Database complete

Our blog has been silent since May. This is because we have been working very hard to complete the assemblage database. We have now succeeded. All the material excavated by Mats P. Malmer has now been registered, partially photographed and placed (digitally and physically) in the museum storerooms. The complete assemblage is available online via the website of the Swedish History Museum under accession number 34984: http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/resultat_foremal.asp?invnr=34984.

The assemblage contains 9476 posts, where  one post can consist of a small or large number of artifacts, for example 10 pottery sherds or 157 flint flakes. It also consists of 1674 osteological posts. About 25% (2208 objects) of the objects have a photograph in the databse.

A very large percentage of the archaeological objects can be described as mass material. For example nearly 3000 posts consist of unworked stone. Of this stone 548 posts consist of stone that has been used to construct  various features such as hearths or post supports. The rest of the unworked stone is of unknown function but it has certainly been transported to Dagsmosse by people. A large number of posts (1485) consists of various organic samples – botanical samples, radiocarbon samples, wood samples and various kinds of soil samples.

Together with the osteological assemblages, this mass material is packed in plastic bags stored in cardboard boxes on pallets in the off-site storerooms of the museum. The rest of the material is housed in wooden trays in our central storeroom.

In 2018 work on this project will continue.  The next task is the creation of a digital research platform where archaeological documentation from the excavations conducted by Mats P. Malmer will be made accessible. This platform is to be completed probably during the course of next year but by the end of the year 2019 at the latest.