It was during excavations at Dikartorp outside Kil in the summer of 2022 that the revolutionary findings were made.
– We found pottery that we suspected was Stone Age pottery, says Värmland Museum archaeologist Johan Richardsson.
The analysis is complete
But it is only now, just over two years later, that the analysis of the findings is complete.
– It showed that the finds were significantly older than we thought, nearly 6,000 years old and come from the so-called funnel cup culture.
Hear Johan Richardsson tell more in the video
First farmers
The funnel-beaker culture is considered to be the culture that brought the art of tilling the soil to Scandinavia, and the finds in Dikartorp are contemporary with the arrival of the first farmers.
– We have rather poor knowledge of when the Värmlanders started to become farmers. With these findings, we can begin to unravel it as well as what animals were there and what plants were grown. This ceramic material gives us more knowledge in the field, says Johan Richardson.
Produced surplus
The ability to create ceramic vessels played a decisive role in the emergence of agricultural society.
– The ceramics were important to be able to produce a surplus, you needed something to store the surplus in. But ceramic vessels were also used to cook in, explains Johan Richardson.