Grieg’s Excavations During the Second World War

Sigurd Grieg’s archaeological excavations of King Rakni’s Mound were carried out in 1939 and 1940. During the German occupation, Rakni’s Mound became an important symbol for Norwegians.

June 22nd, 1939, Sigurd Grieg started the second attempt at solving the mystery of Rakni’s Mound. The public interest was enormous, and seats were built around the excavation site in order to allow spectators to follow the progress of the work.

Picture from Grieg’s excavation of Rakni’s Mound 1939 - 40. © Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.

The work was thoroughly logged and documented by Sigurd Grieg, and it is exciting to read his diary. The excavations were carried out manually, using spades and wheelbarrows. In total, more than 150 000 wheelbarrow loads of soil had to be transported off the grounds. On August 11th 1939, the first traces of Anders Lorang’s excavations from 1869-70 were found. The timber construction supporting the vertical shaft was revealed, and, in addition, they found traces of the memorial pavilion Wilhelmsminde.

Photography of the uppermost layers of timber which was revealed during the 1939 excavation. © Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.

After eight strenuous weeks, the uppermost timber-layer, of three in total, was cleaned out. The timber-layer consisted of 25. 000 logs of timber. Archaeologists took samples of moss, seeds and beetles. A selection of wood was removed and treated with creosote and linseed oil, in an attempt to date the material by using dendrochronological methods (growth ring dating).

Outline of Grieg’s excavations from 1939-40. Click for larger version. © Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.

The East Front, the West Front and the War
Two shafts, one on each side of the mound, were dug, in order to reach its middle. In accordance with the prevailing world situation, the two shafts were called “the East Front” and “the West Front”.
The workers were almost at the centre of the mound around mid October, but they had to stop. The end of the season approached and the excavation area was covered over for the winter. In the meantime, the war reached Norway.

Anton Wilhelm Brøgger, head of the Museum of National Antiquities, made an extraordinary effort to preserve the Norwegian cultural treasures, and to prevent the Germans from getting hold of them. The SS-organisation "Ahnenerbe" hunted for the origin of the Arian. In Norway, they were therefore particularly interested in the Åker find and the Snartemo sword, which, amongst other things, were decorated with swastikas (“sun crosses”). These treasures were, in total secrecy, transported to a solidly built stone church in Valdres, and hidden there until the war ended.

Rakni’s Mound was also of great interest to the Germans. Officers who were connected to “Ahnenerbe”, among them, Professor of Archaeology Herbert Jahnkun, visited the Collection of National Antiquities in Oslo. They wanted to finance the excavation which Grieg had planned for 1940. Brøgger sensed problems. If the Germans financed the excavation, they might claim any finds which were made. Brøgger acted quickly: He got the necessary funds from Norwegians, and made it into a “Norwegian” project. Thereby, Rakni’s Mound continued to be a symbol of independence and pride in a difficult time. Of course, this was not overlooked by the Germans. German authorities in Oslo banned Brøgger from speaking in public. Thanks to Brøggers determination and even more his courage, the excavations of Rakni’s Mound could start afresh in May 1940 with a Norwegian administration. The workforce consisted of unemployed youths. The work was terminated in October 1940.

The Finds from the 1939-40 Excavations
Sigurd Grieg also faced disappointment. He had to admit that there was no large king’s grave in Rakni’s Mound, and that there were very few finds of artefacts. Some bone remains were found and later analysed. The excavation did, however, generate a lot of interesting information about how the grave memorial was built. The excavations revealed that the mound was situated on top of ground which had been cultivated. They found crossing ard traces going stretching from side to side of the sandy subsoil. Today, it is difficult to know whether these are traces of an old field, or ritual ploughing carried out prior to the building. The excavation also found round pits under the mound. They have most probably been used as cooking pits. Many archaeologists are of the opinion that cooking pits have played a role in rituals and used for cooking during large-scale religious and social events.

Reconstruction
The work of reconstructing Rakni’s Mound was started after the war, more precisely, in 1946. Rakni’s Mound’s position as a national symbol was again emphasised. Traitors to the Norwegian cause had to perform the physical work, strictly supervised by guards. A. W. Brøgger had made a vow to the locals that Rakni’s Mound would be reconstructed they way it had been when the excavations were terminated. This work proved to be complicated. The work continued until the excavation permit ran out in 1948. At that point, the mound was at least four meters lower than it had been. It took 23 years of local protests before Rakni’s Mound was restored in accordance with its original height and shape.