During the Vendel period the elite started to bury their men and women in the boat graves. The boat graves have been interpreted differently depending on if the graves were made for men or women. But the grave goods have one thing in common. The grave goods, consisted of weapons, jewelry, riding equipment, gaming pieces and hand craft tools, proves that the buried persons belonged to an upper-class with a connection to the religion, the gods and the fertility cult.

Rekonstruktioner inom arkeologi är en effektiv metod för att visuellt återskapa forntida föremål och miljöer. De har potentialen att skapa och förmedla trovärdig kunskap, samt engagera allmänheten om vår gemensamma forntid. En väl utförd rekonstruktion bör vara grundad i arkeologisk dokumentation, välgrundade tidigare tolkningar och analogier. Dock har rekonstruktioners kvalité och trovärdighet varit varierande, vilket även påverkar hur tillförlitlig informationen som förmedlas till en betraktare är. I studien utförs en kritisk granskning av två rekonstruerade betsel från båtgravfältet i Vendel, benämnda som praktbetsel XII och betsel XIV. Dessa är för närvarande del av Statens historiska museums utställning ”Forntider”. Rekonstruktionernas utförande undersöks samt utvärderas utifrån parametrarna trovärdighet och funktionalitet. / Archaeological reconstructions are an effective way to visually re-create ancient objects and landscapes. They hold the power to create and convey credible knowledge and engage a broader audience about our common past. A well-made reconstruction should be based on archaeological documentations, legitimate previous interpretations, and analogies. However, the quality and reliability of archaeological reconstructions showcase a wide variety which also effect the conveyed information’s credibility. This study aims to critically examine two reconstructed bridles from the boat-grave cemetery in Vendel, referred as “praktbetsel XII” and “betsel XIV”. These are currently part of the exhibition “Forntider” at Statens historiska museum. The execution of the reconstructions is examined and evaluated based on the parameters of credibility and functionality.

In the collections of Uppsala university, cared for by the university Museum Gustavianum, is the collection of finds from the Valsgärde cemetery, located 4 km north of Uppsala. The cemetery contained boat graves, chamber graves, cremation graves and other finds. Among the boat graves, dating from around c 600–c 1000 AD, some includes textile finds. The primary source material for this study are the tablet woven bands found in three of the Viking age boat graves. I first came across these tablet woven borders in 2014 when writing an early stage thesis in Textile history (Textilvetenskap), a subject taught at Uppsala university at the department of Art History. This article is based on the research I carried out then and have since continued with. The research focuses on the weaving techniques and materials used in the bands. An attempt to work with a theoretical framework based in crafts research and crafts as a concept and idea – instead of just being a method for understanding the production process from a technical perspective – is also made. The bands are brocaded with metal thread, similar to the Birka bands. However, in the Valsgärde bands a spun thread is used in all bands but one. What makes the bands from Valsgärde particularly interesting are the two different weaving techniques present.  Some of the bands are patterned with the quite common technique “lifted warp threads”, and some with an additional weft in a soumak technique. Metal brocaded bands patterned with soumak are unusual both in the Viking age and in the later medieval material. The theoretical framework of the study shows that the bands can be interpreted as part of a symbolic funeral outfit. If the bands are used prior to the funeral is not known. The study draws on material from both earlier and later periods to discuss why this dress decor appears in Viking age Scandinavia, and particularly in East Sweden. The fashion of the Frankish crusade era take part in the discussion and so does the tirazsystem of early Islam. The study concludes that understanding Viking age dress is much more than knowing what the persons wore. The symbolic dress in the graves tells us about some kind of fashion – or vestment – system and if we can read the code, we would be a lot closer to an understanding about the Scandinavian mentality of the time. This however is a task for a larger study, this one has only shown where to start.

När vikingatiden kommer på tal, leds tankarna ofta osökt till Birka. För även om Birka låg på en ö i Mälaren, så var det allt annat än isolerat. Istället ingick Birka i ett komplext nätverk som täckte såväl nära bygder som fjärran stränder. Därav följer att nyckeln till vår förståelse av Mälardalens vikingatid ofta finns i Birka. Men även det motsatta gäller, och ibland behöver arkeologer titta åt andra håll för att uppnå en bättre förståelse av Birka. Detta ömsesidiga förhållande ska illustreras med hjälp av ett båtgravsfynd från Turinge i Södermanland. / <p>Övriga forskningsfinansiärer:</p><p>Berit Wallenbergs stiftelse ("Transformationer inom vikingatidens djurornamentik"), Helge Ax:son Jonsons stiftelse ("3D-laserskanning som verktyg vid vikingatidsstudier")</p> / En förlorad värld? - Turinge re-visited / 3D-laserskanning som verktyg vid vikingatidsstudier / Transformationer inom vikingatidens djurornamentik

På Båtgravfältet i Vendel har det hittats fjorton gravar och den första hittas i samband med byggandet av ett dike till kyrkans nya mur. Gravplatsen undersöktes första gången 1882 och det visade sig att många av gravarna hade blivit störda och utsatts sedan tidigare. Gravarna är daterade mellan 575–1050 e.Kr.  Uppsatsen beskriver hur båtgravarna i Vendel har könsbestämts som manliga krigargravar utifrån stereotypiskt manliga vapen/krigargravar. Däremot står två av gravarna ut då det fanns kvinnlig attribut som könade artefakter (pärlor). Krigargravar har traditionellt blivit tolkade som manliga gravar utifrån de begränsade binära genusrollerna. Det kommer också diskuteras om det kan ha varit någon individ som har definierat sig som icke-normativ. / In the boat-gravefield in Vendel, fourteen graves have been found and the first one was found in connection with the construction of a trench for the new wall of the church. The burial site was first investigated in 1882 and it has been shown that many of the graves have been disturbed and exposed since before. The graves are dated between 575–1050 AD. The essay describes how the boat-graves in Vendel have been gendered as male warrior graves based on stereotypically male weapons/warrior graves. However, two of the graves stand out as there were female attributes, gendered artifacts (pearls). Warrior graves have traditionally been interpreted as male graves based on the limited binary gender roles. It will also be discussed whether it may have been that some individual has defined themself as non-normative.