Author Archives: Per Storemyr

About Per Storemyr

I work with the geoarchaeology of old stone: monuments, rock art, quarries. And I try to figure out about their weathering, and conservation using traditional crafts. I also burn lime the traditional way. For the joy of old stone!

De gamle jerngruvene i Neskilen ved Arendal

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Neskilen var fra slutten av 1600-tallet et av de viktigste jerngruveområdene i Norge, stort i Norge og stort i “Arendalsfeltet”. Jerngruvedriften var svært viktig for Arendalsområdet og har vært med å prege den historiske utviklingen. Denne artikkelen gir en oversikt over et fortsatt velbevart gruvelandskap. Her var det drift i 200 år fra slutten av 1600-tallet – og her lekte vi som barn ved dype gruveåpninger… Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old mines | Tagged Arendal, Cultural heritage, Neskilen, Norway, old mine | 5 Comments

Experimental archaeology: The traditional way of quarrying soapstone

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Experimental archaeology in old building stone quarries is a rare activity. But not so for Norwegian stone carver Eva Stavsøien. She asked herself how soapstone was extracted in the Middle Ages. Bringing handmade pickaxes, she went to an abandoned quarry … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries | Tagged experimental archaeology, Nidaros Cathedral, Nidarosdomen, Norway, quarry, soapstone, Trondheim | Leave a comment

Hunting with stone lines: The ancient game traps in Egypt and Nubia

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Per Storemyr

See updates and a new paper on game drives in a new post (2022): https://per-storemyr.net/2022/03/19/new-paper-in-new-book-the-ancient-game-traps-across-lower-nubia/ There is still a lot of important archaeology to be found in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia. One group of archaeological sites is hunting features, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, New projects, New publications | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Cultural heritage, hunting, Nubia | Leave a comment

Impressions from summer fieldwork in Norway

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Over the last few weeks I’ve been back in Norway for projects on conservation of medieval castle ruins, as well as on provenance of medieval and more modern building stone. Here are some impressions!*

Posted in Archaeology, Monument conservation, New projects, Norway, Old quarries, Rock art, Ruins | Tagged conservation, marble, Nidaros Cathedral, Nidarosdomen, Norway, quarry, rock art, Trondheim | Leave a comment

New York Times: “Egypt or Central Park: Where Does an Ancient Obelisk Belong?”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Per Storemyr

The issue of bringing Central Park’s Cleopatra’s Needle back to Egypt is still in the media. See this recent video from New York Times on the weathering of the New Kingdom obelisk: …and check out these blog posts of mine … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Monument conservation, Weathering history | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra's Needle, conservation, New York, obelisk, weathering | Leave a comment

A Google Map of the Northern Faiyum Desert

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Per Storemyr

A little while ago I posted about the Egyptian Petition to save the marvellous landscape in the Northern Faiyum from destruction by massive tourist and other development. Since then the campaign NO PORTO FAYOUM is putting increasing pressure on developers … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Old quarries | Tagged Ancient Egypt, conservation, Cultural heritage, Faiyum | Leave a comment

Egyptian petition: Stop destruction of Lake Qarun Protected Area in the Faiyum!

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Per Storemyr

For all interested in landscape conservation: Please sign the Egyptian petition on stopping the destruction of a truly spectacular, protected landscape in the Northern Faiyum! The Northern Faiyum has it all: Splendid landscape, fantastic fossils, a unique cultural heritage back … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Old quarries | Tagged Ancient Egypt, conservation, Cultural heritage, Faiyum, quarry | Leave a comment

Where does the stone at Nidaros Cathedral come from?

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Stone to the northernmost of Europe’s great cathedrals was provided from no less than 50 different quarries across Norway and to some extent from elsewhere in Europe. But there are great differences between the medieval building period (11th to 14th … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, New projects, Norway, Old quarries | Tagged marble, Nidaros Cathedral, Nidarosdomen, Norway, quarry, soapstone, Trondheim | 6 Comments

Cooperation with Norwegian conservation company

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Per Storemyr

An agreement of cooperation has been signed with the Norwegian conservation company “Bakken & Magnussen AS” in Trondheim, Norway. The idea is to expand the competence of the conservation company with services related to conservation science and geoarchaeology. Bakken & … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Monument conservation, New projects, Norway | Tagged conservation, Cultural heritage, Norway, ruin, soapstone, weathering | Leave a comment

The Late Palaeolithic rock art at Qurta, Egypt: Field season 2011

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Per Storemyr

It is a miracle that Egypt’s Late Palaeolithic rock art has survived for at least 15.000 years – and especially for the last 50 years of intensive modern development in the country. At Qurta by Kom Ombo, for example, the … Continue reading →