<p>The first part of this essay focuses on how we relate to the landscape at the international and the national level today. The landscape convention is presented and compared to actual current Swedish policies. Different definitions of landscape are discussed. The second part renders the landscape in different archaeological contexts. The central theme is the attempt to investigate if and how we can approach prehistoric man by looking at the landscape as a socially constructed concept. How we should relate to thelandscape from a prehistoric standpoint today is the topic of the third and final part of the study.</p>

The first part of this essay focuses on how we relate to the landscape at the international and the national level today. The landscape convention is presented and compared to actual current Swedish policies. Different definitions of landscape are discussed. The second part renders the landscape in different archaeological contexts. The central theme is the attempt to investigate if and how we can approach prehistoric man by looking at the landscape as a socially constructed concept. How we should relate to thelandscape from a prehistoric standpoint today is the topic of the third and final part of the study.

The questions that are answered in this essay are to assess if the competition within the Swedish system of contract archaeology work as it is formulated in the law, Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950), and in accordance with the preparatory work, as well as if the processing and decisions in contract archaeological matters take place according to basic general procurement principles, which could be found in the act on public procurement.This essay shows that the requirement for the procurement of archaeological investigations according to the Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950) is not met, as most of the archaeological assignments are procured through direct selection and under lack of transparency.In the market of contract archaeology there is a demand for increased transparency by the investigators, i.g. to avoid that investigators are selected based on distance to the investigation. A national overview of the distribution of assignments in the Sweden is also requested, by the investigators, both from an economic and qualitative perspective. The investigators believe that this type of statistics shall be provided by the central authorities the Swedish National Heritage Board.The result of the analysis showed that competition in Swedish contract archaeology does not work, as it is formulated in the law Historic Environment Act (SFS 1988:950), in accordance with the preparatory work and according to general procurement principles. The Swedish National Heritage Board has not succeeded in demonstrating that the task of promoting increased competition and efficiency within the contract archaeological system in Sweden has been achieved.

Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka och jämföra förväntningar och faktiska upplevelser på Birka, dels från arrangörernas sida och dels från besökarnas sida. Genom att ta reda på vilken upplevelse Riksantikvarieämbetet och Strömma Turism och Sjöfart vill ge sina besökare så kunde vi sedan mäta förväntningar och upplevelser bland besökarna och således jämföra dessa. Metod: Vi genomförde denna undersökning genom att hålla två kvalitativa intervjuer med dels Lena Johansson på Riksantikvarieämbetet och dels Andreas Forsgren på Strömma Turism och Sjöfart. Vidare så delade vi ut en enkätundersökning vid två olika tillfällen till besökare på Birka. Slutsats: Både Riksantikvarieämbetet och Strömma Turism och Sjöfarts mål är att ge sina besökare en genuin och lärorik upplevelse i vikingatida miljö. Resultatet visar att besökarnas förväntningar överrensstämmer med deras mål, medan den faktiska upplevelsen varierade. För många av besökarna överträffade upplevelsen förväntningarna, men för de allra flesta motsvarade upplevelsen bara deras förväntningar. Endast två personer upplevde att besöket inte motsvarade förväntningarna. Nyckelord: Birka, Strömma Turism och Sjöfart, Riksantikvarieämbetet, förväntningar, upplevelser, besökare, kundnöjdhet. / Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to investigate and compare the expectations and actual experiences at Birka, partly from the organizers and from the visitor´s side. By finding out what kind of experience the Swedish National Heritage Board and Strömma Turism och Sjöfart want to give their visitors, we could then measure the expectations and experiences with the visitors and thus compare them. Methodology: We conducted this study by holding two interviews, one with Lena Johansson of the Swedish National Heritage Board and one with Andreas Forsgren at Strömma Turism och Sjöfart. Furthermore we distributed a survey on two separate occasions for visitors to Birka. Conclusions: Both the Swedish National Heritage Board and Strömma Turism och Sjöfart aims to give its visitors a genuine and educational experience in a Viking Age setting. The result showed that visitor´s expectations are in accordance with the organizations objectives, while the actual experience varied. For many of the visitors the experience surpassed their expectations, but for most of the visitor´s the experience corresponded to their expectations. Only two people felt that the visit did not meet their expectations.