This study concerns three necklaces, found in three women’s graves in the Viking age city Birka, placed on the island Björkö in the lake Mälaren. The necklaces are well ornate with pearls of carnelian, rock crystal, glass and amber, as well as silver pendants in the shape of for example animals, chairs and crosses.                                                                                    The aim is to examine what purpose the necklaces and their pendants had in its contemporary time, as well as to examine the purpose and possible religious role of the women who owned the necklaces. In order to examine this the graves with the necklaces will also be compared with so called “völvegraves”, which are graves meant for völvor, vǫlur, women who were fortune-tellers. The graves are compared since a hypothesis have been formed, and through a hypothethico-deduction method I hope to see if the aim of this study can be answered. Delimitations are that not all pendants from the necklaces will be used, only categories that will bring forth an analysis as well a discussion. Only two of three völvegraves will take part in the study, since one of them needs more interpretation and analysis.                The study showed similarities between the graves with the necklaces and the völvegraves, which supports a positive outcome of the method. The major differences between the graves were the objects interpreted as ritual, the staff and the necklaces. However, since a hypothethico-deduction theory can be limited, the discussion also focused on the pendants of the necklaces, and what they can say about function and worth. Since the pendants show a connection to the god Oden, I concluded that the necklaces were used as religious objects, and that the women possibly could have had the role of a gydja, but that they had Oden as their main God. I also concluded that the women were connected to vǫlur through the connection to Oden as well as chair pendants, but that the women with the necklaces probably were not vǫlur.

The Viking Age town Birka has since long been a central part of archaeological studies and excavations in Sweden. It has brought much light and information about the people living there from the late 8th century to the late 10th century. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the decorated spears found in a selected number of Birka's chamber graves to see if any visual traces of religious expressions are present. The spears and their context will then be put into contrast with the clear patterns of the worship of Odin in Birka's Garrison area and religious studies from pre-Christian Scandinavia. This is done in the hopes of shedding some light on the spear’s relevance in the Viking Age's culture and religious contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the eastern silver crisisin the mid 10th century on the cultural connections and trade routes of the Late VikingAge Sveonic realm. By studying status symbols, such as weapons, glassand the decorative parts of the male and female dress, I expected to find that eastern influencesdeclined in favour of more western elements. This proved to beproblematic. The material indicates a continued strong cultural exchange between the Sveonic realmand theSlavic regions, even though trade clearly shifted westward. My explanation for this is thateven though, and perhaps because of, king and church favoured a shift towards west, the demand for western goods other than silverremained low during the late 10th and 11th century.In addition to this,even though the direction of trade shifted, it was still largely conducted within the Slavic cultural sphere. There is also very little indicating the presence of foreign merchantsother than Slavicand probablyFrisianin early Sigtuna. My explanation for this is that the Sveonsmainly went overseasto sell their merchandise, and that they were forced to do so since Sigtuna,as opposed to Birka, could offer no unique goods which wouldattract foreign merchants.

Studies with primary focus on Viking age gilding techniques in Scandinavia has not been carried out since the sixties. During the past 50 years knowledge about prehistoric gilding techniques and traces of them in the archeological material, as well as the usage of natural sciences within archaeology, has developed considerably. The aim of this thesis was to revisit the topic of gilding and shed new light on Viking age metalworking in Scandinavia with focus on gilding techniques. The second aim was to determine the possibilities and limitations of the study of gilding with a non-destructive methodology. The surfaces of 13 metal objects, four of which are indigenous and the rest are imported goods, were analyzed with SEM-EDS. The chemical compositions of the gilded layers as well as the underlying silver- or copper alloys were analyzed. Furthermore, observations of micro morphological structures were carried out on the gilt surfaces. Interpretations of both chemical compositions and micro morphology were carried out in order to identify what technique or techniques have been used for gilding. The results show that two of artefacts have not been gilded at all, five of them have been fire gilded and the results of the remaining six objects are inconclusive mainly due to lacking reference data. It can be concluded that further research regarding the aging of gilt surfaces on gilded artefacts, more specifically the loss of mercury in fire gilded surfaces over time, needs to be carried out.

<p>This paper deals with flat iron fragments from the Viking Age hall situated in Birkas Garrison, Adelsö parish in Uppland. The aim of the study was to identify which objects these flat fragments were originally derived from. The aim was also to discuss the function of these objects and their presence in the hall. This would hopefully increase the knowledge about the hall and the warriors who lived and worked there. In some cases the fragments form and placement in the hall has not provided enough information to classify the object from which they derived. Where it has been possible, a majority of the fragments has been interpreted as parts of chest mounts or shield buckles. The result of the analysis shows the possibility of a large chest having once stood in the southwest corner of the hall.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Terrace III in the Birka Garrison. An analysis of function based on artifact quantification and find preparation. This paper deals with Terrace III in the Garrison of Birka, Uppland, Sweden. The main purpose is to investigate the function of Terrace III. The analysis consists of two parts. One is to analyse the stratigraphy including layers, constructions and finds. Beads and coins are selected for a discussion of dating. The other part consists of a comparison between the find material from the Hall building, the Smithy and Terrace III. Beads are discussed separately. The results are not definite due to the fact that the terrace is not completely excavated. The finds indicate that Terrace III could have been used as storage house or a dwelling house. The pottery could be taken as evidence for a storage house (and possibly the amount of rivets and nails). The presence of personal finds show that the house might have been used as a dwelling house. A few finds indicate some kind of workshop activity. The finds from Terrace III can be dated to the end of the 10th Century.</p>

Abstract Terrace III in the Birka Garrison. An analysis of function based on artifact quantification and find preparation. This paper deals with Terrace III in the Garrison of Birka, Uppland, Sweden. The main purpose is to investigate the function of Terrace III. The analysis consists of two parts. One is to analyse the stratigraphy including layers, constructions and finds. Beads and coins are selected for a discussion of dating. The other part consists of a comparison between the find material from the Hall building, the Smithy and Terrace III. Beads are discussed separately. The results are not definite due to the fact that the terrace is not completely excavated. The finds indicate that Terrace III could have been used as storage house or a dwelling house. The pottery could be taken as evidence for a storage house (and possibly the amount of rivets and nails). The presence of personal finds show that the house might have been used as a dwelling house. A few finds indicate some kind of workshop activity. The finds from Terrace III can be dated to the end of the 10th Century.

This paper deals with flat iron fragments from the Viking Age hall situated in Birkas Garrison, Adelsö parish in Uppland. The aim of the study was to identify which objects these flat fragments were originally derived from. The aim was also to discuss the function of these objects and their presence in the hall. This would hopefully increase the knowledge about the hall and the warriors who lived and worked there. In some cases the fragments form and placement in the hall has not provided enough information to classify the object from which they derived. Where it has been possible, a majority of the fragments has been interpreted as parts of chest mounts or shield buckles. The result of the analysis shows the possibility of a large chest having once stood in the southwest corner of the hall.

Birka contains a lot of rich graves and tombs with weapons and warriors, one of these has beeninterpreted as a male in the late 1900-th century but now confirmed as a woman according to anew study of her aDNA. In her grave there where a lot of objects that´s been interpreted asmasculine before but now we can see that they were used by a woman. The warrior womanfrom Birka has raised a lot of questions whether of the aDNA was correct. This paper is goingto look through the critics by a gender perspective and see if its reasonable.

During the 9th and 10th centuries large amounts of Islamic coins arrived in Scandinavia. Most of them were used as silver in a bullion-economy and were often fragmented because of this. However, their use was not limited to only economic purposes because we see large amounts of pendants made of these coins. By suspending a coin with a loop or only a hole you transform it into something completely different, something that has a new meaning. This new meaning is the focus of this thesis and by analysing graves where Islamic coin pendants were deposited, we can conclude how they were thought of and used. In this thesis I conclude that Islamic coin-pendants were used as status objects during the Viking-age, by both elite and non-elite people in Uppland. The Islamic inscriptions on the coins were most likely not understood and probably only seen as symbols and patterns similarly to other European coin-pendants.