Rituelle deponeringer i middelalder Norge - En undersøkelse av blyamuletters kontekst og inskripsjon

Abstract

From the mid 1800’s, lead amulets with runic inscriptions have been showing up in the archaeological material in Norway, somewhat sporadically. Since then, the interest for these artefacts has been minimal, at least from an archaeological perspective. Most of the research has been done philologically, and there is only a handful that examines the archaeological context. In the last decade, these objects seem to be showing up in larger amounts than ever before. This at least, seems to be the case in Denmark, where the numbers have changed drastically. It is possible to see these tendencies in Norway as well, and this is due to a rise in popularity of metal detectors among the general population. The aim of this thesis is to examine to what degree the amulets have been intentionally deposited in their context, and connect them to their inscriptions. What can these factors tell us about the function of the amulets?