Author Archives: Per Storemyr

Unknown's avatar

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!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanks to colleagues and partners for 2012 – and, in particular, to the thousands of visitors to my website. Looking forward to 2012! Per Storemyr *

Posted in Other | Leave a comment

“Steinriket Bømlo”: Nettsted om steinbrytning i 10.000 år

Her forleden kom jeg over et særs interessant nettsted, nemlig “Steinriket Bømlo” som forteller historien om utnyttelsen av stein på denne ytterst steinrike øya – ytterst i havgapet på Vestlandet. Naturligvis står to av Norges flotteste steinalderlokaliteter i forgrunnen: Øksebruddet på Hespriholmen og pilespissbruddet på Siggjo. Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Classic Cars, Castro’s Cuba: Conservation in practice

Slightly off-topic, but how Cubans skilfully care for their classic Plymouths, mFords, Buicks and Pontiacs may be a reminder for anyone dealing with heritage conservation. However, it is not necessarily out of love that the Cubans care for their cars, … Continue reading

Posted in Other | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Standing at the edge of the abyss: The castle ruin at Cartatscha in Graubünden (Switzerland)

Working as a conservation scientist I care for cultural heritage. My “problem” is that I’m also interested in the history of decay, including catastrophic events; just these phenomena that turn old masonry to rubble. But I’ve never seen it “live” … Continue reading

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

International conference on millstone in Bergen – and the Hyllestad quarry landscape

Last week the Norwegian “millstone community” invited to an international conference in Bergen – “Seen through a millstone: Geology and archaeology of quarries and mills”. It included an excursion to the Hyllestad quarries where the participants got to know a … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Mauerzahn at Grünenfels castle ruin (CH) revisited after massive snowfall

Ten days ago winter arrived in the Swiss Alps with massive snowfall. Subsequent temperature increase and intensive rainfall led to major floods, avalanches and destruction of infrastructure such as villages and roads. Such events sometimes also affect old buildings and … Continue reading

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

De gamle jerngruvene i Neskilen ved Arendal

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 , , , , | 5 Comments

Experimental archaeology: The traditional way of quarrying soapstone

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 , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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 , , , | Leave a comment

Impressions from summer fieldwork in Norway

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 , , , , , , , | Leave a comment