Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2004, Page 193

NÁLABINDING í FØROYUM?
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important for the inhabitants of the Faroes
in the pre-industrial period (Olsen and
Svanberg, 1998). Our viewpoint is that the
human being has always been able to man-
age resources for economic purposes, and
has constantly been adapting to changes
wrought by external conditions (Svanberg
2001a; b). We shall demonstrate the viabil-
ity of this idea through examining the lo-
cal textile techniques, which have changed
during the centuries.
Thanks to archaeological discoveries of
various implements, such as spindle-whorls
and warp weights, we know that spinning
and weaving on warp-weighted looms
were techniques during the Viking age of
the Faroe Islands. Findings from the Viking
site of Kvívík for instance support this con-
clusion (Dahl, 1951). Spindle-whorls made
of e.g. lead, steatite and a local red tuff have
also been unearthed at a medieval site at
Leirvík (Arge, 1997: 32). But it is beyond
our power to fully ascertain how the textile
techniques were used in the Faroes during
the Viking and Middle Ages. Few textile
fragments have been found which could be
analysed (Diklev, 1980: 24; Arge and Øster-
gaard, 2002). Knitting was probably not in-
troduced to the islands until the early 16th
century. Sverri Dahl mentions, however, in
his report on the findings from the excava-
tion at Ihe Viking settlement in Kvívík, two
needles of wood, which attract our interest
(Dahl, 1951: 87). There are unfortunately
no further descriptions and details available
on the needles, but in July 1966, another
ten wooden needles were found in the site
‘A Grundini’ al Tjørnuvfk (Fmnr 4601), see
fig. 1.
Although forests have been absent for
as long as human beings existed on the
islands, the inhabitants have always man-
aged to construct buildings and manufac-
ture tools and domestic utensils by relying
on wood brought from abroad or driftwood,
cast ashore by the ocean cuirents (Jóhansen,
1985; Malmros, 1994; Arge, 1997: 35;
Svanberg, 1998a: 86).
Regarding the needles from Kvívík, Dahl
did not provide any interpretation of their
possible use, and other scholars have yet to
examine them more closely. Dahl only re-
ports that similar needles are known from
Norse settlements in Greenland. No writ-
ten analyses of the needles from Tjørnuvík
have so far been published.
Needles in Archaeological Records
Occurrence of needles is known from exca-
vations of Viking and medieval settlements
and graves in other Nordic countries. Sew-
ing needles made of iron or bronze are usu-
ally between 2 and 6.5 centimetres, but it
is difficult to decide the difference between
sewing needles and pieces of jewellery.
Other materials used for needles are bone,
elk antler and wood (Slomann, 1967; Nor-
berg, 1967; Westman, 1986: 55; Anders-
son, 2003: 83-87, 127-130). A report from
an excavation in central Lund in Sweden,
with findings from around year 1000, dis-
cusses various kinds of needles. Around
thirty needles were then discovered in the
soil. Most of them were made of bone. The
authors state, that it is hardly possible to
determine the use of the needles, but they
suggest three conceivable fields of applica-
tions. A large kind of needle with widening