Decades of archaeological projects at Gamla Lödöse have generated a wealth of finds which includes a large collection of textiles and artifacts related to textile crafts. This thesis illustrates how textile related finds have been presented in previous research, and suggests new approaches by which the artifacts can be further explored. Archaeological practices through archival records and published works are discussed, as these practices in themselves create and maintain the artifacts. Finally, this thesis discusses how the concepts of materiality and chaîne opératoire can be applied to gain a deeper understanding of the social aspects of textile related finds and medieval life in Gamla Lödöse.

This Master ́s thesis focused on the oral health of people who lived in Old Lödöse, Sweden during the Middle Ages. Old Lödöse is approximately 4 miles northeast of Gothenburg. The town existed between 1100 and 1646, and within it you can find St. Peder ́s church, St. Olov ́s church and a monastery. The analyzed material was from these three places and consisted of 58 individuals affected by various oral pathology. From St. Peder ́s church there were 33 individuals, from St. Olov ́s there were 4 individuals and from the monastery there were 19 individuals. They were mostly young adults (20 – 35 year) and middle age adults (35 – 50 year), and there were more men (22) than women (14) in the material. Even though there were more individuals at St. Peder ́s church, the monastery’s individuals were more severely affected by various oral pathologies, furthermore the men were more severely affected with oral pathology than the women. In addition, there were two interesting discoveries. Seven individuals, three of them women, had black discoloring on their teeth, and there were six individuals, four of them men, that had special dental wear that may reflect “teeth as tools”, some in the form of grooves. Summarized, the oral health at Old Lödöse was poor.

This thesis focuses on health among children in the medieval town Old Lödöse (1100-1500 AD) in western Sweden. Through the study of health indicators (enamel hypoplasia, growth retardation and porotic hyperostosis) on adults (45 crania), children (31 complete individuals) and the commingled remains of children from severeal contexts. The results showed 66,7% (N= 30 of 45) of the adults and 67,7% (N= 21 of 31) of the children had presence of stress indicators. Although 61,5% (N=8 of 13) of the children and 37,5% (N=15 of 40) of the adults had presence of cribra orbitalia it manifested mildly on several of the individuals. Enamel hypoplasia was present on 53,8% (N= 7 of 13) of the children and 36,8% (N= 15 av 38) of the adults. The enamel disturbances occurred by the ages of two to five. Growth retardation was minimal and was within the standard deviation for each method. The population suffered from ill health due to varying degrees as a result of the urban environment, parasites and infections. Several of the individuals have experienced periods of stress during childhood. The population sample was compared to material from Skara (1100-1500 AD) and New Lödöse (1473-1624 AD). The comparison showed that there was similar health parameters in all three cities during the Middle Ages. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hälsa respektive ohälsa hos barn i medeltida Gamla Lödöse (1100-1500 e.Kr.) genom att studera frekvensen av stressmarkörer. Materialet bestod av 45 kranier från vuxna individer (både män och kvinnor), 31 individer under 20 år samt  209 enskilda element från omrörda kontexter (barn). MNI för barnen i studien blev totalt 56. De stressmarkörer som studerades var emaljhypoplasier, porotic hyperostosis (cribra orbitalia, cribra cranii, cribra humeralis och cribra femoralis) och tillväxtstörningar. Hos vuxna individer studerades endast cribra orbitalia, cribra cranii och emaljhypoplaiser. Resultatet visade att 66,7% (N= 30 av 45) av de vuxna individerna uppvisade spår av stressmarkörer medan 67,7% (N=21 av 31) av barnen (endast de kompletta individerna) uppvisade spår av stressmarkörer. Cribra orbitalia uppvisades hos 61,5% (N= 8 av 13) av barnen medan hos de vuxna individerna var frekvensen endast 37,5% (N= 15 av 40). Nästintill alla individer hade mild grad av cribra orbitalia, likaså för cribra cranii. Emaljhypoplasier fanns hos 53,8% (N= 7 av 13) av barnen medan hos de vuxna var frekvensen 36,8% (N= 14 av 38). Emaljhypoplasierna uppstod i åldern två till tre hos barnen och åldern tre till fem år för de vuxna individerna. Tillväxtstörningarna hos barnen var minimala och inom standardavvikelserna för respektive metod. Slutsatsen var att den undersökta population led av ohälsa i varierande grad från ung ålder och att flera har upplevt episoder av stress orsakade av bland annat miljömässiga faktorer som ökade risken för infektionssjukdomar och parasiter. I jämförelser med material från Skara (1100-1500 e.Kr.) och Nya Lödöse (1473-1624 e.Kr.) framkom det att frekvensen av stressmarkörer är högre, men att antalet undersökta individer är mindre i Gamla Lödöse. Förutom det tros städerna ha varit lika gällande hälsoparametrar hos barn.