This paper deals with flat iron fragments from the Viking Age hall situated in Birkas Garrison, Adelsö parish in Uppland. The aim of the study was to identify which objects these flat fragments were originally derived from. The aim was also to discuss the function of these objects and their presence in the hall. This would hopefully increase the knowledge about the hall and the warriors who lived and worked there. In some cases the fragments form and placement in the hall has not provided enough information to classify the object from which they derived. Where it has been possible, a majority of the fragments has been interpreted as parts of chest mounts or shield buckles. The result of the analysis shows the possibility of a large chest having once stood in the southwest corner of the hall.

The aim of this study is to determine what can be known about the people who were able to write runes during the Viking Age. The investigation is based on the runecarvers’ own statements about themselves and their work, which is normally found in the signature or the carver formula of the inscriptions. The material comprises all carver formulas known from primarily Scandinavian Viking-age runic inscriptions, but since most of the inscriptions are found on rune-stones, there is a focus on runecarvers who worked in this material. In the study the form and content of these carver formulas are closely analyzed in different ways. It can for example be shown that the choice of verbs in a carver formula is primarily determined by chronology, which is also reflected in the geographical distribution of different verbs in the material. The study also shows that the carver formula is normally positioned finally in the text, and that the examples of other positions might be determined by the content of the rest of the inscription. In some cases the runic monument is signed by more than one name, which has been interpreted as indicating the existence of workshops. Even if this is true for parts of the material, many of the co-signed stones seem to be the products of carvers who only worked occasionally. An investigation of the personal names and the use of attributes such as patronymic, titles or bynames, shows no difference from the normal Viking-age population, which indicates that the rune-carvers were not members of a special social class. The latter part of the study deals with the relationships between the rune-carver and the sponsor of the runic monument. Special attention is paid to some local carvers in the Mälar Valley in order to determine their social status and the extent of their production of rune-stones. The study shows that some of these carvers belonged to a wealthy group of land-owners with contacts abroad, and many of them have executed about ten rune-stones, often in the vicinity of their own dwellingplace. In conjunction with this, there is also an attempt to see to what extent the writing habits of these local carvers are influenced by more productive and presumably professional carvers. This investigation leads to a re-evaluation of one of the most famous carvers in the district, Åsmund Kåresson, which also has some implications for the picture of how the rune-stone custom was introduced into central Sweden at the beginning of the 11th century.

Sigtuna’s trade and production has been the subject of an increasing amount of archaeological investigations during the last 30 years. However, most of the research has been conductedregarding the buildings, coin mints and precious metal objects. This thesis will instead research one of the basics of the production, namely the iron. By reviewing the iron objectsand currency bars from house X in the city block Humlegården 3. Through high precision studies with conservation and scanning electron microscope I will be able to come one step closer to identifying what sort of items were produced on the site and discerning what status and function the smithy had. I will also investigate the possibility to track the origin of the iron. / Sigtunas handel och produktion har varit föremål för ett ökande antal arkeologiska undersökningar de senaste 30 åren. De flesta av dessa undersökningar har handlat ombyggnader, mynthus och föremålsstudier. Den här uppsatsen kommer istället att undersöka ett av hantverken som krävs för att kunna utföra många andra hantverk, nämligen järnhantverk. Genom att undersöka järnfynden och ämnesjärnen från hus X i kvarteret Humlegården 3, via detaljerade studier som inkluderar konservering och Svepelektronmikroskop, kommer jag att komma ett steg närmare vilka föremål som producerats på platsen samt utröna vad för status och funktion smedjan hade. Jag kommer även undersöka om det är möjligt att säga någonting om järnets ursprung.

In this thesis a ground-penetration radar survey was carried out in four areas, Borgmästarängen, Draken, Urmakaren and Koppardosan in Sigtuna. The aim of this paper is to detect remnants of the Viking Age harbor at those chosen sites. Former research investigations have discovered findings which are related to shipbuilding like clench nails, rivets and boat nails; however, the question remains whether Sigtuna ever had a central harbor, and researchers suggested instead that every town plot had its own mooring. This paper addresses this question by deploying geophysical surveys to increase the understanding of the town’s organization. Furthermore this paper will discuss how the detected structures can be understood in comparison to earlier Viking Age and early Medieval towns, in this case Birka, Hedeby and Schleswig where central harbors have been discovered and investigated.

Šioje disertacijoje tyrinėjami keltų ir skandinavų kalbų ir kultūriniai kontaktai Vikingų laikotarpiu, atnešę esminių permainų abiems kultūroms. Vikingų epochos Meno salos runų įrašai savo forma, turiniu bei kalbos ypatybėmis skiriasi nuo skandinaviškų runų korpuso. Šios salos runų įrašams įtakos turėjo Ogamo įrašų tradicija, dėl kurios runų tradicija suklestėjo Meno saloje Vikingų laikotarpiu. Vienas iš unikaliausių bruožų yra taip vadinamieji dvikalbiai runakmeniai, kur greta runų įrašo yra Ogamo įrašas, išraižytas ant akmens tuo pat metu kaip ir runos. Svarbus Meno salos runų įrašų skiriamasis bruožas – jų kalbiniai ypatumai. Viena vertus, runose gausu keltiškų vardų, antra vertus, galima pastebėti, jog senosios skandinavų kalbos gramatika gerokai pakitusi. Ištyrus runų įrašus matyti, kaip skandinavų kalbos gramatika keičiasi dvikalbėje visuomenėje. Antroje disertacijos dalyje aptariami keltiški elementai vienintelėje išlikusioje norn kalba užrašytoje „Baladėje apie Hildiną“, kuri buvo sukurta nuolat besikeičiančioje kalbinėje, socialinėje ir kultūrinėje aplinkoje. Jūrinės Šetlando ir Orknio salų visuomenės generavo įvairius pasakojimus, kurių motyvai ir elementai atkeliaudavo iš įvairių kraštų. „Baladė apie Hildiną“ yra neabejotinai vakarų skandinavų kilmės, tačiau joje aptinkama keltiškų motyvų. Baladės teksto analizė rodo, jog pasakojimo lygmenyje ji yra nemažai pasiskolinusi iš keltų pasakojamosios tradicijos. Ypač ryški „karaliaus ir deivės tema“. Tačiau jei ir būta... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This dissertation deals with Viking Age Celtic and Scandinavian language and cultural contacts which resulted in profound changes in both societies. Viking Age rune-stones found in the Isle of Man contain some exceptional features and in many ways diverge from the rest of the Scandinavian runic corpus. Presence of the Ogam tradition in the Isle of Man might have been one of the factors why rune-stones were so well accepted and flourished in the isle during the Viking Age. One of the most unique features is the presence of bilingual runic-Ogam inscriptions which were carved at the same time as runic inscriptions and not earlier. Linguistic research of the Manx rune-inscriptions revealed the influence of Celtic upon Scandinavian language. First of all, rune-inscriptions contain a lot of Celtic personal names. Besides, there are many cases of inflectional confusion that is likely to arise in a bilingual society. The second part of the dissertation discusses Celtic elements in the only surviving ballad in Norn language Hildinavisen, which seems to have been created in continually changing linguistic, social and cultural conditions. The marine societies of Shetland and Orkney Islands generated various stories, where motifs and elements traveled from various directions. Hildinavisen is certainly of West Scandinavian origin, but it contains or rather is adorned with Celtic motifs. The analysis of the text of Hildinavisen seems to indicate that in the level of the story Hildinavisen... [to full text]

Female warriors from the Viking Age is a subject that has been debated and interpreted in many different ways. The modern view on the binary gender roles is one of the reasons why it has been hard for archaeologists to interpret the female warrior graves. The graves are often interpreted in other ways then that the weapons in the graves would belong to the female individuals. Archaeologists rather explain the graves existence because of other reasons than that the female individuals would have been warriors. The issue of the study is whether the female warrior graves from the Viking Age differ from a female gender role, or if the warrior role possibly could be a part of a female gender? Also, why are there so few female warrior graves? The study will be based around three graves, Bj 581 from Birka in Sweden, Mound 50 from Heath Wood in England and T20248 from Nord-Trøndelag in Norway. The analysis and discussion are based on a gender perspective, new ideas will be added to the discussion based on age, gender roles, gender expression and social status. The results may indicate that female gender rolls might be changeable depending on the female individual’s social status, age and life stage.

This thesis examines archaeological eggshell finds from cremation graves in the Swedish province of Uppland as well as inhumation graves from the island of Gotland. All graves are dated to the Viking Age, however, the chronology varies by the region, with the period´s ending placed around year 1050 AD in Uppland and around year 1150 AD at the island of Gotland. An attempt is made to create a list of all known cases of egg depositions in graves during the period of interest, and to subsequently analyse them all in order to get a better understanding of this practice. The comparative analysis of the artefact assemblages within the graves and grave constructions is undertaken in order to identify possible regularities in how and when the egg was used within the ritual sequence. Although notable regional variations and differences in Viking Age burial customs are known to exist between the two investigated regions, and artefacts deposited within the graves are adapted to regional conditions, it is possible, amongst other things, to observe similarities in the timing of egg deposition. By understanding the funeral as a rite of passage that signified the transition between the states of life and death, and with the final goal of achieving the distinction between the world of the living and the realm of deceased ancestors, it is possible to better comprehend the funeral rituals and their archaeological remains – in this case avian eggshells. By applying van Gennep's rites of passage tripartite structure, involving separation, liminality, and incorporation, it is concluded that eggs, as we see them in the archaeological material presented in this study, are used in the last stage of this model. This is the part of the process where the main goal is reintegration of those who participated in ritual into a new social order. It is thus proposed here that eggs might be seen as hierophanies:  profane, everyday objects that have manifested into something sacred and who are clearly understood as such to those involved in burial but not necessary to outsiders: as symbols for fertility, regeneration, rebirth and transformation.

The purpose of this thesis is to get more knolwledge on a detailed level about places with runestones in close connection with a stone ship in the province of Södermanland. The knowledge touches upon questions how these places were created but also questions about why they were created through the theoretical perspective of cognitive archeology. The thesis starts with dicussing a possibly new discovery of an original stone setting for the runestone from Sannerby, Årdala parish SÖ 319, that was moved from Sannerby in the 18´th century. The thesis will argue that this original stone setting is possibly, by the author, a discovered stone ship. Further twelve places have been investigated in the landscape with or/that have had a runstone in close connection to a stone ship. One main result in the investigation is that almost all these places are in connection with a grave field and two places are also by tradition named as a local ting. These last mentioned two places have also erected flat stones while the other stone ships are built with low rounded stones.  The thesis further shows how and why these places were built, on a cognitive map with symbols in three different themes. The theme of symbols of religion will show that people were much affected by the change of religion from pagan religion to Christianity, and this could express a conflict in the society. The second theme is symbols that express social hierarchy and statements of power, and it expresses high social and economic status with aristocratic farmers who could afford to travel abroad. And the possible importance of language on a high level in the material of the poetic type of runestone texts. The third and final theme is symbols that expresses the marking of a place, one's territory, and the theses suggest that some of these places were created to express the runestones sponsors right to their inheritance, even if the deceased died abroad. But because there was a conflict of religion in the society the close connection to a stone ship could possibly mean that the sponsors of the runestone maybe needed the authority of an older type of monument to prove their right to inheritance. Because not everyone in their local society would accept a Christian runestone as a legal act.

The thesis aim is to discuss the Gotlandic jewelry constellations and the difference in the jewelry assemblies between five Viking Age burial grounds on the island from an intersectional perspective. Differences or alikeness between the burial grounds are meant to highlight or decline a possible group dynamic on the island where different subgroups could be detected in an overall Gotlandic group. The subgroups could be a result of trad or local expression that show up in the jewelry constellations and by that means highlight an expression beyond the Gotlandic grouping. Following questions is discussed in relation to the different jewelry constellations in the graves, is there any differences between the jewelry constellations on the analyzed burial grounds that could indicate more than one group in the Gotlandic population during the Viking Age? How can different genders be visible in the jewelry constellations of feminine and masculine graves on the five burial grounds? If more than one group can be detected, is it possible to interpret a difference in possibility to express gender in the jewelry constellations between the burial grounds? The Gotlandic feminine jewelry has been interpreted as specific for Gotland during the Viking Age and has been discussed to show an overall group on the island. In relation to this, the five analyzed burial grounds show about a third of the graves having no jewelry in the graves and a varying jewelry constellation in the feminine graves. The thesis discussion shows a possible difference even between the jewelry in masculine graves on the burial grounds that has been analyzed which earlier studies have not highlighted. The result shows a variation both between the five burial grounds but also between the individuals. What earlier has been understood as the traditional Gotlandic feminine jewelry constellation has in the analyzes been shown to relate quite little to the actual material. Few feminine individuals have been buried with the traditional jewelry constellation, more often are they buried with a few Gotlandic jewelry items and with varying placements in the graves. In summary, the five burial grounds show a variation in local tradition and manifestations related to the Gotlandic grouping.

This essay analyzes the concept of blot (offerings), places where it´s been held, how it was performed and why it is performed according to literature sources. The literature is often based on Icelandic sagas and storytelling originating from the Christian period, and even though, the storys should be told with some truthful facts, the conclusion is, that these are not trustworthy sources. The question regarding the sagas veracity is therefore discussed from an archaeological viewpoint. Can we find proof in the archaeological material that will give us answers if blot is an individual happening, that actually existed? The answer is no, because there is no actual evidence available that can guarantee that blot as a specific event did occur. The archaeological sources reveal that sacrifices and offerings was made outdoors and in halls. This essay has been investigating three places in Sweden, Bollstanäs in Uppland, Skedemosse on Öland and Helgö in Mälaren. All of these places have proof of sacrificial offerings but their relation to the blot mentioned in saga literature is uncertain. My conclusion is that blot is a subject that is difficult to find as an event in the archaeological material.