Skien can obviously take part in the national competition - which is the most continuous history as a meeting place for trade-activities, craft and industry.

This aricle - Skiens history through 1000 years, was written by: THOR GUNDERSEN - drawings: JOHNNY ANDVIK.

Skien was not founded by any king, and therefore no special foundingdate to present. The city has grown up from nothing. As we take a look at the conditions, we might see how this place - so early in the history - had to grow into a market-place.

Archeologic excavations in the market place, by archeologist Siri Myrvoll and her team (1979), gave some exciting and sensational discovery.
They found subjects and tracks from three different periods of buildings, which were older than 1000 years. Maybe the first houses in Skien were raised when Harald Hårfagre’s grandson Harald Gråfjell was king of Norway. It’s likely that the trading had it’s expansion caused the well-established tradelines to Denmark and the European continent. The ships of the Vikings heading south and north – within the 22 kilometres limit along the coast – to outward freight the successful norwegian products – hone (wetstone).

These first houses in the history of Skien covers a relatively short period – maybe just a few seasons. And the houses were really not build for the Norwegian winter. The walls were made of wicker worked branches, covered with clay. These houses were located along the north-eastern side of the mountain ridge – to be found under the marketplace - and where the Maria Church was built later on. By the outlet of ”Kverndal-bekken” (means: Mill-valley creek) there was a longbanked bay, where flat-bottom-boats could easily be pulled  to the beach..

Discovery from this oldest period tells us – that people was able to make tools and equipment out of leather, tree and metal. The many hones (wetsone-topics) tells us that ongoing wetstone-trade allready was established. Skien had becom a meetingplace where products changed hands. Findings also shows that houses were built, made of a combination of wicker work and timber. These buildings were probably used for workshops, and one of them was a smith (forge). Close to the fireplace there were found about 60 pieces of clinker, metal, rivets and tools.

Siri Myrvoll means that the smith of Skien was a fine-smith. Maybe he was a roaming smith, finding Skien interesting as a market. Nearby the smith, they found a lot of trash from the combmaker’s production. Finding tracks from both these craftsmen, we can say this was a real marketplace. These kind of craftsmen used to travel from one marketplace to another all the time, making products with international tecniques and local raw materials. The same discovery has been made in big trade-centers i Birka, Sweden and Ribe, Denmark – from the Viking-period.

"Skiensplanken" (The Skien’s plank)
In one of the buildings from the next period of  Skien`s evolution, after the year 1000, they found one curious decoration on one planke in front of the fireplace. Nine figures – three people, possibly warriors - was carved in a kind of frame or panel. Some figures (drawings) of animals – without the top of their heads – obviously means that the frieze or drawing was made before this plank was used as a flooring board. Then we can declare  that the drawing is older than the house, probably from the years after 900.

The motive shows us a parallell to another frieze or boarder found in Hedeby, dated at the first years after 800. The socalled Hedebycoins from these years  contains the same motive and approxemately the same quality. The animal pictured on the coins  sometimes has the head faced backwards, and sometimes forewards. On the Skien`s plank the animals head faces backwards.

The frieze in the Skiens`plank might have been made by an artist – well knowing the Viking-periods myths and religion. And picturing an un-norwegian animal (wild boar) shows us the artists connections to Europe. This is another proof that Skien was connected to the Viking`s trade-routes.

Honing tool trade
An important qualification for the growth of Skien was honing tool. This was the main products taking Norwegian trade out to Europe. In the Viking-period the need of iron for weapons and tools was really increasing because of the real start for more effective farming. They had to do a lot of land clearing. To sharpen the tools, they really wanted honing tools to sharpen weapon and tool shed. In Eidsborg, in the upper of Telemark's riversystem (Telemarkskanalen), you could find the finest honing tool in all Europa. This honing toll  people from other countries for the first 100 years of Skiens history.

Honing tool from Eidsborg, antlers, wool, skin, flax, and iron was transported to Skien in the winter, on frozen rivers and lakes. The foreigners came some months later, and Skien was the meeting place.

Thereby starts Skien's history as a meetingplace, where the farmers and hunters from the upper parts of Telemark met traders from Holland, England, Denmark, Sweden and Poland – coming across the sea by big boats.