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The theme of this book is the very oldest times.
Professor Steinar Skjeseth writes about bedrock and petrification, about ice ages and glacial rivers and about our actual basis of existence, soil and water.
Professor Anders Hagen writes about ancient finds and burial cairns, petroglyphs and rural settlements, and about those who have left these traces over the millennia, roadmen and farmers.
Contents
| The geology of Ringsaker: Steinar Skjeseth | |
| How the village came to be | 9 |
| Prehistoric times. Precambrian | 11 |
| Precambrian | 12 |
| Ancient times. Cambrian | 21 |
| Ordovician | 23 |
| Silurian | 29 |
| Devon | 31 |
| Carbon | 33 |
| Permian | 33 |
| Earth's middle ages and recent times | 36 |
| Quaternary | 38 |
| Åstdalen | 41 |
| Mjøsbreen | 42 |
| Moelva's history | 47 |
| Water bodies and water supply | 51 |
| Water supply | 54 |
| Archaeology: Anders Hagen | |
| Introduction. | |
| A little about archaeological methods | 57 |
| What kind of traces are preserved? | 59 |
| Language in ancient times | 61 |
| Archaeological methods | 63 |
| Stone Age. | |
| The oldest traces. From hunter to farmer | 66 |
| Petroglyphs near Mjøsstranda | 67 |
| The idea behind the images | 70 |
| Traces of hunters' settlements | 72 |
| More discoveries from Mesnavatna | 74 |
| Landnåmsfolk and language change | 76 |
| Common features in tool use and way of life | 77 |
| Agriculture and urgards | 78 |
| The oldest finds from the Stone Age | 79 |
| The shank hole axe - a versatile tool | 80 |
| Strong settlement growth ca. 1800-1500 BC | 81 |
| Which areas were first settled | 82 |
| Permanent settlement? | 83 |
| A normal development | 84 |
| The reason for the expansion | 85 |
| How big was the population? | 86 |
| Bronze Age. | |
| The first metal age | 87 |
| Contacts to the south | 89 |
| The victim cases from Kråkvik | 89 |
| What power was it sacrificed to? | 91 |
| Where were the bronze cases produced and what were they paid with? | 91 |
| How were the goods transported? | 93 |
| Mother earth. The protector of life? | 93 |
| Crisis as the reason for the sacrifice? | 93 |
| Changes in resource conditions | 94 |
| Early Iron Age. | |
| The transition to a new era | 95 |
| The ant woman from Kinnlitjernet | 96 |
| The twelve-stone ring on Smestadsletta | 98 |
| When and why were the Twelve Stones erected? | 99 |
| A place of worship with multiple functions | 100 |
| Roman Iron Age. | |
| Time approx. 100-400 AD | 101 |
| The cemetery at Hersau | 102 |
| Three kinds of grave markers | 103 |
| Other similar cemeteries in Ringsaker | 104 |
| Grave forms as evidence of permanent settlement | 106 |
| Warrior graves and chieftaincy | 107 |
| Everyday life at Rør | 109 |
| The center of power at Ring | 111 |
| Migration period - Merovingian period. | |
| Mysterious eras in Eastern Norway | 113 |
| Few findings, but no isolation | 113 |
| The warrior box weakened? | 115 |
| Reasons for the source failure | 115 |
| The burial ground at Sveinhaug | 116 |
| A more organized society | 117 |
| The excavation of Sveinhaugen | 117 |
| The mound as a symbol of power | 119 |
| Kongshaugen on Flisaker | 120 |
| Other ancient monuments near Veldre church site | 123 |
| Society and defense | 124 |
| Neighborhood entrenchments or village fortifications | 124 |
| Borgrekken east of Mjøsa | 126 |
| The facilities at Bunnefjorden | 129 |
| A coordinated defense | 131 |
| Viking Age and growth | 133 |
| Many grave finds | 135 |
| Warrior culture dominates | 135 |
| Great families in the Gaupen district | 138 |
| More power centers | 140 |
| Economic growth. The outfield as a resource | 142 |
| Finished products and pig iron | 143 |
| Five depot finds | 144 |
| Traces of blistering | 145 |
| Blesterplassen in Langmyra | 146 |
| Efforts and dividends | 147 |
| Animal digging and moose hunting | 149 |
| No grave finds in the outfields | 150 |
| Viking Age social patterns | 151 |
| Large slaveholding | 152 |
| Haulden, the Viking farmer | 153 |
| Traces of a leadership class? | 154 |
| Relationship to power center at Åker | 156 |
| A little about male names and male motifs in the Viking Age | 157 |
| Name of the farmer | 158 |
| Colorful farmers | 158 |
| The place of women in Viking society | 159 |
| Viking Age fashion jewelry | 160 |
| The Viking Age "bunad" | 161 |
| A new burial custom | 163 |
| How big were the farms at the end of the Viking Age? | 164 |
| The primary source - Iron Age grave finds | 164 |
| Ancient monuments as proof of settlement | 165 |
| Farm names as a source | 166 |
| The end of the pagan Iron Age society | 168 |
| Register of ancient finds from Veldre, Ringsaker and Brøttum | 170 |
| Register of ancient monuments from Veldre, Ringsaker and Brøttum | 174 |
| Some current literature | 176 |
