A Tentative List Submission

WORLD HERITAGE LIST:
A TENTATIVE LIST SUBMISSION
VÁRJJAT SIIDA
12 000 YEARS OF INDIGENOUS ARCTIC HERITAGE
STATE PARTY: Norway
DATE OF SUBMISSION:
SUBMISSION PREPARED BY:
Name:
The Sámi Parliament in Norway
E-mail:
[email protected]
Address: N-9730 Kárášjohka/Karasjok
Fax:
(+47) 784 74 090
Telephone: (+47) 784 74 000
NAME OF PROPERTY:
VÁRJJAT SIIDA: 12 000 YEARS OF INDIGENOUS ARCTIC HERITAGE
STATE, PROVINCE OR REGION:
Norway, Finnmark
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE, OR UTM COORDINATES
The serial nomination includes four sites on the Varanger Peninsula and the land bridge connecting
the peninsula to the mainland, with no 1, Ceavccageađgi/Mortensnes, as the core site. The sites
identified as having universal value are:
1. Ceavccageađgi/Mortensnes (Sámi/Norwegian name translated: Fish Oil Stone/Morten’s
Headland): A settlement site that has been continuously occupied for 12 000 years and an adjoining
burial place used from 1000 BC to 1600 AD. Located in Unjárgga gielda/Nesseby municipality,
70°7’40’’N/29°1’24’’E.
2. Noidiidčearru/Kjøpmannskjølen (The Shamans´ Rock Field/the Merchant´s Ridge): A wild reindeer
hunting site, including two interconnected corrals with several drive lines, meat caches and bow hunt
hides. Located in Båtsfjord municipality, 70°24’28’’N/30°0’25’’E.
3. Gollevárre (The Gold Mountain): Pitfall system for wild reindeer hunting and autumn hunt
settlement site. Located in Deanu gielda/Tana municipality, 70°7’19’’N/28° 14’46’’E.
4. Ruovdenjunlovta/Gropbakkengen (The Iron Point Cove/The Pit Hill Field): Site of 89 pit houses
from 4500 B.C. Located in Unjárgga gielda/Nesseby municipality, 70°9’33’’N/ 28°34’49’’E.
Cultural heritage in Varanger is rich and deep. The four sites of this serial nomination have been
selected because they stand out with respect to their uniqueness in terms of density of monuments,
their state of preservation and visibility, their variation and chronological depth, while at the same
time being representative of the Varanger heritage as a whole. Each of them exhibits spectacular
examples of prehistoric and Sámi habitation, hunting and religion. All the sites lie within the borders
of Várjjat Siida, the old territorial unit of the Varanger Sámi. The main component of Sámi social
organisation was − and to some extent still remains − the siida. The term denotes the social
organisation of one or more family units and the territory which these collectively use. Economic
activities including hunting, fishing, whaling and berry picking were organised at the siida level.
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Above: Varanger Peninsula with the four interrelated sites. Below: location in Eurasia.
Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/commonwealth.html?p=print
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DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION
The Varanger Peninsula is delimited by the Varanger fjord to the south, the Tana fjord and river to
the west and the Barents Sea to the north and east. It is situated far north of the Arctic Circle, and
the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region, runs south of the peninsula. It
mainly consists of upland plateaus, and large parts of the higher areas are dominated by block fields
that lack vegetation. Close to the shore, the terrain is characterised by sediments and post Ice Age
beach line formations. The climatic conditions, with low temperatures and a limited amount of
precipitation, result in the area’s sparse accumulation of plant debris and limited amount of
mountain birch woodlands.
The slow degradation rate and thin layer of soil on the Varanger Peninsula have ensured that the
minor alterations of the ground surface that took place during prehistoric periods are still visible
today. These remnants include structures such as fireplaces, tent rings, house grounds, and bow
rests, as well as burials and sacrificial sites. Both religious and technical manifestations in the
landscape made active use of structures shaped by nature, thereby merging the cultural and the
natural. Furthermore, the dry Arctic climate also results in good preservation of organic materials,
and the oldest kitchen middens registered in the area are dated back to around 7500 BP.
Source: Norwegian Polar Institute. The red arrow
indicates the Varanger Peninsula.
.
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Despite its Arctic location, the Varanger area saw the end of the last Ice Age long before most parts
of Scandinavia. The melting of the ice worked on the surface of the land and also removed an
enormous weight from it. This caused the process of land up-lift that endured throughout the
postglacial period and which gave shape to the present terraced coastal landscape characterised by
fossil beaches at different elevations.
The last Ice Age ended approximately 10 000 years ago after lasting for about 60 000 years. The
Fennoscandian ice sheet retreated early from the Varanger area, and 12 000 years ago the entire
Varanger Peninsula was deglaciated. The red arrow indicates the peninsula.
Ever since the first hunters and fishers arrived on this coast more than 12 000 years ago, these
terraces have attracted human settlement. Soon people also began hunting and gathering in the
interior, thus starting to use the entire territory of what later became the Varjjat siida. This barren
land has preserved the traces of these pioneers as well as those of later hunters and herders more
persistently and faithfully than elsewhere, leaving us with an exceptional Arctic heritage of sites and
monuments for which this submission seeks to ensure the rightful universal status.
Fossil beach at Ceavccageađgi. Along the beach ridge are house grounds dated to 4600 BC. Sacred
mountain in the background. Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
.
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A unique feature of Várjjat Siida is the way natural processes and human activities are interwoven
and made conspicuously manifest in the landscape, providing an exemplary showcase of the
dynamics of this crucial interaction in the High North. Moreover, being a land that holds a deep
memory, it gives even the most distant past a remarkable presence and thereby presents an
unrivalled display of 12 000 years of indigenous Arctic heritage.
Contrary to what one may think in view of latitude and climate, Varanger is an area of natural
abundance. It is a contact zone for natural environments and resource groups that elsewhere are
found at a great distance from each other, making a variety of resources available within a limited
area. The remarkable sustainability of the hunting and fishing culture and the rich cultural heritage it
left behind must partly be attributed to these natural circumstances. The Varanger fjord is historically
Norway´s richest in fish and sea mammals. Due to the Gulf Stream, it is ice free during the winter. It
is the only Norwegian fjord opening to the east, to the rich spawning grounds of the Barents Sea. It is
visited by migratory species and constitutes a spawning ground for certain species such as migratory
cod. The Varanger region is also one of the Arctic areas richest in birdlife. It is directly in the path of
birds migrating from east to west, and the advantageous biotopes combined with the rich resources
of the adjacent ocean attract a myriad of species and great numbers of birds.
As for terrestrial resources, the Varanger Peninsula is an ideal grazing land for reindeer. It is a
meeting place for plant species from the High Arctic and Eastern Siberia as well as more southerly
species. In addition to the rich pastures of grasses and herbs, the snow patches, naked rock, block
fields and windy shores offer the reindeer refuge from heat and troublesome insects.
Furthermore, before national borders divided the land there were no barriers to the land of today´s
Russia and Finland. This made rich winter grazing lands accessible for the reindeer herds and opened
for cultural and economic exchange to the south and east.
Reindeer grazing close to Noidiidčearru. Photo: The Sámi Parliament in Norway.
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This heritage is an important indigenous heritage to which the native Sámi population is closely
connected, both directly and as the likely descendants of the earliest hunters and fishers. Moreover,
as archaeological studies have revealed, Varanger holds a unique position in the cultural history of
the Sámi. Socio-cultural processes and developments that took place here appear to have been
decisive for the formation of a number of Sámi cultural features that later were more widely adopted
and thus became defining for Sámi culture and ethnicity at large. This includes religious and ritual
manifestations such as burial customs and technology, including the use of large corrals for wild
reindeer hunting. This method later became indispensable also to Sámi reindeer herders and may
even have played a role in the transition from hunting to herding.
Fishing boats in Unjarga/Nesseby harbour.
Photo: Nesseby kommune.
.
The Sámi culture is very much alive in
the area today, especially in the
Unjarga-Nesseby municipality where
the majority of the population speak
Sámi as first language. After wild
reindeer roamed the area for
thousands of years, the Varanger herd
of domesticated reindeer have
continued to graze here since the 1617th century. Furthermore, the Sámi
coastal fishery has been upheld, and
together with small-scale farming,
mostly sheep, it is an important
element in the local economy. Small
game hunting, fishing in rivers and
lakes as well as gathering berries and
firewood have never ceased to be valuable for the
household economy and are highly treasured activities
for the local population.
Separating the Varanger herd. Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
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THE SITES
The main site to which the others relate is Ceavccageađgi. Hunting at Noidiidčearru and Gollevárre
was closely linked to the habitation and burial sites along the coast, with Ceavccageađgi at the core.
Finds from settlements as well as from graves and sacrificial sites confirm that the trapping systems
for wild reindeer were very important for the people living at Ceavccageađgi, both in terms of
subsistence and religious activities. Ruovdenjunlovta is an outstanding single period site and belongs
to the long sequence at Ceavccageađgi which has the largest number of Stone Age houses and the
earliest burials known from the region. The site also manifests how fishing and the hunting of sea
mammals have been crucial for habitation and seasonal patterns.
Together, the sites are excellent examples of the last surviving hunting culture of the European
mainland, and thus also of a deep tradition that elsewhere on this continent had been replaced by
farming and urbanism. The sites, however, also document the specificities of local cultural dynamics,
such as the transition to reindeer herding and the trajectories of coastal Sámi adaptation, mixing
fishing, hunting, small scale farming that earlier included some reindeer for transportation and other
needs, and cooperation with the reindeer herders.
1. Ceavccageađgi
Ceavccageađgi is situated on a wide headland on the Northern side of the Varanger fjord. The site is
delimited by the sea to the south and two sacred mountains to the north.
Ceavccageađgi, the Sámi place name of the area, is also the name of a sacrificial stone surrounded by
13 concentric stone rings. Written sources reveal that cod liver oil was still being offered in sacrifice
to the stone in the 19th century. Between the stone rings, offerings of reindeer horns and a variety of
animal bones have been identified.
Ceavccageađgi, the Fish Oil Stone, surrounded by 13 concentric stone rings. Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
Other elements tied to religious practices at Ceavccageađgi are two sacrificial stone rings and a
sacred stone in the shape of a bear. Ceavccageađgi further encloses an exceptionally large preChristian Sámi burial ground with between close to 400 identified graves. It was in use for about
2 500 years, which represents the extraordinary continuity of a single burial practice at one place.
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Sacrificial stone ring in front of the Bear Stone, and the stone seen from a different angle. Photos:
Varanger Sámi Museum.
The burials and sacrificial stone rings are situated in parts of the site that are dominated by cliffs,
stone boulders, screes and rock fields. Many of the graves, especially in the parts that are easily
accessible, have been opened, largely as a result of the hunt for Sámi skulls in the era of race
research.
Left: Burial chamber under stone slab. Right: Opened grave with walls of standing and laid stones. Photo: The Sámi
Parliament in Norway/Varanger Sámi Museum.
Varanger Sámi Museum.
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Human bones from this burial place were shipped to the University of Oslo and to other European
and American scientific institutions. However, many of the graves, especially in the eastern part of
the burial field, are intact, and many are not yet identified. The burial practice involved shrouds of
birch bark and gifts in the form of animal bones, mostly of reindeer, as well as tools and ornaments.
In Sámi areas outside Varanger this practice commenced around 1000 AD.
Reindeer skulls and bones are sometimes found in graves with no trace of a human burial, reflecting
the symmetry between animals and humans in the animistic Sámi religion.
A group of 37 pit houses from the early part of the Younger Stone Age, 4000 BC. Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
As for traces of habitation, including tent rings, house pits, kitchen mittens and accumulated
habitation deposits, the past is present in remarkable abundance at Ceavccageađgi and shows an
unbroken line from the Mesolithic to modern times. About 300 houses have been identified. They
are located at different levels above the sea, the older above the more recent in line with the raising
of the land since the last glaciation.
The size and form of the
houses vary through time.
From the Mesolithic Age
the remains of tents and
small turf huts with a
diameter of from 3 to 4
meters are recorded.
From the end of the Late
Stone Age and the
beginning of the Early
Metal Age (around 2000 –
1000 BC) the floor area of
semi- subterranean
houses was up to 50 m2.
The variation between
A group of 90 pit houses from the Early Metal Age, 1000 BC.
Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
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simple tent rings and solidly constructed turf huts probably reflects variations in mobility.
The youngest settlement traces, which lie close to the shore of today, date to the 18th and 19th
century. They represent the coastal Sámi settlement here and are the remains of turf houses in
traditional Sámi style, with both circular and rectangular floor plans. The rectangular house grounds,
which are the most recent, are the remains of turf houses that served as a common home for both
humans and animals.
The Ceavccageađgi site is a central reference area for research on Sámi prehistory and early history
as well as on Sámi religion. It has also provided us with a rich immaterial heritage in the form of
myths, tales, joiks (traditional Sámi songs) and place names.
More information of the Ceavccageađgi site can be found at http://www.luondu.no/.
Lithograph of turf house at Ceavccageađgi. After Friis 1971.
2. Noidiidčearru
Grazing reindeer always seek fresh pastures. Thus during the summer they seek higher elevations
where herbs and grass sprout late. Here, they gather in big herds before the bulls spread them
during the mating season.
In the interior of the Varanger peninsula there are several large stone built trapping corrals with long
stone fences or drive lanes, extending for several kilometres, to guide the reindeer to a slaughtering
site. The most magnificent and extensive of these trapping systems is located at Noidiidčearru.
Noiddiidčearru means the Shamans´ Block Field. It is a low, barren mountain ridge, located within the
borders of the Varanger Peninsula National Park.
The corrals and drive lanes are low, but were probably made higher by using birch branches.
Varanger is the only place in the world where trapping fences for reindeer or caribou are seen in
combination with circular enclosures.The largest systems may have been able to trap 200-300
animals at one time. They were a forerunner of the wooden fences and corrals used within reindeer
husbandry and are technologically related to these.
On Noidiidčearru there are two corrals, one with a diameter of up to 160 metres, with several long
fences leading to the openings. One of the drive lines connects the two corrals.
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Corral with drive lines at Noidiidčearru.
Above: Corral with drive lines at Noidiidčearru. Below: Map of the trapping system. Bow hides and meat
caches are indicated by black and lilac dots. Photo and map: The Sámi Parliament in Norway.
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In the area there are also numerous bow-hides and meat caches. The find of an arrowhead dates
one such structure to the Early Stone Age indicating that the fences and other structures may have
been in use for a very long time. Written sources reveal that the fences for trapping wild reindeer
were still in use in the 16th century.
Left: Bow hide at Noidiidčearru. The Barents Sea can be seen 15 km to the north. Right: Drive line.
Photo: he Sámi Parliament in Norway.
3. Gollevárri
Somewhat simplified, one can say that fences were used for trapping reindeer in the mountains,
while pitfall systems were used in lower areas and valleys. In Varanger, 25 pitfall systems with close
to 3400 single pits have been identified. A large number of these, 2686 pits in 14 systems, lie on the
narrow land bridge between the interior part of the Varanger fjord and the Tana River. Also today,
this area is a “bottleneck” when moving the reindeer herds from summer to winter pasturelands.
At Gollevárri lies the largest of the pitfall systems. It consists of as much as 530 pits and several meat
caches and bow-hides, and close to this system there are also 16 turf house foundations and thick
layers of reindeer antlers. The turf houses are quite large, and may have housed up to 10 persons.
Map of the pitfall system at Gollevárri. The red arrow indicates the habitation site. Map:
Tore Poppe, County Curator in Finnmark/Manker and Vorren 1953.
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The area has been Lidar scanned, and the hunting pits show up clearly.
Here, the Varanger Sámi had their important autumn hunt dwelling site at the time when the
reindeer were migrating from the peninsula. It has been dated to the 13th – 15th century. A small
excavation in 1965 revealed a large number of unfinished horn spoons, suggesting that it also was a
site for horn spoon production. In addition, the finds indicate that the whole siida, including women
and children, were present at the dwelling site.
Wild reindeer trapping ceased in the 17th century, and by around 1690 none of the systems were in
use. The half-tamed reindeer followed the same routes as the wild reindeer. While knowledge about
reindeer and the rich Sámi reindeer vocabulary were sustained within reindeer husbandry, the
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The dwelling site at Gollevárri. Photo: The Sami Parliament in Norway.
Coastal Sámi upheld fishing, sea mammal and small-game hunting and gathering as well as the
traditional knowledge and vocabulary connected to these activities. There was extensive contact
between the two groups based on reciprocity and exchange, and individuals could move between
the groups, for instance by marriage.
4. Ruovdenjunluovta
While Ceavccageađgi displays 12 000 years of habitation in sequences defined by elevated beach
ridges, Ruondenjunovta represents one fixed period in time. The site was inhabited between 4000
and 3000 BC.
Ruovdenjunlovta with 89 pit houses. Mountain willow shrubs grow in the house pits and make them stand out.
Photo: Varanger Sámi Museum.
On a narrow beach terrace 22-25 metres above today´s sea level, between a hill and a steep slope
down to the sea, lie as many as 89 pit-houses in two and three rows. Most of them have circular to
square ground plans, but also oval to rectangular ground plans are documented. The houses have
had semi-subterranean floors with central fireplaces lined with stones.
The floor area varies from 15 to 30 m2. Even if the majority of the houses were not contemporary, at
least some of them must have been used at the same time.
At the site there are also three burial cairns. Radiocarbon dating of two of them indicates
interestingly that the burials predate the settlement structures, which makes them the oldest burials
known from the region.
The archaeological finds from the site show that the technique of grinding stone had became
common and that slate was the most important stone tool material. The finds are very rich and
include knives, spear- and arrowheads, all of which point to the site’s economic orientation towards
marine resources.
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Middens with preserved organic material, such as debris bones and shells and some artefacts made
of bone, have been found.
JUSTIFICATION OF OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE
The Outstanding Universal Value of the four sites presented above, with Ceavccageađgi as the hub
connecting them, lies in their exceptionally rich testimony to the last hunting and fishing culture of
the European mainland. Thus the sites heuristically provide concreteness to a tradition which
elsewhere on the continent disappeared more or less completely during the first half of the Holocene
epoch.
Furthermore, the sites represent an extraordinary adaptive robustness, and an unusual continuity of
settlements, subsistence strategies, and religious practices. In the case of the burial place, used for
about 2 500 years, this continuity is unparalleled.
When the wild reindeer hunting eventually came to an end, the close relationship between reindeer
and humans continued within reindeer husbandry. Likewise, fishing and the use of other marine and
terrestrial resources have been sustained up to today. The inhabitants´ close relation to the land is
manifest also in the Sámi language through place names, stories and traditional knowledge.
CRITERIA MET
The most relevant WHL criteria fulfilled by the Várjjat Siida sites are (iii), (v) and (vi).
Criterion (iii), bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation
which is living or which has disappeared, is fulfilled by the combined sites being
a unique testimony to the last hunting culture of the European mainland and the deep
tradition it was the outcome of;
a unique testimony to the robust adaptation of hunting and fishing societies to natural,
cultural and social changes in an Arctic border zone;
a unique testimony to how indigenous cosmology and religion is interwoven with Arctic
nature;
a unique testimony to an exceptional continuity of religious and ritual practices linked to
death and regeneration.
Criterion (v), be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use
which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment
especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change, is fulfilled by the
combined sites being
an outstanding example of interaction with Arctic nature, together with a remarkable
sustainability of adaptive strategies and settlement;
an outstanding example of the intimate relation between man and reindeer, both wild and
domesticated; and of how this relationship interacts with nature and landscape;
an outstanding example of the transition from hunting and fishing economy to reindeer
husbandry and the incorporation of small scale Arctic farming.
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Criterion (vi), be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with
beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance, is fulfilled by the
combined sites
being directly and tangibly associated with the livelihood, dwelling, religion and cosmology of
an indigenous people of the Arctic, and thus giving an outstanding and profound insight into
these aspects of their life:
being directly and tangibly associated with the rich and unique traditional knowledge of the
Varanger Sámi and their tales, myths, joiks and place names;
being crucially related to processes that proved decisive for the formation of key features of
Sámi culture.
STATEMENTS OF AUTHENTICITY AND/OR INTEGRITY
Together, the combined sites include all the elements needed to express their Outstanding Universal
Value. They furthermore express chronological and typological variation, richness in monument
types, and thus constitute a remarkable archive for and testimony to the cultural activities of which
they were once part. Moreover, they form integral elements of a landscape where nature and
culture coexist in a direct, visible and largely undisturbed manner, and where also the connection
between natural features, habitation, cosmology, and religion is made tangible.
The Arctic climate and the limited degree of modern impact has preserved organic material to an
unusual extent and left stone structures and house grounds intact.
The reindeer economies, hunting and herding, and their associated lifestyles, provide a strong link
between the past and the present, and add both authenticity and integrity to this heritage. The same
applies to the Coastal Sámi fishing, gathering and small game hunting. The past is also transmitted
and constantly made present in the Sámi language, place names, and landscape myths.
The Ceavccageađgi, Ruovdenjunluovta and Gollevárri sites are cornerstones in the archaeological
record of the north. They are very much intact, as only minor parts have been excavated. All
excavated houses have been reconstructed so that they appear as they were before the
investigation. The graves that have been opened have not been closed, so many chambers are
visible. This, however, is also a painful heritage in the sense that these opened graves at
Ceavccageađgi bear witness to a dark chapter of the recent history of the Sámi as well as of other
indigenous peoples. From the mid 19th century onwards these and other graves were opened to
meet the demands for “primitive” human remains at European and American scientific institutions
preoccupied with racial and social Darwinist studies.
Relevant for the assessment of integrity and authenticity is that it is the Sámi people, across national
borders as well as locally, that has taken the initiative for the nomination of the Várrjat Siida, an
exceptionally valuable manifestation of Sámi cultural heritage, as a World Heritage Site.
The initiative is supported by the county of Finnmark, all the municipalities involved and Sámi
Parliamentarian Council, the joint body of the Sãmi parliaments in Norway, Finland and Sweden. The
reindeer herders´ organisations in the area also have responded positively.
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COMPARISON WITH OTHER PROPERTIES
The Laponia site in Sweden is the only World Heritage Site with which the Várjjat Siida combined
sites might be compared. Both sites are grazing land for reindeer and linked to Sámi culture. Other
than that, there are few similarities. The Varanger Peninsula is part of the true Arctic, and is
predominantly a coastal area where the use of marine resources such as fish, sea birds and sea
mammals merges with reindeer hunting and subsequently herding in a process that has lasted for
more than 12 000 years, and where subsistence and religious activities are inscribed in the landscape
in extraordinary tangible ways. Originally, Laponia was nominated as a natural heritage site, and
ICOMOS recommended that the cultural value as a reindeer herders´ landscape be added. The
Outstanding Universal Value of the Várjjat Siida site is closely tied to the abundance, uniqueness,
variation and time depth of cultural sites and their testimony to an indigenous Arctic hunting and
fishing culture and an indigenous Arctic belief system.
The WHL Rock Art of Alta is comparable since it is situated in Finnmark and covers part of the time
span of the Várjjat Sámi Site but the types of monuments are very different. Interestingly, the rock
art site in Alta depicts reindeer corrals although they are seemingly made of wooden poles.
Furthermore, the selected sites are highly comparable to other habitation, burial, sacrificial and
hunting sites in Varanger. This is an area where the density of cultural sites is unusually high. The
four sites are selected as the foremost examples in an area with many other magnificent sites
including:
- sites from all the time periods that are present at Ceavccageađgi in an unbroken line and
with Ruovdenjunlovta as a spectacular single-period example;
- burial sites with many graves, but nowhere in such an extraordinary abundance as at
Ceavccageađgi or in such close vicinity to the habitation during the 2500 years the burial
place was in use;
- large pitfall systems, but nowhere as large as at Gollevárri or connected to a house site used
during the hunt;
- drive lines and corrals surrounded by bow hides and meat caches, but not as extensive and
impressive as documented at Noidiidčearru;
- sacred and sacrificial sites, but nowhere with the variety and context offered at
Ceavccageađgi.
Caribou/reindeer drive systems made of stone and/or wood are a common feature in the Arctic, for
example in Canada, Alaska and Greenland, and have also been found in the mountain areas of inland
Norway. They can be in the form of a V-shaped funnel with two lines of cairns and stones ending with
opposing bow hides, or ending in a U-shaped corral, sometimes made of wooden poles. Circular
enclosures made of solid stone walls are only found in Varanger.
The structures for hunting wild reindeer in Varanger can be compared with structures along Lake
Tasersiaq in Greenland, for example. Along the 35 km long Lake Tasersiaq are many hunting
structures such as bow hides, drives, and caches, but no pitfall trap systems or corrals. The earliest
structures are dated to around 2000 BC, and the majority of the sites can be related to their use by
the Inuit from the 14th century up to 1950. In Varanger, structures for hunting reindeer predate this
by thousands of years and incorporate a greater range of hunting structures, as well as a technology
that points to the transition to reindeer herding.
Elsewhere in northern and southern Norway, there are many areas with bow hides and pitfalls, and
also drive lines. However, wild reindeer were being hunted in Varanger when the interior areas of
southern Norway were still covered by ice. Varanger also stands out by the way the connection
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between hunting and herding reindeer is manifested in the landscape. The unbroken relationship
between man and reindeer and the maintenance of intimate knowledge of animals and the
landscape are revealed in practices, language and traditions. Another feature not found elsewhere is
how the religious meaning of the hunt is revealed by burials, sacrificial sites and Sámi place names.
In conclusion, elements of the Várjjat Siida sites may be compared with many sites, but seen as a
whole and in relation to diversity, time depth and continuity, they are unparalleled. The burial place
alone, with its numerous graves and the time span it covers, makes Várjjat Siida site stand out in a
way that is exceptional and unique. The same can be said for the continuous record of settlement
from the Early Stone Age to historic times, for the breathtakingly impressive trapping systems as well
as for how the history of economic differentiation is traceable through monuments and sites. The
combined sites are also exceptional in a circumpolar Arctic context in relation to the time-span of a
single settlement site and burial place, and to the scale and form of the settlement and hunting
structures. Moreover, they bear witness to the enduring importance of reindeer and coastal fishing
along a coast that is ice free all year round at a latitude where coastal waters elsewhere are covered
by ice.
Group of Varanger Sámi 1884. The importance of reindeer is revealed by the clothes and shoes while the
boats show the importance of fishing. Ceavccageađgi is seen in the background. Photo: K. Knutsen
collection, University of Bergen.
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