Soapstone extraction Birgitta Berglund 1 1 Possibilities for a society analysis by means of soapstone – examples from Helgeland, Northern Norway Birgitta Berglund Abstract The coast of Helgeland has soapstone quarries from the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, irst and foremost on the islands at the mouth of the Vefsnjorden. Building stone for the medieval churches in the area, pots and other objects like sinkers, reels and ish-oil lamps have been extracted here. In the area, there are major farms with roots back to the Early and Late Iron Ages as well as farms that the King and his church granted status to in the Middle Ages to gain control over the area. Provenance studies of soapstone will provide an opportunity to ind out who was in control of the soapstone quarries, and thus contribute to a society analysis on an overall level. Analysis of the soapstone quarries as mini- societies will provide more detailed information on how the quarries were run and thereby also a connection to those holding superior power in the society. Fig. 1. Tjøtta – an old centre of power with roots back to the Early IronAge and where, according to Snorre Sturlason’s Kings’ Sagas, the Viking chief Hårek stayed. Excavations in the farm mound show that the courtyard at the end of the Viking Age and the Middle Ages was lying close to the church. The water colour shows the courtyard the way it looked in the heydays of the estate, when the Brodtkorp family were the owners there. The church in the photograph burned down in 1843. Water colour by H.J.F. Berg in the period 1830-1835. Photo: P.E. Fredriksen, NTNU University Museum