One of the most discussed archaeological subjects is the neolitisation, and the start of a neolithic lifestyle which is characterized by several significant events. The traditional view has been that settled people were cultivating and breeding, but this picture has been questioned and changed in later years. The development is principally based on two models; that already neolithic people immigrated and took over, or that the new lifestyle gradually developed out of the existing cultures. Southern Scandinavia was characterized by a settlement pattern with permanent settlements which were complemented by temporary special settlements, but in time more domestic settlements originated. On the British Isles the settlements didn´t consist of permanent agricultural settlements but instead did the people here move freely between several short term settlements.

This thesis examines a sample of Pitted Ware pottery from the Gotlandic site of Ajvide in regard to the spatial and temporal relationship of the shards. Ajvide Stone Age site have been extensively excavated over the past 25 years and the most recent analysis of pottery was carried out by Inger Österholm in 1987 and new analyses of the material are therefore greatly needed. Pottery from three sample areas was analysed in regard to their distribution, decoration, fragmentation, part of pot and quality of the goods. To analyse the material in a contextual way a multivariate statistical analysis called correspondence analysis was used. Two areas denominated “dark areas”, which Österholm defined previously, as possible ritual sites, and one reference area with mixed material were chosen for the analysis. By including two of these “dark areas” the study also examine if similarities or differences could be seen among the shard distribution how these areas have been defined and possibly re-defined.

Den här studien gäller Romersk järnålder i Sverige och Storbritannien med fokus på den senare. Det är en komparativ analys av utvalda delar av den materiella kulturenfrån ett antal olika lokaler i Sverige och Storbritannien med intentionen att skapa vidare förståelse rörande romersk influens i dessa regioner. Vidare är intentionen att uppsatsen skall undersöka möjliga likheter eller skillnader och därigenom dra slutsatser om romerska influensen var stark eller svag i de utvalda bosättningarna i Storbritannien och Sverige. Var den så kallade Romaniseringen för samtliga invånare eller var den enbart reserverad för eliten? / This is a study of the Roman Iron Age in both Sweden and Britain but with a focus on the latter. The study includes a comparative analysis of selected goods in the material culture at a number of different sites in Sweden and Britain in the aim of understanding the extent of the Roman influence at these sites. The aims of the essay is to investigate if we can notice similarities between the Swedish and British setting and thereby draw conclusions regarding the Roman influence or lack of it in the Rural setting of Britain as well as the chosen settlements in Sweden. Was the Romanization of Britain for everyone or was it reserved for the elite?

<p>Is it relevant to treat bog bodies as its own category within the archaeological research? This paper examines how scholars and researchers, through their publications and depictions of the preserved prehistoric individuals, are helping to create such a category. What has changed in the way scholars look at and describe these astounding finds? Also examines the various theories researchers provide regarding bog bodies and how they are deposited.</p>

<p>What is located on the bottom in the water outside of Birka? Remains of a water palisade or jetties and other constructions.</p><p>Birka a Viking Age town that existed between AD 750 and 975 was located on the northwestern part of the small island of Björkö, in the Mälar archipelago of the Baltic Sea in Sweden. The Town was protected onshore by a hill fort and a town rampart. It is a widely spread assumption that Birka had a water palisade as a part of its<strong> </strong>defense. There are logs and other remnants on the bottom of the lake dating back to the Viking age. Uncertainty remains as to the origin of these remnants. The questions being, are they from a water palisade or the remnants of jetties and other constructions. The amount of fire wood alone needed to support 500 inhabitants for one year is equal to a wall of wood one meter high, one meter wide and two kilometers in length. This calculation does not take into account the wood used for transportation of other materials, people and animals. The conclusion is that future examination of the area is necessary to find out what is located on the bottom in the water.</p>

<p>Joakim Schyman, 2009. Den gotländska vikingatida bebyggelsens rumsliga placering ilandskapet - En empirisk detaljstudie av Hemse socken (The spacial distribution of the VikingAge settlements on Gotland – An emperical study of remains from Hemse Parish.)</p><p>This essay investigates whether a relation between Viking age graves and Viking agesettlements in Hemse parish can be found. This was done by using database information onViking age findings, such as silver hoards, phosphate levels and location of graves in Hemseparish. Literature and maps were also used. Earlier research shows that the Viking agesettlements can be found by silver hoards and relatively high phosphate levels. This essay'sanalysis verifies this. The analysis also shows the possibility of a prehistoric court leet locatedin the center of Hemse parish. The Viking age graves are located close to the possible courtleet, along the ridge running through the parish. These graves are seen as a grave fieldcommonly used by all the settlements in the parish. Findings close to the settlements showthat inhabitants also buried their dead close to their settlements as a marking of territory. Thisgives us a complex picture of the connection between the habitants and their burials duringthis period.</p>

<p>On the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea there have been 18 archaeological find of bronze swords and five finds of bronze miniature swords and they have been dated to the bronze age periods II-VI. They have been found as ritual hoard offerings, as treasure hoards and in graves. These finds will be put in relation to each other and the bronze age landscape they have been found in. The purpose of this is to see if there is a pattern to be seen, if a specific sword-type can be found in a grave or hoard or if there’s a pattern to be seen in there placement in the landscape relating to other bronze age sites. The question of who used the sword during the bronze age will also be asked, followed by a discussion of gender, gender roles and power on Gotland during the bronze age.</p>

What is located on the bottom in the water outside of Birka? Remains of a water palisade or jetties and other constructions. Birka a Viking Age town that existed between AD 750 and 975 was located on the northwestern part of the small island of Björkö, in the Mälar archipelago of the Baltic Sea in Sweden. The Town was protected onshore by a hill fort and a town rampart. It is a widely spread assumption that Birka had a water palisade as a part of its defense. There are logs and other remnants on the bottom of the lake dating back to the Viking age. Uncertainty remains as to the origin of these remnants. The questions being, are they from a water palisade or the remnants of jetties and other constructions. The amount of fire wood alone needed to support 500 inhabitants for one year is equal to a wall of wood one meter high, one meter wide and two kilometers in length. This calculation does not take into account the wood used for transportation of other materials, people and animals. The conclusion is that future examination of the area is necessary to find out what is located on the bottom in the water.

This thesis studies settlement continuity on Gotland between approximately AD 200 and AD 1700. The method used is to calculate correlation between the geographical distribution of all known Iron Age stone-wall-houses (on Gotland known as "kämpagravar") and all farms included in the detailed taxation maps from approximately 1700. The number of remaining house foundations is between 1800 and 1900. A model to estimate the number of removed foundations is presented. It is based on the assumption that the settlement density was proportional to land use around 1700, and that the rate of removal is related to the current land use. Based on similarity with contemporary farms on Öland and in Denmark, it is also proposed that Iron Age farms on Gotland were less dispersed. The common view in archaeological literature is that Iron Age farms on Gotland often had their buildings spread more than 200 meter apart. It is estimated that the remaining 1800+ foundations represents more than 2700 Iron Age farms with a total of more than 4700 houses. Compared to previous studies, the fluctuation in number of farms between maximum expansion during Late Roman Iron Age and Viking Age, and maximum contractions during the Migration Period and Late Middle Ages, also is much larger. By parish, the number of farms per km2 and the average farm size have been calculated, both for the stone-wall houses and for the farms as they were represented around 1700. Using regression analysis, the correlation between the two datasets was estimated. No significant correlations were identified. The distribution of the remaining stone foundations and/or the estimated distribution before removal have also been compared to known borders and corresponding administrative districts – since the Middle Ages, Gotland has been divided in tredingar (third parts), settingar (sixth parts), 20 thing/court districts and 95 parishes. The tredingar and partly the settingar correlate with the stone foundation distribution, but not the thing districts or parishes. The correlation and lack of correlation might be explained by input errors or confounding factors, but the historical records supports the interpretation that the tredingar and settingar has been in continuous use since before the Middle Ages, and that the thing districts and the parishes were introduced during the Middle Ages. At least 24 farms with the name "Stenstugu" are known in Gotland. "Stenstugu" distribution coincides with centrums of stone foundation concentrations in a way that cannot be explained by coincidence or confounding factors. Probably, the name "Stenstugu" originates from the Roman Iron Age and is related to stone foundations settlements. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera kontinuitet från gotländsk stengrundsbebyggelse på äldre järnålder till bebyggelsen ca år 1700. Detta har skett genom en statistisk-geografisk jämförelse av alla kända stengrunder på Gotland med 1700-talsbygden sådan den framträder i skattläggningskartan från ca år 1700. Antal kvarvarande stengrunder på Gotland är drygt 1800. En bortodlingsmodell har tagits fram som är baserad på antagandena att ursprunglig stengrundskoncentration är beroende på ägoslag år 1700 och att bortodling är beroende av nutida markanvändning. Dessutom har en ny tolkning av vad som motsvarar en gård i stengrundsmaterialet föreslagits. Den baseras på att stengrundsgårdar liksom samtida gårdar på Öland och i Danmark var tätt grupperade. Det innebär att gårdsantalet blir mycket högre än tidigare beräkningar som baserades på gårdar med byggnader som ibland låg mer än 200 meter ifrån varandra. Med den nya bortodlingsmodellen och det nya gårdsbegreppet har bortodlingen skattats till ca 60 %, vilket innebär att antalet stengrundshus skattats till drygt 4700 och antalet stengrundsgårdar till drygt 2700. En konsekvens av det betydligt större antalet gårdar än tidigare beräkningar är att fluktuationerna i antal gårdar mellan höjdpunkterna under yngre romersk järnålder och vikingatid, och lågpunkterna under folkvandringstid och senmedeltid också varit betydligt större än tidigare beräkningar. För varje socken har antal gårdar per km2 och genomsnittliga storleksmått per socken beräknats, och använts för jämförelser mellan äldre järnålder och 1700-tal. Regressionsanalyser har inte påvisat någon korrelation mellan bevarade stengrunder och 1700-talsbebyggelse. Eftersom beräkning av järnåldersbebyggelsen före bortodling bygger på just 1700-talsbebyggelse är det inte meningsfullt att söka korrelation mellan dem. Fördelning av bevarade stengrunder och beräknad fördelning av stengrunder före bortodling har jämförts med historiskt kända administrativa indelningar på Gotland – tredingar, settingar, ting och socknar. Tredingarna och i någon mån settingarna korrelerar med stengrundernas fördelning, men inte tingen och inte socknarna. Dess statistiska samband kan naturligtvis bero på att stengrunder och tredingar var samtida, men inte de övriga indelningssystemen. Det skulle också kunna förklaras med att det finns felkällor i mätningarna och samvarierande faktorer snarare än ett direkt orsakssamband. Även de historiska källorna går att tolka som att tredingar och settingar har hög ålder, och inte de andra indelningarna, vilket innebär att det finns visst stöd för att tolka korrelationen mellan stengrunder och tredingsindelning, som att de existerade samtidigt. Det finns minst 24 gårdsnamn med "Stenstugu" jämnt fördelade över Gotland. "Stenstugu" visar ett tydligt samband med förekomsten av stengrundskoncentrationer, vilket inte kan förklaras med slumpen eller andra samvarierande faktorer. Namnet bör därmed kunna kopplas till stengrundsbebyggelsen från romersk järnålder.

Denna studie inkluderar resultat från osteologiska analyser från tre stenålderslokaler på Gotland: Visborgs Kungsladugård, Strå samt Gisslause. Dessa tre lokaler är daterade till Mesolitikum, dvs. bland de tidigaste faserna på Gotland. En majoritet av de identifierade benen har varit från säl och därför har uppsatsen kommit att handla om den säljakt som utövats på dessa tre platser. Utifrån de fynd som analyserats har skillnader kunnat uttolkas vad det gäller både åldersfördelning och fördelning av olika sälarter mellan vissa av lokalerna. Visborgs Kungsladugård visar på en majoritet av yngre gråsälar till skillnad från Strå och Gisslause där det existerar en jämn fördelning mellan gråsäl och vikare, likaså en jämn fördelning mellan åldrarna. Tolkningen av detta pekar på en delvis säsongsjakt där populationerna har jagat på olika sätt på olika delar av Gotland. I uppsatsen har även en diskussion angående den marina anpassningen tagits upp. Denna anpassning har setts i tre stadier, lakustrin, littorin och marin. Den mesolitiska populationen på Gotland passar in på det littorina stadiet där en full marin kultur inte ännu varit helt utvecklad. Då det främst jagats säl på och nära stranden samt att ett visst insjöfiske utövats påvisar resultaten att ett fullt utnyttjande av havet ännu inte bedrivits.