The social elite on Öland and in Möre in the south east of Sweden during the Iron Age is described on the basis of the archaelogical record, such as graves, settlements and traces of pre-Christian central places. The material is discussed to see if traces of an elite are to be found. The power configuration between Öland and Möre is also discussed.

This essay is a comparative study on Migration period ring forts, centered on Sandbyborg, a ringfort situated on the southeastern shore of the Baltic island of Öland.Furthermore this essay focuses on the contemporary Iron Age society, and thestrategical implications of the ringforts in their function as fortifications. Certaininternational comparisons are made, in particular regarding the fortifications in theRoman empire.

This paper aims to give an account of, and to discuss the view-points and theories of different researchers on the christianization of Sweden, especially the province of Öland, during the early middle ages. Its purpose is to investigate how, and in what sense, their positions can be said to correspond to what we may know of the historical “facts”. This will be possible by comparing different points of view with a study of the development in a single parish. An overall difficulty however, is the nature of the sources relating to the time in question, they are scarce or even non-existent. Part I of the paper consists of an outline of the field of research and the different theories put forward on the subject. The account is thematic, since there are several different problematic areas linked to the subject of Sweden’s christianization that each needs separate attention – though they all are, of course, interrelated. The account continues in part II, but with the focus on the iron-age society of Öland, its social, administrative and economic structure, and the major societal change that occurred roughly around AD 1000 – a change wherein the christianization was an important aspect. Part III consists of a micro-study of Föra parish in the north of Öland through the years 400-1300 approximately. Finally, part IV gives a summary and the results of the study in part III are compared to relevant theories and view-points discussed in parts I and II. The conclusions that can be drawn from the comparison are A) Some of the view-points can be seen as tentatively confirmed (and some others as refuted), and B) An extended comparative approach could serve as an instrument for shaping theoretical models with a higher level of generality, since the comparison also shows that the results of historical research often is governed by a theoretical bias, even when empirical material is incomplete, corroborated or contradictory to the results.

Vatten har stor betydelse för att samhället ska vara funktionellt. Sverige har alltid haft en god vattentillgång i jämförelse med de flesta andra länderna i världen. Däremot finns det områden i Sverige som har en sämre vattentillgång och förutsättningar till att förse samhället med en tillräcklig mängd vatten. Öland är ett av de mest vattenbristdrabbade områdena i Sverige. Ölands geografiska placering resulterar i en låg nederbördsmängd och den geologiska förutsättningen att ansamla och lagra vatten är dålig. Detta har resulterat i att Öland drabbats av återkommande vattenbrister varje år under den varma sommarhalvårsperioden. Ölands kommuner, Borgholm och Mörbylånga har fram till idag genomfört och planerat en del åtgärder för att minska vattenbristsproblematiken. Men frågan kvarstår om de utförda och planerade åtgärderna är tillräckliga. Det finns förutsättningar till att vidta fler åtgärder som kan bidra till en bättre vattensituation för Öland. Trender visar att vattenförbrukningen kommer att öka och därmed finns ett större behov att öka kapaciteten till att bereda dricksvatten. Ett ökat behov ställer därför nya krav på Ölands kommuner att säkra vattenförsörjning i framtiden. Därför är det viktigt att ta reda på vilka åtgärder som kan genomföras för att minska vattenproblematiken på Öland i framtiden. I denna uppsats beskrivs två scenarion. Det första scenariot beskriver åtgärder som kommunerna Borgholm och Mörbylånga vidtagit fram tills idag och utvecklar vidare de åtgärderna i framtiden. Det andra scenariot beskriver nya förslag och fler åtgärder för att motverka vattenbristen. De båda scenariona har gemensamt att beskriva hur vattensituationen ser ut vid året 2100 och vilka åtgärder som genomförts för att komma i bukt med vattenproblematiken. Som resultat presenteras en kombination av åtgärder som bidrar till bättre vattenhushållning på Öland. Klimatförändringar och befolkningstillväxt är de allra största bidragande faktorerna till att tillgången på dricksvatten kommer försämras i framtiden på Öland. Studien visar att åtgärder som är implementerade och är planerade att implementeras i framtiden av kommunerna på Öland räcker bra för att täcka framtida behov av dricksvatten. Dessutom ger studie exempel på fler åtgärder som kan implementeras för att förbättra vattensituationen på Öland i framtiden.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka projekt inom det statliga bidragsprogrammet för landskapsvårdsåtgärder, lokala naturvårdssatsningen (LONA), genom en studie angående hur de två öländska landsbygdskommunerna Mörbylånga och Borgholm arbetar med LONA och vilken påverkan programmet har. Ytterligare, är ett centralt statligt mål med LONA att förankra naturvården i det lokala. Därför undersöks LONA utifrån tre frågeställningar: vilken påverkan LONA har på den kommunala naturvården, vilka drivkrafter för lokal och offentlig samförvaltning som finns och huruvida projekten förhåller sig till en naturvård förankrad i det lokala. Studien grundas i en innehållsanalys av samtliga öländska LONA-projekt, samt intervjuer med offentliga och lokala aktörer. Resultatet analyseras och diskuteras utifrån teoretiska ramverk om drivkrafter för samförvaltning samt lokalt deltagande, samt den tidigare forskningen som genomförts på LONA.  Studien visar att LONA haft en positiv effekt på den öländska naturvården. Det har möjliggjort för kommunerna, vilka båda påverkas av resursbrister, och lokala aktörer att genomföra och finansiera projekt. Motiverande faktorer för samverkan som diskuteras är ledarskapets utformning, betydelsefulla incitament såsom att ideell arbetstid kan räknas som medfinansiering, och ömsesidigt beroenden såsom nyttjanderätt och kunskapsutbyte. Slutligen, konstaterats att en majoritet av de öländska projekten förhåller sig till en naturvård förankrad i det lokala med en varierande representation av lokala aktörer.

There is a limestone quarry on Öland that was active between 1888 and 2019.  Now that Cementa has ceased mining, the quarry is about to be naturally flooded with rainwater and infiltrating groundwater. In 20 years from now, the water level will be 5 meters higher than today.  As a final proposal I present a multifunctional visitor’s center placed on a peninsula that will eventually transform into an island. The quarry is popular amongst birds and the observation tower makes it possible to study them closely. The exhibition hall can show work from Öland’s many artists and the flexible square can host everything from yoga classes to dance nights. A small kiosk sells ice cream and sandwiches. The changing booths, lockers, restrooms and saunas enable you to enjoy this place in every season, protected from the sometimes very rough elements that is Öland’s signature. For each year the water level will rise and create a new experience, even for returning visitors. When the surface has reached its highest point in the 2040’s, the center will appear floating on the water surface and welcome you on a path framed with casted stone walls pushing the water aside.

An iron age double grave containing a man and a woman has been found in Klinta, Köpings Parish, Öland, Sweden. Archaeologist have debated this grave and have begun to interpret the woman as a völva. The most famous artefact was found in the womans grave. It was an iron staff, Klintastaven. This staff have been the main focus when it comes to this grave but there were also three types of artifacts found with the bones: base metal artifacts covered in runes, amulets, as well as animal bones. This essay aims to analyse the artifacts from the grave and their relation to the Old Norse religion of Scandinavia and the research have established a connection between these artifacts and the Old Norse religion of Viking times.

Öland’s Business Office is on the verge of developing a strategy for the island’s future tourism. Before any work with developing Öland can be carried out, it is essential to gain an understanding of how the place is perceived today. The purpose of this essay is to study the island’s current image and make recommendations for how the place brand could be developed. The methods used are literature studies and qualitative group interviews. The participants have been inhabitants of Öland and returning visitors from the Kalmar region. The main theories used involve place branding and place marketing. Our analysis shows that Öland’s image is of mixed status. Öland summer time and Öland winter time are two contrasting places. An extended tourism season would be preferable. The essay concludes with a SWOT-analysis and a list of recommendations for how to develop Öland’s brand.

This essay is focused on the re-use during the Bronze Age of the Stone Age passage grave RAÄ 85 in Mysinge, Öland. To increase the knowledge of the phenomena of re-use in general and that which occurred in Mysinge passage grave in particular I’ve looked at other forms of re-use on Öland and the re-use of passage graves in Falbygden. The research has been limited to the Bronze Age. My goal has been to see what this might tell us about the relationship people during the Bronze Age had towards the abstract subject of “non-existence”, in other words death. The research clearly shows that Mysinge passage grave is the oldest grave that were in use during the Bronze Age as a grave, of those known to us, with 1/3 of its dated burials dated to the first half of the Bronze Age and the earliest to early Neolithic. This makes the other three megalithic tombs in the area very interesting since none of them has been excavated. The other forms of re-use of graves that were observed in Öland during the Bronze Age were all later covered by a cairn or a stone packing of some sorts. This most often occurred during the late Bronze Age. However, subsequent burials continued after the construction of the cairn/stone packing throughout the Bronze Age and in most cases into the Iron Age. The cairns/stone packings have a lot in common with the entrance cairn at Mysinge passage grave which also seems to have been constructed during the late Bronze Age. However, while cairns/stone packings mark endings of something they at the same time are monuments of today and are continually being used as a grave (but now according to local burial customs). Entrance cairns on the other hand first and foremost mark endings of something, even though these endings are most likely meant to be remembered. None of the passage graves analysed in this essay in Falbygden indicate the same use of the chamber as Mysinge passage grave. With a few exceptions (Rössberga Rör and Norra Lundby 41) the chamber seems to generally stop being used during Late Neolithic and during the Bronze Age and Iron Age secondary burials in the surrounding mound is instead common. However, it mainly seems to occur during the late Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. Not a single grave in the mound indicate a early Bronze Age date. It is clear that the past often had an important role in the relationship to death and burials during the Bronze Age.

This essay is focused on Öland during the Iron Age, with focus specifically on the Roman Iron Age and the Migration period. The study takes its starting point in the large number of fortifications that was active across Öland at the time. The essays main area of investigation will be the central and southern parts of Öland as the fortifications, together with other parts of the Iron Age society around them such as graves and settlement, will be presented. The landscape in which the fortifications and their surroundings are placed will also be described. With the Migration Period being a keyword for almost all the fortifications on Öland, the subject will also be to describe if any sort of change can be seen in the settlement patterns during this unstable and troubled time. This will all be presented trough sources describing work of the archaeological investigations that has been done in those places.