This paper examines peat that was discovered next to a skeleton dug out in wetlands next to lake Bokaren in Uppland, Sweden, in 2015. The skeleton was that of a man from the Roman Iron Age. It was found in fen peat, where soft tissue decomposes but bones are often well preserved. The elemental composition of the peat was examined using X-ray fluorescence. It was found that the composition of heavy elements was likely a result from exchange between the body and the peat. There were also trace elements, some of which may originate from medicine or other use. There may also be traces of brass. X-ray diffraction however revealed no trace of mineral formation. The lipid content of the peat was examined using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry. Fatty acids, cholesterol and degradation products expected from a waterlogged, anaerobic environment where discovered. Dark-colored peat surrounding body was found to contain lipids from the body and lipids from the inside of the skull where particularly well preserved. Theoretically, both lipid analysis and XRF could be used to locate bodies in fen peat by sampling. From the lipid analysis, one may draw the conclusion that it was a primary burial and that the body was put in a wet context short time after death. Efforts may have been taken to prevent the body from floating to the surface. The head of the body probably came off during decomposition with soft tissue remaining.

The study describes and explains the geographical, economic and political development in theUppsalaarea from the Bronze age to the Vendel Period. The landscape development was central. In the 1990s 14C datings made it possibly to create maps of this using GIS. The area contains forty thousand known constructions. When plotted they provide a picture of the area use. Together with information regarding the climate, pollen analyses and the external economic and political development, conditions was discerned. The key to the development was the position at the edge of the expanding mainland. The vicinity to earlier cultures, the River Dalälven and Åland together with possible contacts with southern cultures were significant.  In Periods III-IV led unrest to collaboration and the markings of territories. Cairns, hill forts, large stone settings and the great cult house in Håga were constructed. The Håga mound was probably an attempt to retain the old order. Towards the end of the Bronze Age, the collaboration withered and there are indications of border zones.   The boat-development around AD 0 expanded the contacts, mainly through long-distance travel for catching herring or seal. Although agriculture provided a basis for subsistence in the area and increased, it was not dominating. Fishing, hunting and gathering together played an equal role. The organized long-distance trade was limited. Helgö was a collaborative project to tie into international trading networks. After the Roman Period, Fjädrundaland’s predecessor was no longer an autonomous power. In the 6th century fighting occurred between the precursors to Attundaland and Tiundaland/Fjädrundaland. It ceased AD 600, and it seems likely that a federation was formed. Gamla Uppsala and the royal election site at Mora became the insignia. The federation formed a political impasse which with the economic situation may be the cause of the slow changes during the Vendel Period.

This paper is a study of the Swedish fornborg Torsburgen on Östergarnslandet, Gotland. This is the largest fornborg on Gotland and it has an area of 112 hectares. The northern, eastern and western parts of the plateau, on which Torsburgen is lying, has natural cliffs of up to 30 meters, while there in the southern part is a two-kilometer-long wall. During the 1980´s a part of the wall was excavated in an attempt to date the construction. The conclusion was, that it had many different building stages. The earliest find was dated to the later Roman Iron Age (AD 200-400) and that period is therefore also the focus of this paper.  The aim of this paper is to explain different hypotheses of why this wall was built (for what reason) and what purpose did it fulfill in society. Archaeological finds from Gotland, dated to the period of the later Roman Iron Age, often show connections to the Roman Empire and therefore the construction could be a result of influences from that part of the world.  It is however, with today’s knowledge, not possible to point out one specific reason why the wall of Torsburgen was built and for what reason they needed to fortify the area of 112 hectares. It could have been an invading force, but it could just as likely have been a need of a hideout to protect the inhabitants on the island from an invading force. Other hypotheses are that it could have been a place for religious practice or a hideout for exiled people, which some people claim that an episode in the Gotlandic legend Gutasagan is about. Hopefully archaeological finds in the future could lead to new knowledge and maybe result in an answer of why this monument is standing there.

Few helmets, dated to the Vendel period are known from Scandinavia and even fewer are known from the Viking age. Paradoxically, picture stones and sagas frequently tell about these objects as if they were very common, something that is contradicted by the archaeological material. The purpose of this thesis is to examine different literary sources and compare these to the archaeological materials and by doing so, gets a clearer picture about the emergence, use, function and of the late Iron Age helmets in Scandinavia.

This essay aims to explore continuity in water centric cult within the period of the Christianization of Scandinavia (ca 800-1100 AD) and to understand the changing of symbolism of water in pre-Christian cult and early Christian religion. It has previously been thought that Christian priests took over the old holy wells and renamed them after saint, all to ease the pagan people into a Christian lifestyle. But archaeological evidence shows that the cult at these wells, and other water centric sites, where almost completely abandoned a few hundred years before the Christians came to Scandinavia. The Christians should not have felt the need to transform this tradition since it was only practiced in a very small and supposedly private scale. On the contrary, religious activities at these wells seems to increase with the new religion and perhaps this is explained by Christianity itself. Water was an important element in the liturgi and especially in baptism. In early Christian Europe special chapels were built to baptize children but also grown men and women and historical sources speak of the importance of baptism in "living water". This essay discusses the possibility that these wells were used to baptize the newly converted Christians, thus receiving its sacred status. The official sping cult ended in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation as it was prohibited but still the wells were visited and the cult was kept alive.

No description available.

A lost iron realm?Iron production in southern Hälsingland during the late iron age This bachelor thesis explores the prehistoric iron production in the Swedish province of Hälsingland, with a special focus on the parishes surrounding the Marmen and Bergviken lakes. A vast amount of remains from bloomery iron production was discovered during the 1980’s in the area surrounding the lakes, consisting of iron making sites and charcoal pits. This thesis focuses on the spatial distribution of those remains, which are studied and analysed mainly through GIS. Their spatial relation to natural-geographical phenomenon and indicators of settlement is analysed and discussed, with comparisons to other Swedish provinces. In addition, 14C-datings are calibrated and discussed on a critical basis. The occurrence of spade-shaped currency bars in Hälsingland is discussed based on their physical appearance and context of finding. Finally the author suggests how to work with the known material in order to gain new scientific knowledge.

<p>Genom att titta på utvalda kategorier av fasta fornlämningar, fornfynd och platsnamn lokaliserar uppsatsen centralplatser på Öland under folkvandringstid. Kategorierna som har studerats närmre är fynd av guld, glas, bronsstatyetter, svärd och svärdsdetaljer, fornborgar, storgårdar samt platsnamn indikerande gudanamn och kultplatser. Centralplatsindikatorer från romersk järnålder har också gåtts igenom i syftet att få en bild av även denna periods centralområden på Öland. Resultaten har sedan jämförts och kontinuitet respektive diskontinuitet diskuterats. Resultaten har även jämförts med tidigare studier av centralområden och sett om dessa har gått att vidimera eller falsifiera.</p> / <p>This study has located central places from the Migration Period on Öland by studying chosen categories of ancient monuments, archaeological finds and place names. The chosen categories are gold, glass, bronze statuettes, swords and sword details, hillforts, large farms and place names indicating names from the gods and places of worship. I have also studied indications of central places from the Roman Iron Age, to get a picture of the central areas from this period too. The results from the two periods have then been compared and continuity and discontinuity is discussed. The results has also been compared with earlier research and watched if their theories have been possible to certify or falsify.</p>

I Gamla Uppsala har det förekommit arkeologiska utgrävningar i omgångar i flera år och decennier då platsen är känd för att ha varit bebodd så långt bak i tiden som järnåldern. Den senaste utgrävningen utfördes i samband med bygget av en järnvägstunnel som är en del av Ostkustbanan. Arkeologiska utgrävningar har delvis syftet att ta reda på hur folk har levt på en plats dvs. vilka grödor som odlades, vilka redskap som användes osv. För att få fram information från förhistoriska boplatser använder arkeologerna sig av olika metoder. En av dessa metoder är makrofossilanalys. Makrofossilanalys går ut på att fröer av bland annat sädesslag och ogräs extraheras, kvantifieras och artbestäms. Denna metod har legat till grund för detta projekt i syfte att funktionsbestämma tre hus från en järnåldersboplats i Gamla Uppsala. Metoden visade sig vara väldigt användbar i detta projekt då resultatet i viss utsträckning har kunnat användas för funktionsbestämning men det blev uppenbart att metoden enbart ger antydningar och fungerar bäst i kombination med andra metoder exempelvis fosfatanalys i en kombination med en tolkning av det övriga arkeologiska materialet. / There have been several excavations in Old Uppsala over the years and decades since the area has been inhabited since the Iron Age. The most recent excavation took place in connection with the construction of a railway tunnel, which is a part of the East Link project. The object of an archaeological excavation is to obtain information about the way in which previous civilizations lived in a specific location, what kind of crops were cultivated, what kind of tool were being used, and so forth. In order to obtain information about prehistoric settlements, archaeologists use a variety of different methods. One of these methods is called macrofossil analysis. By using macrofossil analysis, seeds and cereals, in the shape of macrofossils, can be extracted from soil samples. By analysing macrofossils, it is possible to obtain information about buildings and thereby establishing their purposes, for instance residence, barn, and so forth. In this thesis work, macrofossil analysis was used as a way to establish the different functions of three buildings from an Iron Age settlement in Old Uppsala.

Genom att titta på utvalda kategorier av fasta fornlämningar, fornfynd och platsnamn lokaliserar uppsatsen centralplatser på Öland under folkvandringstid. Kategorierna som har studerats närmre är fynd av guld, glas, bronsstatyetter, svärd och svärdsdetaljer, fornborgar, storgårdar samt platsnamn indikerande gudanamn och kultplatser. Centralplatsindikatorer från romersk järnålder har också gåtts igenom i syftet att få en bild av även denna periods centralområden på Öland. Resultaten har sedan jämförts och kontinuitet respektive diskontinuitet diskuterats. Resultaten har även jämförts med tidigare studier av centralområden och sett om dessa har gått att vidimera eller falsifiera. / This study has located central places from the Migration Period on Öland by studying chosen categories of ancient monuments, archaeological finds and place names. The chosen categories are gold, glass, bronze statuettes, swords and sword details, hillforts, large farms and place names indicating names from the gods and places of worship. I have also studied indications of central places from the Roman Iron Age, to get a picture of the central areas from this period too. The results from the two periods have then been compared and continuity and discontinuity is discussed. The results has also been compared with earlier research and watched if their theories have been possible to certify or falsify.