Turf hut sites, Ytre Gamvik
Turf hut sites are the remains of old turf huts. In ytre Gamvik in northern Troms are these sites still visible in the terrain.
For centuries Ytre Gamvik at the mouth of the Lyngen fjord has provided both excellent fishing and pasture for reindeer. A well-trodden path leads from here to Ullsfjorden.
You can sense that people have lived in this beautiful place, with its waterfall and river, since time immemorial.
The undulating plateau may look natural but is actually the result of earlier turf hut sites, the remains of which are still visible.
Turf huts
These huts, called gammer, could be round or square. The basic construction was of wood, covered in bark and turf.
In the middle of the hut there was a fireplace for cooking and heat. There were strict rules concerning gender and age within the hut, the three goddesses Sáráhkká, Juksáhkká and Uksáhkká having their own designated areas.
Square huts often had several rooms, with living quarters at one end and a byre at the other.
Many Samis lived in gamme huts until the beginning of the 20th century. The most recent ones had almost modern furnishings. The oldest has been dated to 100 AD.
