Kulturmiljövårdens hantering av de gröna miljöerna har länge varit bristfällig, vilket Visby vallgravar utgör exempel på. Park­området som sträcker sig utmed ringmuren från norr till söder ger idag ett till viss del naturpräglat intryck trots att det under slutet av 1800-talet genomgick omfattande planteringar och därmed i hög grad är medvetet gestaltat. Detta har medfört att kun­skapen om varför vallgravarna ser ut som de gör är otillräcklig. När Visby togs upp på UNESCO:s världsarvslista 1995 pekades vallgravarna ut som buffertzon. På ett kontrasterande sätt har man från kommunal sida på senare år utvecklat planer för exploa­tering både i och nära inpå vallgravsområdet. Undersökningen har syftat till att med Visby som exempel belysa hur gröna kulturmiljöer kan komma att tolkas på olika sätt när vi väljer att tillskriva dem särskilda tidslager och därmed bortse från andra. Dessutom har syftet varit att syna hur buffert­zonskonceptet applicerats i den kommunala planeringen och på detta sätt lyfta fallet till ett internationellt perspektiv. Undersökningen har visat på att Planteringsgillets verksamhet till stor del format dagens vallgravsområde. Samtidigt har histo­riens bristande förvaltning tillsammans med senare års ”medeltidifiering” lett till att fokus riktats bort från senare historia och snarare koncentrerats till medeltiden. I relation till den medeltida världsarvsstaden och ringmuren har vallgravarna kommit att mer utgöra en kuliss än en del av kulturarvet. Buffertzonskonceptet har visats möta problem i implementering i nationell lagstift­ning vilket är ett av skälen till ett avvaktande förhållningssätt till området i världsarvsfrågan. Paradoxala motsättningar i form av exploateringsplaner och en vilja att utöka och tydliggöra världsarvet är ett av resultaten som uppvisat ett behov av att öka kun­skapen och på ett tydligare sätt säkra världsarvets och vallgravarnas fortlevnad. / The cultural heritage management’s handling of the green environments has long been inadequate, which Visby moats are exemplifying. The park area that extends along the city wall from north to south today provide a rather natural impression de­spite in the late 1800s undergoing extensive plantings and thus are highly deliberately formed. This has resulted in a poor under­standing of why the moats look like they do. When Visby was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995 the moats were pointed out as a buffer zone. In a contrasting way the municipal authorities have, in recent years, been developing plans for exploitation within and close to the moat area. The research has, with Visby as an example, aimed to show how green cultural environments might be interpreted in different ways when we choose to ascribe to them specific layers of time and thus ignore the others. Secondly, the aim has been to look into how the buffer zone concept is applied in municipal planning and in this way raise the case to an international perspective. The research has shown that the work of Planteringsgillet largely shaped today's moat area. Meanwhile, mismanagement through history along with recent years' “Middle Ageifying" have led to a focus directed away from recent history and rather concentrated on the Middle Ages. In relation to the medieval world heritage city and the city walls the moats have come more to represent a coulisse than a part of cultural heritage. The buffer zone concept has shown to face problems in the implementation in national law which is one of the reasons for a passive approach to the area concerning ​​the World Heritage issue. Paradoxical contradictions in the form of exploitation plans and a desire to expand and clarify the World Heritage Site is one of the results that have demonstrated a need to increase knowledge and a clearer way to secure the viability of the world heritage and the moats.

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.

As humans we function with a biological side and a psychological side. Both of these sides have their needs. We need to put food in our stomach to stop feeling hungry and we need to give things meaning. In a Human Behavioral Archaeological perspective, which focuses a lot on the economical aspect of the animal and the human, the animal was killed for food. But, how was the animal perceived in a cultural perspective, what was the meaning of this animal? This is the question that will have its answer in this thesis. The animal handling of the Pitted Ware culture  will be analyzed from an animistic point of view - meaning, that human, animals and object can have a soul or a personality. This makes the world seem more fluent. The sharp lines between culture and nature, life and death, human and animal get wiped out and we see a world view the modern Western human is not used to. As much as the animal was a prey, it also was a being with a purpose in the Pitted Ware culture. On the Pitted Ware sites at Jettböle on the Aland Island and at Ajvide on Gotland, the seal was the most prominent animal in both the economic and cultural sphere. The clay figurines of Jettböle show some sort of worship of the seal. Among many of the anatomical parts of the animal and human body, the head seems to be of most importance. Even differences within the same culture appear. At Ajvide, there is a clear burial tradition of the deceased humans, whereas at Jettböle, there is not. And as much as the seal is of dominance at Ajvide, the swine comes in at a close second, whereas at Jettböle, there is almost no swine at all.

The aim of this bachelor essay is to study the relation between stone ship settings in Sweden and the symbols occurring on rock carvings, picture stones and metalworks. Are the stone ship settings meant to make the final journey for the dead over to the other side? And serve as a link between our world and the land of the dead? By comparing the theories and interpretations of different scientists and archaeologists I will analyze the different findings and forms of the stone ship settings. The mythology tells tales of the importance of the ship, that it drags the sun from left to right during the day and during the night it goes down under water at the horizon, usually accompanied by animals like horses, fish and snakes. This could be why the direction of the stone ship settings are generally southwest towards northeast, because the sun seems to be at its highest point towards south. A general discussion will be performed during this essay, and to view other archaeologist’s interpretations and research to find answers to what stone-ship settings stands for.

In this paper, I analyze body position and orientation based on material from nine grave fields belonging to the Pitted ware culture (3300-2400 BC) on Gotland, Sweden. The archeological sites consist of Ajvide, Fridtorp, Grausne, Gullrum, Hemmor, Ire, Visby, Västerbjers and Västerbys. The aim of the thesis is to generate information, through the use of Correspondence Analysis, about the individuals and similarities and differences in an attempt to discern possible structures in ritual practice. The subject of the thesis is discussed with a focus on ritual based on Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) theories relating to practice and habitus. The analysis shows that specific body positions were preferred, which expressed minor variations between the archaeological sites. At the same time, it was possible to discern specific practices that were more frequent in certain areas. The dead were most often arranged either in a supine position or on their sides with knees straight or flexed, in a crouched position. The placement of the body in flexed position expressed a distinct differentiation linked to the degree of contraction of the knee- and hip joint, which show that there existed guidelines or standards in the practice of body position. The result also indicated age and gender differentiations expressed through skeletal position and orientation, which were expressed differently within some of the populations. The study has identified both regional and local patterns in ritual practice in relation to body position and orientation. Possible interpretations relating to similarities and differences in the material are further discussed in the thesis in order to identify a ritual context.

In this paper, two parishes on Gotland have been the focus for intense study regarding the organisation and formation of local communications networks. The parishes of Buttle and Fröjel have been studied to see if it is possible to say anything about local communication during the 6th century, a task that earlier research has shown to be difficult. The parishes represent two different types of landscapes, one costal and one inland. The paper has also asked questions about how the development and quality of the roads and communications networks have changed over time. It also discuss how the topographical- and cultural landscape has influenced the organisation of the communications network. The following questions are asked in this paper; 1. How was local communication (communications between the farmstead, its economic resources and its connections to the larger communications network) in the parishes organised? 2. What can be said about the communications networks development and quality through time? 3. How was the topographical- and cultural landscape organisation connected to the communications network?   The main methodology used in the paper is the retrogressive methodology used to recreate a possible 6th century communications network. This methodology utilises and studies the relationship between the earliest known communications network, registered in the 18th century maps, together with Iron Age sites registered, in the FMIS database, as well as topographical and geological maps to recreate a possible 6th century communications network. The analysis shows that it is hard to grasp the local communications during the 6th century. The local communications only emerge when the local roads merge with the regional ones. In many cases, the local roads were probably not much more than paths in the edges of the fields or only identified by the use of known landmarks. The investigation also shows that the regional (and local) roads were situated closer to the 6th century settlements than previously thought. It is also shown that the development of the road network has steadily lead to a more refined and rationalised network. The largest changes can be related to the 19th century laga skifte and to the later introduction of motor vehicles. Before the 19th century the situation is quite stable, only some minor changes during the 18th century can be seen until you reach the beginning of the middle ages. The major changes probably relate to changes in the landscape organisation in relation to the introduction of Christianity. However, it might also relate to the expansion of cultivated land and the resulting changes of settlement patterns. The investigation also shows that the topographical landscape on Gotland provides little hindrance for the organisation of the landscape. Instead, it feels very much like an artificial landscape where borders and organisation are created by humans, rather than by natural landscape formations. The borders in this case are created by the use of graves and their location in the landscape.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the pins from Bunge church, in order to investigate how what they can tell us about the burials inside the church. During the post medieval and early modern period pins were used to fasten the burial shrouds, and to stabilize the fabric on the inside of the coffin lids. Therefore these pins appear in grave contexts, and thus offer possibilities for interpretation of burials. The pins have been ordered according to the shape of the needlehead. A total of 697 pins have been analysed, amongst which four main pin types have been detected. The next step in the study was a chorological study where the pins positions were analysed in comparison to other finds such as craniums and coffin handles. Comparisons were also made with the placement of wall paintings, furnishings and the natural light intake in the church. The spatiality and dating of the pins have been used for the interpretation of the graves temporal and physical placement.

The Swedish Island of Gotland is well-known for being prosperous in cultural  and natural values, as well as for its attractiveness as a touristic destination that draws local and international visitors to its myriad of cultural activities, offerings and establishments. For those reasons, Region Gotland has created comprehensive plans aimed at achieving goals related to exalting the image of the island as place for sustainable tourism and the promotion of culture. However, it is important to identify possible problematics that may arise during the implementation of such plans, and additionally it is important to compare and analyze the directives of the Region against what cultural actors and artists perceive in their day-to-day activities. Therefore, based on the existing literature, the collected data, and the identified themes in this research, a model that seeks to incorporate concepts related to the Promotion of Culture, Culturally Sustainable Enterprises and Cultural Tourism will be presented as a solution to tackle the problems and issues that cultural destinations such as Gotland might face.

Suicide is a worldwide public health issue which has substantial consequences and The World Health Organization (WHO) fears that mental illness will be the largest public health matter in 2030. About 40 times a day Swedish police intervene in suicide cases (polisen.se, 2020) and on Gotland there are both suicide attempts and fulfilled suicide beyond the national average (Public Health Agency, 2020). Since the first quarter of 2020, the education initiative Acute care of suicidal persons" (AOSP) has been conducted in line with a government assignment that the Police Authority has undertaken. This study uses semi-structured interviews to investigate and evaluate the Police Authority's educational efforts and work to prevent suicide on Gotland. Furthermore, the study examines the perceived benefit of the educational initiative AOSP and how the participants experience their self-efficacy to intervene with people who struggle with suicidal behaviour. Previous research shows that qualified and educated police officers will play a crucial role in suicide prevention (Marzano et al., 2016) and police officers' self-efficacy should be strengthened for an effective suicide prevention strategy (Osteen et. Al, 2014). It also appears that factual knowledge combined with practical training generates the best conditions for police officers to handle the encounter with suicidal persons (Isaac et al., 2009). It appears in this study that all interviewees value the education and that the consequences of the education are predominantly good as the participants feel assured in the encounter with mental illness and that in the long run they conduct a better suicide prevention. All informants describe that their self-efficacy to handle the encounter with a suicidal person has been strengthened and that the consequences from the educational initiative in the form of both manifest and latent functions have affected the suicide prevention on Gotland mainly in positive ways.

I denna uppsats diskuteras jakten och nyttjandet av säl på Gotska Sandön, med utgångspunkt i en osteologisk analys av säl- och människoben från en begravningsplats på öns norra kust. Diskussionen inkluderar dessutom jämförelser med arkeologiska lokaler och etnografiska beskrivningar från öar som Gotland, Stora Karlsö, Fårö och Runö. Människobenen kommer från en individ och har daterats till 1400-talet e.Kr. Resultatet av den osteologiska analysen, jämfört med etnografiska källor, indikerar att individen kan ha varit en säljägare. Sälbenen talar om att gråsäl har jagats, och att jakten har inkluderat gamla sälar och sälhanar. Dessa sälar har jagats för sitt skinn och späck snarare än för sitt kött. Sälbenens förekomst på begravningsplatsen kan bero på en förkristen tradition, att de har misstagits för människoben eller att de har varit avfall från den närliggande medeltida boplatsen på Säludden. / This essay discusses the hunting and use of seals on Gotska Sandön, based on an osteological analysis of seal and human bones from a cemetery on the northern coast of the island. The discussion includes comparisons with archaeological sites and ethnographical descriptions from islands such as Gotland, Stora Karlsö, Fårö and Ruhnu. The human bones come from one individual and has been dated to the 15th century AD. The results of the osteological analysis, compared with ethnographical sources, indicate that the individual may have been a seal hunter. The seal bones indicate that grey seal was hunted, and that the hunt included old seals and male seals. These seals were hunted for their skin and blubber rather than their meat. The seal bones may have been buried in the cemetery because of a pre-Christian tradition, them being mistaken for human bones, or them being waste from the nearby medieval settlement on Säludden.