<p>This paper deals with the connection between food and burial habits during the late Iron Age in present-day Sweden. The archaeological material used in the study consists of 16 potsherds from a burial site at Alsike hage, Alsike parish, in the province of Uppland in east-central Sweden. On these potsherds have been conducted FTIR- and GCMS-analyses, in order to see what types of food have been deposited in the burials. Furthermore, the result of the GCMS-analyses has been compared to contemporary material from both burial sites and settlement sites, in order to establish whether differences between the compared materials exist. The analyses show that there are differences between the material from burial sites compared with the material from settlement sites, but not any particular differences between the material from different burial sites. Among these differences we can see that the settlement sites show: a higher amount of total lipid content, a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids indicating that food was heated in them, a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids from crop products as the only content, and a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids from ruminant animals. The interpretation of these results is also discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the results of the FTIR-analyses also shows a good correlation with the results from the GCMS-analyses, it seems that the organic “foodcrusts” analysed with FTIR indeed stem from the same meal indicated by the GCMS-analyses.</p>

<p>Andersson, J. 2008. <em>Bildstenarna och den muntliga traditionen på Gotland under yngre järnålder</em>. <em>The Picture Stones and the Oral Tradition of Gotland During the Late Iron Age. </em>Högskolan i Kalmar ht 2008.</p><p>This is a study of the picture stones of Gotland and the oral tradition connected to them. This study consists of two main parts; in the main part the discussion focus on the oral tradition and the continuity of the same, where the memory plays a significant role. It also contains a discussion of the physical environment and its influences of the oral tradition. The second part concentrates around the picture stones, the variation of the scenes and the numerous of them. </p><p>Keywords: oral traditions, picture stones, late iron age, Gotland, Nordic mythology.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

This paper deals with the connection between food and burial habits during the late Iron Age in present-day Sweden. The archaeological material used in the study consists of 16 potsherds from a burial site at Alsike hage, Alsike parish, in the province of Uppland in east-central Sweden. On these potsherds have been conducted FTIR- and GCMS-analyses, in order to see what types of food have been deposited in the burials. Furthermore, the result of the GCMS-analyses has been compared to contemporary material from both burial sites and settlement sites, in order to establish whether differences between the compared materials exist. The analyses show that there are differences between the material from burial sites compared with the material from settlement sites, but not any particular differences between the material from different burial sites. Among these differences we can see that the settlement sites show: a higher amount of total lipid content, a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids indicating that food was heated in them, a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids from crop products as the only content, and a higher amount of vessels which contained lipids from ruminant animals. The interpretation of these results is also discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the results of the FTIR-analyses also shows a good correlation with the results from the GCMS-analyses, it seems that the organic “foodcrusts” analysed with FTIR indeed stem from the same meal indicated by the GCMS-analyses.

This paper deals with archaeological prospecting for the purpose of finding a prehistoric settlement in Alsike hage, Alsike parish, Uppland. The methods being used are soil phosphate analysis, electromagnetic survey and settlement analysis. Two 20x20 meters areas have been prospected. As Alsike hage contains several late Iron Age burial fields, large splendid zones for settlement location, closeness to water as well as farmland there was a hope of locating remains of prehistoric settlement in the area. None of the prospected areas showed any distinct evidence of settlement remains. Still, the results showed anomalies in both areas, both in the electromagnetic survey as in the phosphate analysis. Therefore, the possibility of finding such remains in the two prospected areas cannot be ruled out.

This paper deals with prehistoric charred organic material, interpreted as bread, found in graves and in the underlying settlement at Kalvshälla, Järfälla parish in Uppland. The aim was to categorize the organic material morphologically and with the help of Fourier transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to see whether it was bread or not. Material from 13 graves (dated to Late Roman Iron Age until Viking Age) and 3 finds from the settlement have been analysed. Differences were noted both in shape, porosity and structure. Some of the material has been interpreted as cereal based foodstuff instead of bread due to morphological discrepancies. No clear differences between material from the graves and the settlement can be seen. One find from a posthole can be dated to late Bronze Age, which is unusual. The bread in the graves was intentionally given to both adult females and males maybe as a symbol of their roles as the good householders. Several finds of root tubers of dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris) were identified in female graves from Early Iron Age, but also in two male graves with bread from Vendel period. The FT-IR method does not give a clear answer to whether the organic material can be bread or not. The method requires careful sampling procedures and several samples from each concretion to get good results.

This paper deals with diet and gender in the early roman iron age in Sweden. Human bone and tooth material from the Iron Age cemetery at Bjärby in Kastlösa parish on the island of Öland have been analysed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. 21 individuals were sampled. Where possible 4 samples were taken from each individual, from the first, second and third molar respectively and from one compact bone. By doing so it is possible, at least in theory, to trace intra-individual diets throughout life. In total, 64 samples were analysed by isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The low [delta]13C values indicate a diet based mostly on terrestrial resources, while the high [delta]15N values indicate some significant marine input. This discrepancy may be explained by an intake of freshwater fish or meat from suckling animals. The isotope values do not indicate any significant dietary reliance on cereals. Some gender differences in diet were observed. The [delta]15N values of the women were higher than those of the men, indicating a higher tropic level throughout life. The third molar [delta]13C values of the men were higher than those of the women, indicating a somewhat more substantial marine input during the teenage years.

Hunting ground graves were distinguished as a separate category during the 1930s.         There is however no clear definition of what a hunting ground grave is. They have been constructed over a large area over a long period of time (200 BC-1200 AD) and their morphology varies. This paper investigates how the archaeologists have discussed the hunting ground graves since they were distinguished as a separate category until today. It investigates what concepts that have been used to define and categorize the graves as a group. It also investigates if the choices of concepts are depending on a broader societal perspective. To find the answers to these questions two surveys have been done. In the first one, texts about the hunting ground graves, written by scientists from 1931 to 2009, are analyzed. The second survey is a questionnaire sent to archaeologists working at museums and at the County Administrative Board in the regions of northern Svealand and Norrland.     The source material in both surveys is mainly studied qualitatively, where phrases and choices of words are analyzed using the concepts and methods derived from the research tradition of conceptual history. In the second survey quantitative elements is also analyzed, which aims to show how different views on the hunting ground graves are spread over different counties. The results of the surveys show that the concepts used to define the graves contain locked dichotomies concerning location, economy and ethnicity. The research from the twenty-first century is however increasingly thinking about hunting ground graves as an expression of meetings and mixtures of cultures. The second survey shows that there is no clear consensus on the concept of lake graves (the concept lake graves was used in the questionnaire) among the archaeologists answering the questionnaire. On the contrary, they consider the concept unclear and difficult to use.

This thesis studies settlement continuity on Gotland between approximately AD 200 and AD 1700. The method used is to calculate correlation between the geographical distribution of all known Iron Age stone-wall-houses (on Gotland known as "kämpagravar") and all farms included in the detailed taxation maps from approximately 1700. The number of remaining house foundations is between 1800 and 1900. A model to estimate the number of removed foundations is presented. It is based on the assumption that the settlement density was proportional to land use around 1700, and that the rate of removal is related to the current land use. Based on similarity with contemporary farms on Öland and in Denmark, it is also proposed that Iron Age farms on Gotland were less dispersed. The common view in archaeological literature is that Iron Age farms on Gotland often had their buildings spread more than 200 meter apart. It is estimated that the remaining 1800+ foundations represents more than 2700 Iron Age farms with a total of more than 4700 houses. Compared to previous studies, the fluctuation in number of farms between maximum expansion during Late Roman Iron Age and Viking Age, and maximum contractions during the Migration Period and Late Middle Ages, also is much larger. By parish, the number of farms per km2 and the average farm size have been calculated, both for the stone-wall houses and for the farms as they were represented around 1700. Using regression analysis, the correlation between the two datasets was estimated. No significant correlations were identified. The distribution of the remaining stone foundations and/or the estimated distribution before removal have also been compared to known borders and corresponding administrative districts – since the Middle Ages, Gotland has been divided in tredingar (third parts), settingar (sixth parts), 20 thing/court districts and 95 parishes. The tredingar and partly the settingar correlate with the stone foundation distribution, but not the thing districts or parishes. The correlation and lack of correlation might be explained by input errors or confounding factors, but the historical records supports the interpretation that the tredingar and settingar has been in continuous use since before the Middle Ages, and that the thing districts and the parishes were introduced during the Middle Ages. At least 24 farms with the name "Stenstugu" are known in Gotland. "Stenstugu" distribution coincides with centrums of stone foundation concentrations in a way that cannot be explained by coincidence or confounding factors. Probably, the name "Stenstugu" originates from the Roman Iron Age and is related to stone foundations settlements. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera kontinuitet från gotländsk stengrundsbebyggelse på äldre järnålder till bebyggelsen ca år 1700. Detta har skett genom en statistisk-geografisk jämförelse av alla kända stengrunder på Gotland med 1700-talsbygden sådan den framträder i skattläggningskartan från ca år 1700. Antal kvarvarande stengrunder på Gotland är drygt 1800. En bortodlingsmodell har tagits fram som är baserad på antagandena att ursprunglig stengrundskoncentration är beroende på ägoslag år 1700 och att bortodling är beroende av nutida markanvändning. Dessutom har en ny tolkning av vad som motsvarar en gård i stengrundsmaterialet föreslagits. Den baseras på att stengrundsgårdar liksom samtida gårdar på Öland och i Danmark var tätt grupperade. Det innebär att gårdsantalet blir mycket högre än tidigare beräkningar som baserades på gårdar med byggnader som ibland låg mer än 200 meter ifrån varandra. Med den nya bortodlingsmodellen och det nya gårdsbegreppet har bortodlingen skattats till ca 60 %, vilket innebär att antalet stengrundshus skattats till drygt 4700 och antalet stengrundsgårdar till drygt 2700. En konsekvens av det betydligt större antalet gårdar än tidigare beräkningar är att fluktuationerna i antal gårdar mellan höjdpunkterna under yngre romersk järnålder och vikingatid, och lågpunkterna under folkvandringstid och senmedeltid också varit betydligt större än tidigare beräkningar. För varje socken har antal gårdar per km2 och genomsnittliga storleksmått per socken beräknats, och använts för jämförelser mellan äldre järnålder och 1700-tal. Regressionsanalyser har inte påvisat någon korrelation mellan bevarade stengrunder och 1700-talsbebyggelse. Eftersom beräkning av järnåldersbebyggelsen före bortodling bygger på just 1700-talsbebyggelse är det inte meningsfullt att söka korrelation mellan dem. Fördelning av bevarade stengrunder och beräknad fördelning av stengrunder före bortodling har jämförts med historiskt kända administrativa indelningar på Gotland – tredingar, settingar, ting och socknar. Tredingarna och i någon mån settingarna korrelerar med stengrundernas fördelning, men inte tingen och inte socknarna. Dess statistiska samband kan naturligtvis bero på att stengrunder och tredingar var samtida, men inte de övriga indelningssystemen. Det skulle också kunna förklaras med att det finns felkällor i mätningarna och samvarierande faktorer snarare än ett direkt orsakssamband. Även de historiska källorna går att tolka som att tredingar och settingar har hög ålder, och inte de andra indelningarna, vilket innebär att det finns visst stöd för att tolka korrelationen mellan stengrunder och tredingsindelning, som att de existerade samtidigt. Det finns minst 24 gårdsnamn med "Stenstugu" jämnt fördelade över Gotland. "Stenstugu" visar ett tydligt samband med förekomsten av stengrundskoncentrationer, vilket inte kan förklaras med slumpen eller andra samvarierande faktorer. Namnet bör därmed kunna kopplas till stengrundsbebyggelsen från romersk järnålder.

During an excavation at Old Uppsala 571 raw garnets was found. In comparison with similar fragments from other sites in Sweden my aim was to prove a completely domestic production of garnets for cloisonné work. I have chosen to look at the archaeological sites of Old Uppsala, Valsta, Slöinge and Paviken and more closely at the material from Old Uppsala and Valsta. My theoretical framework has been to look at the garnets own agency in the contemporary society. Garnet cloisonné was a popular jewellery form during the Merovingian period on the continent although it came to an end in the early 7th century. It was during this time in Scandinavia a new sort of garnet, technique and paste was introduced and the garnet cloisonné was profoundly used for the gear of the elite and ritual objects. I believe to have showed that from the 7thcentury and onwards the whole production was domestic but further investigation of the garnets, mostly of a chemical nature, is required. / Gamla Uppsala - framväxten av ett mytiskt centrum

Andersson, J. 2008. Bildstenarna och den muntliga traditionen på Gotland under yngre järnålder. The Picture Stones and the Oral Tradition of Gotland During the Late Iron Age. Högskolan i Kalmar ht 2008. This is a study of the picture stones of Gotland and the oral tradition connected to them. This study consists of two main parts; in the main part the discussion focus on the oral tradition and the continuity of the same, where the memory plays a significant role. It also contains a discussion of the physical environment and its influences of the oral tradition. The second part concentrates around the picture stones, the variation of the scenes and the numerous of them.  Keywords: oral traditions, picture stones, late iron age, Gotland, Nordic mythology.