The aim of this paper was to study fourteen pottery sherds found at the site of Ayia Irini in northern Cyprus using Gas chromatography- Mass spectrometry. Ayia Irini has by the archaeologists of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition been interpreted as a sanctuary, with activity spanning from the Late Bronze Age throughout the Cypriot Iron Age. The results showed traces of vegetable lipids in almost all samples, and traces of lipids from terrestrial animals in all but two. One sample showed traces of resin. Several samples were contaminated by different components found in plastics, such as plasticizers. No obvious common denominators were found for samples of similar pottery type or similar dating. The analysis yielded results of differing quality in all samples. However, usable data was collected from all except one sample, which was too heavily contaminated to glean any clear traces of organic residue from the time of deposit.

This paper deals with the question of when hill forts – or enclosed mountains – were built and to what purpose, by examining two enclosed mountains (RAÄ 78 and 79) in Grödinge parish in the province of Södermanland. A phosphate analysis was conducted to trace anthropogenic activities. The analysis showed only a slight elevation of phosphate content in the soil. A histogram indicated that the elevations were not normally distributed, which could suggest that they were caused by anthropogenic activities. A focus on boundaries is evident in the material, whether it is about erecting physical barriers or the boundary between life and death.

This paper deals with the embalming process in ancient Egypt. Samples were collected from six objects from Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. The objects were one supposed ladle and five different contents from pottery. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and gas- chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to characterize the components of the materials. The result was then correlated with previously made analysis of embalming materials to discover similarities. The results show complex mixtures mainly consisting of resin from Pinaceae origin, also beeswax, vegetable oil and Castor oil. Some samples show differences in the mixture, one dominated by cholesterylacetat. The results of the ladle samples is comparable to previous samples from other analysis and can therefore be confirmed as an embalming ladle.

The thesis explores the complex area between preservation of museum collections, and the need to allow access to the collections and the artefacts for researchers. The focus is on archaeological collections, and inorganic materials in particular. The aim is to illustrate the problems, as well as the opportunities, of archaeological scientific analysis when combined with museological sciences such as materiality and material culture studies, theories of object biographies, the concept of objects as actors, and the issue of silent objects. Exploring the exchange between the museological and the natural sciences to promote enhanced usage of collection artefacts, and to explore whether there are real barriers or if they are perceived due to a lack of mutual understanding. Methodologically it is a text based analysis of the research situation internationally and nationally in Sweden, with a case study comprised of observation of a research team that at the same time were making archaeometallurgical analyses of bronze age objects, and interviews with a small group connected to the areas of interest for this thesis. The sources have consisted of the material generated by the case study, as well as the text material used to provide the necessary background. By using text analysis, Actor-network theory, observation, and interviews, the discussions can revolve around the theoretical perspectives of materiality, object biography and silent objects, with the premise that sample analyses could bring back some context to an artefact. The findings indicate that the museum sector and other disciplines would greatly benefit from closer collaborations with each other and work more interdisciplinary. Museum collections harbour artefacts that could enrich the collective disciplines with their informative values, and with a mass of sampled and analysed context-less artefacts, new and fascinating patterns could emerge, leading to new discoveries. The findings also show that, in archaeology, this is already in motion, and the hope is that this develops on a larger scale in the museum sector as well. / Den här uppsatsen undersöker det snåriga område mellan museers plikt att bevara samlingarna samt behovet att tillåta åtkomst för forskare till samlingarna och föremålen. Fokus ligger på arkeologiska samlingar, och oorganiskt material i synnerhet. Syftet är att belysa problemen, samt de möjligheter som arkeologisk vetenskaplig analys har att ge i kombination med museivetenskapliga begrepp såsom materialitet och materiell kultur, teorier om objektbiografi, objekt som aktörer och ”tysta” föremål. Uppsatsen utforskar utbyten mellan musei- och naturvetenskap som främjar ökad användning av föremål i samlingar, och undersöker om det finns verkliga hinder i utbytet eller om de endast är upplevda på grund av en bristande ömsesidig förståelse. Metodologiskt är det en textbaserad analys av forskningsläget internationellt och nationellt i Sverige, med en fallstudie bestående av observation av en forskargrupp som samtidigt gjorde arkeometallurgiska analyser av bronsåldersföremål, och intervjuer med en liten grupp personer med koppling till intresseområdena för denna uppsats. Källorna består av det material som genererats av fallstudien, samt den litteratur som gett den nödvändiga bakgrunden. Genom att använda textanalys, Actor-network theory, observation och intervjuer, kretsar diskussionerna runt teoretiska perspektiv som materialitet och materiell kultur, objektbiografi och ”tysta” föremål utifrån förutsättningen att analys kan återföra lite av en artefakts kontext. Resultaten visar på att museisektorn och andra discipliner i hög grad skulle tjäna på ett närmare samarbete och att arbeta mer tvärvetenskapligt. Museisamlingar inhyser föremål som skulle kunna berika de samlade disciplinerna med sina informativa värden, och med en mängd provtagningar och analyser av kontextlösa föremål kan nya och fascinerande mönster framträda, vilket i sin tur kan leda till nya upptäckter. Resultaten visar också att detta redan är satt i rörelse inom åtminstone arkeologin, men förhoppningen är att detta även kan ske i större skala inom museisektorn.

The main purpose for this paper is to study iron artefacts excavated in the Black Earth harbour district of Birka. This locale, positioned on the island Björkö in Adelsö par. Sweden, is one of the mayor sites in regard to the Scandinavian Viking age. The how and why of the corrosive process will be touched upon. Specifically how archaeological iron interacts with the soil in which it is found, and what can be done to prevent unnecessary decay after excavation. This, in turn, leads to an observation of how methods have changed in regard to the conservation of archaeological iron, from the processes used in the early days of the field, to the more present day with the method utilized in this study. The conservation of said artefacts is for this study accomplished through the use of a conventional chemical method called EDTA. The usability of this method with waterlogged metallic artefacts is tested. The product of the conservation work revealed the objects to be mostly, iron rivets, bolts or nails. Not too surprising when the articles came from an area widely believed to be a harbour. This specific chemical solution proved not to be a sufficient conservation method for the waterlogged metal objects examined in this paper. This was due to the notably hard crust that covered the objects and the structural fragility of the artefacts. Specific analyses of some of the artefacts were undertaken due to the emergence of substantial amounts of depositions in the final steps of the process. Using XRD, XRF and IR-spectroscopy, the depositions were analysed and the result showed that the depositions most likely consists of a blend of non-water-soluble iron phosphates.

This thesis takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of ancient Egyptian ceramics by applying scientific dating techniques alongside more traditional methods. It is the first study to apply OSL dating to an Egyptian ceramic assemblage, and it has done so by developing the minimum extraction technique (MET), which has made it possible to use OSL to sample, and thus analyse, ceramics housed in museums. The MET is at present essential to the success of OSL dating of Egyptian ceramics, as the exportation ban on antiquities has prevented OSL analysis of field material. For this thesis, using this new sampling technique, OSL has been applied to several assemblages from the Predynastic to the Early Dynastic period. Ceramics from [ADD IN REVIEW ] have been examined, with three phases being established: late Naqada III, First Intermediate Period, and the mediaeval Islamic period. Absolute dates have been determined for each phase and, where comparison is possible, have been found in good agreement with the historical chronology. A set of vessels from Naqada, Ballas, and the Tomb of Djer at Abydos have been examined using OSL in conjunction with radiocarbon dating. Again, three phases of activity were discerned: late Naqada II, early Naqada III, and the first scientifically determined dates for a burning event in the Tomb of Djer (the New Kingdom). The thesis also demonstrates how OSL can be used as a relative dating technique by analysing a collection of Wavy-Handled ceramics and wine jars from Turah, finding that the OSL results agree well with the established relative chronology. Finally, this thesis has also examined the applicability of cladistic analysis to the study of Egyptian ceramics. Cladistics is a technique borrowed from the biological sciences which offers a complimentary way to examine the evolution of ceramic types and forms, in particular the development of beer and wine jars.

<p>Abstract: Previous research on the Viking Age trade centre of Birka has suggested the parallel use of two harmonising standard weight units, differing in mass by five percent. As an explanation to this phenomenon, this paper puts forward a hypothesis of a trading fee, embedded in the weights. This is corroborated through a hypothetical deductive study; including a reassertion of earlier results by means of a new method for archaeometrological analysis, using a 3D scanner and Computer-Aided Design. Further, the role of silver, as a preferred unit of payment in Birka, is supported through a spatial analysis of the distribution of Islamic coins and Oriental beads in the provinces of Middle Sweden. Plausible manufacturing sites for the cylindrical lead weights, adhering to the Birka mitqal, are discussed as a possible way of falsifying the hypothesis. The results suggest that a trading fee was extracted, using the Birka mitqal for imports and the Islamic mitqal for exports. The metrological analysis was also expanded to weights from Sigtuna, which proved the Birka mitqal, as well the dual metrics system, continued to be in use there until, at least, the first half of the 11^th century. Finally, a short study on the origins of the Scandinavian/Islamic weight system suggests that the direct influence for the system primarily can be attributed the Volga-Bulgarians.</p>

Abstract: Previous research on the Viking Age trade centre of Birka has suggested the parallel use of two harmonising standard weight units, differing in mass by five percent. As an explanation to this phenomenon, this paper puts forward a hypothesis of a trading fee, embedded in the weights. This is corroborated through a hypothetical deductive study; including a reassertion of earlier results by means of a new method for archaeometrological analysis, using a 3D scanner and Computer-Aided Design. Further, the role of silver, as a preferred unit of payment in Birka, is supported through a spatial analysis of the distribution of Islamic coins and Oriental beads in the provinces of Middle Sweden. Plausible manufacturing sites for the cylindrical lead weights, adhering to the Birka mitqal, are discussed as a possible way of falsifying the hypothesis. The results suggest that a trading fee was extracted, using the Birka mitqal for imports and the Islamic mitqal for exports. The metrological analysis was also expanded to weights from Sigtuna, which proved the Birka mitqal, as well the dual metrics system, continued to be in use there until, at least, the first half of the 11th century. Finally, a short study on the origins of the Scandinavian/Islamic weight system suggests that the direct influence for the system primarily can be attributed the Volga-Bulgarians.

This paper deals with knives excavated in the Birka Garrison between 1997 and 2004, in a selection of 100 knives out of approximately 400. The aim is to measure and analyze the material to find out if certain elements in design points to a specific craft. Two groups of knifeblades can be seen, one with a convex bevel and one with a flat bevel of the blade. Considering osteological evidence, historical sources, and the main suitabillity of the knives, it is concluded that some of the flat beveled knives may have been used for crafting leather and fur, whereas the convex beveled knives are of an allround type.

This paper aims to investigate the embalming process and the Balanites aegyptiaca from two pottery originated in ancient Egypt. The two objects were from Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. Samples were collected and analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify which components the samples contained. The results show complex mixtures mainly consisting of resin origin from Pinaceae and the vegetable oils from the Balanites aegyptiaca.