Nordic Bronze Age pottery with asbestos

In the area north of the Dalälven River, material culture and economy differed from that of southern Sweden. In the northern parts of Scandinavia during parts of the Stone Age and Bronze Age, it was common to mix asbestos into pottery.

Stone Age
12,000 BC – 1700 BC
Bronze Age
1700 BC – 500 BC
Iron Age
500 BC – AD 1100

At times, the asbestos content was so high that clay was essentially used only as a binder for the fibres. When the vessels were fired, they became lightweight, impact-resistant, and durable. Today, we are aware of the dangers of asbestos fibres, but at the time, the benefits were considered to outweigh the risks.

Vessel

Found in Laisholm, Lilla Laisaren, Lappland.

Pottery was often decorated with patterns of lines, stripes, pits, and incisions. Another distinction from ceramic traditions in the south was that the outer surfaces of vessels were treated with impressions from textiles, plaited materials, or stamps.

One type of surface treatment is known as impressed textile or waffle pottery. This technique appears across large parts of northern Eurasia during the period corresponding to our Bronze Age. Pottery was not imported over long distances; rather, it was ideas about how to shape and design vessels that spread.

Pottery sherds with waffle-like structure

Pottery sherd with waffle pattern

Found in Hotingsjön, Ångermanland.

You may also be interested in

Nordic Bronze Age Axes

The Man from Granhammar

Wealth and status in the Bronze Age

Details from a gold bowl with circle-shaped patterns

Summary

In northern Scandinavia, from the Late Stone Age to the Early Iron Age, asbestos was mixed into pottery, making the vessels lightweight, strong, and shock-resistant - despite what we now know about the health risks of asbestos. The pots were often decorated with lines, pits, and textile impressions, and a special surface treatment, known as waffle pottery, was widespread across much of northern Eurasia during the Bronze Age. It was the ideas, rather than the objects themselves, that spread, giving northern pottery its distinctive character.

Exhibition

Prehistories

Captivating stories about people and objects from prehistoric times.

Exhibition

The Gold Room

See unique gold and silver jewels and sparkling treasures.

How we work with knowledge at the Swedish History Museum

The Swedish History Museum is part of the government agency National Historical Museums. The agency employs experts in various fields, such as history, archaeology, conservation, and more. The texts on the website are produced in collaboration between different experts, educators, and other staff. The texts have been fact-checked and are based on established research. In some cases, written sources are lacking and the physical remains are limited and ambiguous, especially far back in time. In such cases, the material is interpreted by the experts. However, the interpretations are always based on research.

Text summaries and translations have been created with the help of AI and have been fact-checked.

If you have questions about the factual background of our texts, please contact webb@historiska.se.

History hub

Search for articles and objects in the History hub. Sort and filter by time period and theme to find what's relevant to your specific interests.

To the History hub