The aim of this study is to understand the colonization process of the county Närke in relation to the surrounding archaeologically defined areas western Sweden and eastern central Sweden. By using a comparative analysis and a landscape analysis in combination with a theoretical framework that advocates for colonization as a process and not an event, I argue that Närke was colonized from within eastern central Sweden around 8 500 BC, based on the use of local raw material quartz. Further, I argue for the importance of the sea to the mesolithic people in the area around 7 500–4 500 BC as more than just an economic resource. Around 4 500 BC contact with groups in western Sweden increased which in time brought the idea of farming to the area. The late mesolithic sites in Närke show continuity into the early neolithic age, rejecting the idea of a Funnelbeaker migration in the area.

The nature of the relationship between the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture has dominated Swedish Middle Neolithic research, since the question was raised a century ago. Basically, the debate is concerned with whether or not the two material cultures express two different ethnical groups. Proponents for the currently established perspective stress that the cultures represent two distinct ethnic groups. A large amount of research has focused on identifying differences between the two cultures in the archaeological record. This study will test an alternative approach to the archaeology of the Middle Neolithic. Rather than presuming an antithetical relationship between the two cultures attention will be given to investigating the relationship between the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture. This will be done by a landscape centered approach. In the first case I will test the conventional opinion expressing that the two cultures are spatially separated to the coast and the inland. In addition, the analysis seeks to understand how different activities were located in relation to various landscape phenomena. In the second case study, phenomenology and current landscape theory combined with a viewshed GIS-analysis will form the basis for a discussion regarding the localisation and function of the Pitted Ware sites. In the third case I will discuss connective features of the Middle Neolithic landscapes in the Lake Hjälmaren area. Focus will be given to the long-term processes and the reproduction of the cultural landscapes over time. Based on the results, I will propose that the Middle Neolithic archaeological record, rather than being the result of two ethnic groups, express a dynamic and active society that manifests itself through a variety of different places, which were maintained for specific purposes.

The use of past archaeological survey data for examination of landscape dynamics became very popular during the last decades of the 20th century, when Geographical Information Systems analysis were introduced in archaeology. In the present thesis, past survey data from Northern Messenia’s Middle and Late Helladic periods are combined to the topography and the environment of the region. These data are examined under the GIS prism, which attempts to update our knowledge on this geographical area.             The main scope of this thesis is to examine potential settlement patterns and land use, connectivity between sites and sites’ hierarchies. In the first query, the Kernel Density analysis has been used for estimating settlements’ patterns, and to consequently estimate preference of specific topographical features for land use, such as slope. Based on the patterns formed as a result of the analysis conducted in the first query, connectivity and hierarchy between sites is being tested with the use of cost connectivity and visibility tools.             The outcome of this analysis shows that the inhabitants of the past were significantly interacting with the landscape, since they preferred to nest around the protective slopes of the Soulima and the Kyparissian valleys. The area around their settlements reveals that these inhabitants opted to cultivate in flat or marginal land, while visibility from the sites seems to be an important factor for monitoring the region. However, it has been proved that a good number of collaborating sites were required to supervise the entire territory, which disproves any hierarchical ranking between them. On the other hand, connectivity depicts potential movement over Northern Messenia’s terrain and indicates that a few sites in the heart of the study area were to be considered as panoptic meeting grounds of the eastern and the western side. In conclusion, the overall analysis reveals a potential spatial bond between sites rather than a relationship based on rivalry.

The Colossi of Memnon are a prominent feature of the constructed landscape at ancient Thebes (modern day Luxor, Egypt). They were built on the West Bank during the later years of Amenhotep III reign and they stood in front of his royal cult temple, Mansion of Millions of Years, known today colloquially as Kôm el-Hetan. There is no consensus on the purpose of the statues and it is plausible that they were meant to represent multiple things. However, what all the theories surrounding their purpose have in common is that they are all reliant on the visibility of the statues. The Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey led by Angus Graham (Uppsala University) discovered that the royal cult temple and colossi statues was built on top of an elevated area of what is believed to be have been a pre-existing wadi fan (Toonen et al.2018; 2019). To the east of the temple, a minor channel of the Nile river was also discovered. The aim of this thesis was to analyse the visibility and visual experience of the Colossi of Memnon during the 18thDynasty. By analysing the boreholes from the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey, I have (re)constructed the geological features of the surrounding landscape in a game engine (Unity). The visual analysis was done by a combined GIS spatial analysis and a VR based phenomenological approach. I concluded that the levees of the minor channel of the Nile were not elevated high enough to create any substantial blocking of the view from the floodplain or from inside of the channel during the low season. It was only when you got up close to the levees and kneeled on the ground that you would lose sight of parts of the colossi. As the surface level of the Nile rose during its annual cyclethe, it would be easier to observe the statues from any part of the minor channel. As for the visual experience of observing the Colossi of Memnon from different parts of the model, the experience only changed slightly from viewing the statues from the view of the floodplain or the channel. What changed the experience drastically was if you approached the statues from the front of from the side. As you approached the statues from the front you had the statues standing symmetrically in front of the temple and they are in turn facing you. Being in front of the Colossi statues creates a feeling of being part of the statues’ experience. Not only where the humans meant to see the statues, I believe that the statues were meant to see us. This as the most ideal location to observe and visually experience the statues, is where we are in the view of both the Colossi of Memnon. The experience of the statues fades as you approach them from their side where you become the observer rather than the observed. The visual experience from the side also results in that you do not get to fully take part in the experience that both statues provide. This is because one of them becomes slightly blocked by the other. / <p>På grund av pandemi utfördes opponering på distans över Zoom</p>