finding harbour sites3. I In total,
Hansson took some 700 samples from 28 locations. In his
report he notes that he initially obtained low values, which
was due to having taken samples from low-lying areas.
Eventually he obtained relatively high values (50-100 degrees)
in nine locations.
One of the areas that Hansson came to be interested in was
Västergarn and Paviken where he obtained high values,especially in two areas, which
were named Paviken I and II. Hansson dug small trial trenches in both areas and
found cultural layers with an abundance of iron rivets etc. In particular, he noted a cultural layer at Paviken I (close to the small river Idån) that he found remarkable: “The site is located in wooded pastures in a narrow trench, samples containing remarkable numbers of rivets belonging to clinker built vessels were collected. The three datable objects (a silver arm ring, a bronze pendant, a Thor’s hammer) date from the later Viking period of 900-1000” (translation by the author).
Other findings suggest the existence of house foundations and workshops; Hansson notes that “in any case, these occupation layers from the Viking period belong to a ship building facility and a landing place at the natural harbour of Paviken”.
Regarding Paviken I, Hansson concluded that a closer examination of the area would be desirable.
Following on from Hansson, Per Lundström and Jan Peder Lamm arrived at
Paviken in the 1960s to carry out further investigation of Paviken I (so far, no
further investigation of Paviken II has taken place). Lundström and Lamm
performed condensed phosphate mapping in order to better define the settlement.
Between 1967-73, they came to
investigate an area of about 1,000 m2 of an
estimated total of 15,000 m2 of settlement. “In
this part, more than 10,000 objects were
registered. These finds illustrate what people were doing in this location a thousand years ago. Three main areas can be identified: ship building, trade and crafts (translated by the author).
Since these studies at Paviken were carried
out, more recent studies have dealt with
several other harbour sites on the Gotland
coast, giving a more complex picture of trade and manufacturing practices. The
investigations at Fröjel harbour site between
1987 and 1990 as well as from 1998 to 2005
have contributed largely to the totally new
picture we have today of activities at these
sites.
A significant conclusion was that manufacturing was of utmost importance and concerned not only the
domestic market, but clearly produced objects for a wider market. Items previously thought to have been
imported were in reality manufactured at Fröjel, e.g. rock crystal beads and lenses made from rock crystal.
There is clear evidence that smelting and the refining of silver took place at the site, including the manufacturing of arm rings, so common in Viking Age silver hoards from Gotland.
More recent research that has followed on from the earlier Paviken investigations suggests that there are many more harbour sites along the coast, forming a rather complicated network of ports. It is not yet fully understood when and how this network was established and how it changed over time.
Some of the sites were established early and disappeared towards the end of the Viking Age while others, such as Visby, have a continuous history from the Viking Age to the present. On the west coast of Gotland, south of Visby, there are several sites dating back to the same era. A fundamental question is how the three main sites, i.e. Visby, Paviken/Västergarn and Fröjel, balanced each other in terms of trade and manufacture
over time.
There is a real need to understand this process in more detail, as it has a bearing on the general settlement pattern, the distribution of silver hoards and, not least, the manufacturing of objects. Visby and Klintehamn are both busy commercial ports today, making further investigations difficult. Present day Fröjel is used mostly for agricultural purposes, and ploughing has turned over the cultural layer.
Paviken, on the other hand, has been untouched since the site was abandoned around 1000 AD. Earlier investigations at the site give a very good starting point for a new research project dealing with trade and manufacture in Viking Age Gotland
The Paviken Project 2013-2016
It is clear that the harbour and manufacturing site at Paviken was crucial in the older history of Västergarn. However, the full and exact nature of the role that Paviken
played in history remains unclear. Gotland Archaeological Field School will carry out complimentary investigations at Paviken during a three-year field project between 2013
and 2015, followed by results analysis and interpretation in 2016. The aim of
the project is to better understand the function and development of the site
and how it fitted into the surrounding landscape, not least the site’s connection to what later became Västergarn.
Arial photograph showing the northern part of the Paviken area, which
is bordered to the north by the small river Idån and to the west by Paviken bay.
Close to Idån is the main harbour and trading site, Paviken I, north and south of
which lie two small cemeteries and some single graves (marked as red dots and R).
Further south there are some unidentified house foundations (Husgrund), one of
which has been excavated earlier and dated to the middle of the Viking Age (10th
century). The black dots show stone piles or stone walls recorded on older maps of
the area.
It is necessary to understand the functional correlation between the different settlement areas as well as the different groups of graves on the eastern shore of Paviken, spread out over an area of approximately 400 x 1,000 metres. A further aim is to understand the
earliest as well as the latest occupation at the site and thus to understand the time frame and connection to archaeological evidence in Västergarn and the Västergarn waterway.
In addition to these issues of time and space, we also need to understand the role Paviken played in terms of manufacture and long distance trade. Points to be investigated Follow-up excavations from earlier investigations at Paviken I in order to fully examine the constructions, i.e. postholes, hearths etc., to get a better understanding of the earliest phase of the site in relation to the settlement structure.
• Follow-up excavations of a house foundation further south (close to another building dating from the Viking Age that was excavated in 1990). There are indications of other anomalies in the landscape, suggesting further possible structures that require investigation as far as functionality, dating, andpossible connections with Paviken I are concerned.
• Paviken II has cultural layers from which Hansson recovered bones and rivets; this area needs followup investigations to confirm the role and dating of activities and any connection to Paviken I.
• New grave sites that have been located in the surrounding landscape need to be investigated to
compare the dating with known graves at the site and to obtain a better understanding of historical and
spatial context.
Paviken Viking Age settlement and the surrounding landscape
In addition to the above-mentioned four points, some areas in the landscape surrounding Paviken should be investigated in order to get a clearer picture of Paviken in a wider context. Just northwest of Paviken Viking settlement, there is a small cemetery consisting of a few graves that form part of a larger cemetery that has been destroyed over time by ploughing. Using metal detectors across the fields should help determine the extent of the cemetery and also if there was any kind of settlement directly connected with the cemetery. It is also important to gain a better understanding of activities along the banks of the Västergarn river, which was the link between Paviken bay and the open sea. Earlier excavations here have yielded evidence of Viking Age jetties along the western bank of the river. There are some indications of activities along the eastern bank of the river, but to date these have not been investigated.
As Paviken was an important trading and manufacturing site, there might still be wooden constructions or Viking ship remains in the waters of the bay. No investigations have been carried out to pursue this further, although local legend claims that remains of ships have been found in the bay. Ground penetration radar or similar equipment could be used to detect any anomalies under water.
Compiling earlier excavation reports and materials – an important mission
A very important step linked to the new Paviken harbour site research project is the analysis and incorporation of earlier excavations at the site of Paviken I. This will be done in collaboration with students and lecturers from Uppsala University and participants from the field courses.
The first year of field research will mainly be devoted to complementing earlier excavations at the site and
investigating the newly discovered graves north of Paviken I.
After each field season and as part of the field course, a basic excavation report will be compiled and linked, as far as possible, to earlier excavation results.
As already stated, the project will be running over three excavation seasons; the fourth year will be devoted to analysis and interpretation of the results that will be combined into a monograph, to be published the following year.
t stopped snowing. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds. Pale rays of light streamed through the forest and hit the snow-covered pre-Viking burial mounds of Trullhalsar gravefield; an engulfing mist began to rise. The air was heavy with the spirits of old warriors.
It seemed a magical place, the perfect setting for a Wagnerian opera, and I half expected the Valkyries to come riding out of the mist.
Trullhalsar is one of many archeological sites on Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea. This Swedish island is an important historic area-but it is also one of the country`s most popular holiday resorts.
Film director Ingmar Bergman vacationed here. So did the late Prime Minister Olof Palme. Recently, the dramatic landscape of Faro, just north of Gotland, was the setting for the late Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky`s film, ”The Sacrifice.”
Most visitors come by car ferry to Visby, Gotland`s provincial capital, on the west coast. This beautiful walled city is a mixture of medieval ramparts and towers, skeleton-like ruins of once great cathedrals, and red-roofed cottages lining cobblestone streets. The climate is mild compared with the rest of Sweden, so roses bloom in December in the gardens of Visby`s picturesque homes. ”The city of ruins and roses” is what Swedes call Visby. Off-season, this town of 20,000 is a sleeping beauty. Having arrived at dawn one day in April while it was still slumbering, my husband and I decided to have coffee in a shop at the harbor while waiting for the town to wake.
Other early risers crowded the casual coffee shop. A blond waitress, wearing a red polka-dot apron, was ladling hearty portions of oatmeal porridge as dock workers waited in line. Two policemen sat talking, bent over steaming coffee, their radios buzzing on the table. A loudspeaker above our heads was bellowing out the morning news. As a Stockholmer, I had a hard time following the announcer`s melodious Gotland accent.
The Gotland dialect of Swedish is the remnant of a once unique language. Even before Roman times, Gotland, strategically located in the middle of the Baltic, was an important trade center. Medieval Gotland merchants developed and controlled the trade routes between Russia and Europe. In the 12th Century, with the arrival of German merchants, Visby became one of the most important trade centers in northern Europe.
Reminiscent of medieval German cities, Visby has a 13th Century wall more than two miles long, one of the longest and best preserved in Europe. From its towers in the year 1361, residents watched the troops of Danish King Valdemar Atterdag defeat thousands of armed peasants and kill defenseless children.
That famous battle marked the beginning of decline for Visby and the prosperous republic of Gotland. Frequent attacks by pirates and foreign powers-and the eventual changing of trade routes-further diminished Visby`s power, and in 1645, Gotland became a Swedish province.
Today, Gotland is subject to a new, more peaceful invasion. Only six hours from Stockholm by boat, the island hosts more than 200,000 visitors every year, quadrupling its population. Visitors are attracted by Sweden`s sunniest weather, sandy beaches and a unique landscape.
Signe Pettersson resides in the modern part of Visby outside the wall. She rents visitors rooms in her apartment. Showing us a bedroom with flowery wallpaper and lace curtains, Mrs. Pettersson`s daughter explained that her mother was in Stockholm, visiting her son.
Furnished with an antique kitchen settee, crochet curtains and well-tended geraniums, the large kitchen reminded me of a grandmother`s kitchen.
Sculpture-like graves
Visby is not the only historic attraction. Gotland has been inhabited for more than 7,000 years and as a result it is Sweden`s richest province when it comes to archeological findings. The island`s 1,200 square miles are dotted with Viking tombs, rune stones and foundations of Viking settlements. More than 200 Bronze Age cairns have been found. These stone formations, up to 90 feet long, are called ”boat graves” for their ship-like shape.
There are no fewer than 92 medieval churches on the island. Built after Gotland was christened in the 11th Century, they are mostly in Gothic style.
We drove east from Visby, passing soft fields, fir forests and red barns. At Ekeby, a little village in the interior, we decided to look more closely at the church. The door was locked. The only sign of life around came from a gas station, where a man was bending over the hood of a 1960s Volvo model PV. When asked how we could get inside the church, he looked up indifferently and pointed an oily index finger toward a white house across the field. ”That`s the vicarage,” he said. ”They`ll give you the key.”
The vicar`s wife gave me a rusty iron key, as big as my arm. Handing me a flashlight, she said: ”You will need this to find the light switch. It`s in a cabinet to your left as you enter. And don`t forget to switch it off when you leave.”
Frescos on walls
Inside, the walls were covered with frescos of biblical motifs. Behind the altar, the entire wall was painted to resemble a theater curtain. A beautifully carved and painted pulpit stood in the center. Spying a narrow, winding stone staircase, we decided to climb the bell tower. The last portion was a dizzying climb on creaking wooden stairs which lacked a railing and faced an open pit.
We reached the rotunda, where two large cast iron bells hung in the center. A flock of pigeons, disturbed in their sleep, flapped their wings and disappeared through one of the small windows. Brown fields, plowed and awaiting spring sowing, spread in all directions. From my vantage point, I counted nine church towers nearby.
Seven churches later, after stopping several times to take photographs, we arrived in Roma, a village in the island`s center. The church was impressive, built on the foundations of an older church. Following the learned routine, I went to the vicarage to ask for the key. This time the vicar himself answered the door. I was startled by his appearance. The tall, blond, boyish-looking man was dressed in a long black gown and a starched white collar.
Noticing my surprise at his formal attire, he smiled and explained he had just returned from a funeral service. As he strode across the cemetery toward the church, coat-tails flapping in the wind, the young man looked like a 19th Century Lutheran vicar.
Sound of Bach
The sunlight poured through the stained glass rose windows, creating patterns on the nave`s floor. Notes of Bach`s St. Matthew Passion floated in the air. The organist was practicing for an Easter concert. The vicar, new to the parish, began to explain details of his church. He also told how Sunday services alternate between different churches since each parish is too small to fill their church.
By the wooden bell tower next to Roma church, an old woman was planting flowers on a grave. Looking up, she smiled and said: ”Spring came early this year. Let`s see if these flowers will survive.”
Looking at our cameras, she said: ”You are from Stockholm.”
I explained that though I was a Stockholmer, my husband and I had just arrived from Chicago. Surprised and pleased that we had come so far to visit her island, she began telling us about the village.
We talked about Gotland`s economic dependence on agriculture. Lacking necessary resources to mechanize for increased productivity, many small-scale farms have closed, diminishing job opportunities. Many, including her children, have moved away from the island.
We drove south, past meadows where the tiny but sturdy indigenous ponys, Russ, roamed. The Scandinavian dusk, which would last another hour, turned the sky crimson. In this glowing light, the windmills and the typical cottages with pitched, thatched roofs took on magical forms.
We arrived at Bjorklunda pension tired and hungry. The innkeeper told us that though business was slow at present, the pension was fully booked throughout the summer. After settling in a comfortable two-room cottage, we walked the 100 yards to the main building for dinner. Other guests were helping themselves to a generous salad bar. We ordered lamb stew, a local specialty, and beer.
The morning was cool and brisk, the air pristine and the horizon clearly visible. It was a day for using the bicycles we had brought with us. The flat landscape and a coastline with unspoiled beaches has made Gotland immensly popular with cyclists. There are numerous bicycle tracks and roads, all marked on cycling maps, and many shops on the island rent and service bicycles.
Sailboats are rigged
We stopped in Ljugarn, a town on the east coast, to buy provisions. Ljugarn harbor was once an important fishing center. Now it is quiet because big trawlers have gone elsewhere. But every spring, the smell of turpentine and the sound of hammers banging come from the red boat houses as sailboats are rigged for the season.
Bundles of the morning paper had just been delivered to the kiosk on the main square. Old men lined up, discussing the day`s headlines. A woman came out of the store, struggling with shopping bags and two young children. Schoolboys zigzagged on skateboards, well aware they were being watched by two giggling girls, sitting on a bench. A fisherman climbed off his bicycle to mail a letter. He paused in front of the bulletin board, filled with church notices, the schedule for the local soccer team and sale signs for boat engines and cars.
After buying crisp bread, ham and the famous sweet and spicy Gotland mustard, we headed for the beach.
North of Ljugarn, the landscape changed dramatically. Sandy dunes and trees, twisted and tormented by the wind, led to the sea. Fantastic sculptured rock formations, resembling petrified giants, were scattered along the shore. The limestone columns, called raukar, are carved by the sea, and are one of Gotland`s most famous geological wonders.
Beyond the rauk field was the cold, blue Baltic, where the Vikings once took off on arduous trade routes. Fearing plundering by their enemies, they often buried their treasures, sometimes so cleverly they never found them. To this day, the plows of Gotland farmers unearth coins from Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire. Some discoveries are on display at the Fornsal Museum in Visby.
In the summer, Visby hosts historic plays, music festivals and Viking sports tournaments. The romantic streets, so quiet and void in winter, are now packed with tourists. Artists and ceramists sell their wares and take new orders to keep them busy through the winter. Restaurants, cafes and discotheques open their doors. Sailboats line up in the marina. The ferry arrives, spewing its contents of cyclists and families in Volvos, heading for cottages or campsites by the sea. By midsummer, this sleeping beauty is awake, regaining some of the vitality of its heyday seven centuries ago. –
Preserving Our Past, Recording Our Present, Informing Our Future
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