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In this issue, we take a deep dive into the theme of «water.» Water as a resource, as a foundation for life, and as a destructive force is something all people, across all time periods, have had to relate to. Throughout history, water has influenced how we live, where we settle, where we travel, and which resources we exploit. Rivers, seas, and lakes have provided opportunities for both past and present individuals—from utilizing marine food resources to forming vast trade networks through seafaring. Water also creates both opportunities and challenges in archaeology today due to its preservative and erosive effects on archaeological material. The versatile relationship all humans, cultures, and groups have had with water is reflected in the thematic diversity of the texts we’ve received. Geographically, the contributions span from Sudan in the south to Norway in the north. Chronologically, they range from the Stone Age all the way to the present day.

How people in ancient Sudan related to water – and to the absence of it in the desert – is explored in an interview conducted by Helene Robinson. In her interview, the archaeologists Alexandros Tsakos, Gidske Leknæs Andersen, Henriette Hafsaas, Julien Cooper and Knut Krzywinski discuss the fieldwork they have participated in in Sudan. We gain insight into the development and functions of Rome’s harbours through Simon Malmbergs article. Anika Stoll explains how climate change affects groundwater levels and thereby the preservation conditions beneath the Bryggen Wharf in Bergen. Here one can read about how we regulate and guide rainwater to manage and protect the archaeological material in the historic city center – and what measures we may need to take in the future. Sandra Knutsen analyzes finds of fish bones from the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, discussing what this material reveals about the fish trade in Norway. Dawn E. Mooney contributes a project description of the MARGAIN project, which aims to form an impression of life at coastal sites along the North Atlantic from the Viking Age to the early modern period. This is done by combining ethnographic sources and environmental archaeology. MARGAIN also seeks to use its research results to communicate the impact of the climate crisis on coastal landscapes. Elin Hulda Gussiås’ text takes us to ancient Egypt and the development of irrigation systems. In addition to being
life-giving and essential, water also holds enormous destructive power. The Storegga tsunami that struck the coasts of Norway and Scotland 8,200 years ago is examined in Astrid Nylands article. She reflects on how Stone Age societies organized themselves in the aftermath of the destruction, and how knowledge of the tsunami may have been passed down through, among other things, folk beliefs to reduce societal vulnerability to natural disasters.

We in the editorial team would like to thank everyone who has contributed texts to this issue! I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the RISS editorial team for the work they have done on this edition, and for their efforts to foster both academic and social connections between archaeology students and the professional community. Finally, I want to thank you for purchasing this issue of RISS. I hope it will be just as interesting and rewarding for you to read

as it was for us to create.

Editor in chief
Idunn M. J. Abelsnes

Editorial staff:

Idunn M. J. Abelsnes
Elin Hulda Gussiås
Marie Hansteen Hagness
Malin Røgenes,
Bendik Nilsen Bergendal
Julie Fjesme Sundby
Birte Elise Viddal Dybvik
Helene Robinson
Edvind Kjærstad
Ada Harboe
Rosa Vaksdal
Tonje Jokiel
Lena Marie
Eriksen Mæland
Julieta Suarez
Marita Træet Heimsæter
Kristin Tobiassen
Yrja Skjærum
Anika Stoll
Sandra Knutsen

 

Cover: Malin Røgenes. Illustration inspired by a mosaic panel (from house VIII.2.16) found in Pompeii, ca. 100-1 BC. Can be viewed at the National Archaeological Museum i Naples, Italy.

Graphic designer: Marie Hansteen Hagness.

Illustrators: Malin Røgenes, Julieta Suareaz og Lena Marie Eriksen Mæland.