Trefoil brooches are one of the most abundant types of Viking Age jewellery in Scandinavia. This thesis delves into the journey of one such brooch, known as 555783, discovered in Birka, Sweden. Through an archaeological object biography approach this thesis examines the brooch's construction, provenance, transportation, transformation, and deposition in an attempt to shed light on how this and other similar examples evolved in Scandinavian society compared to their cultural origins. Furthermore, this research aims to uncover broader patterns in the Viking Age Scandinavian society's contact with and adaptation of foreign material culture through the incorporation of comparative examples, in order to explore what this illustrates about the Scandinavian people in general. The conclusion reached is that 555783 was likely made in Frankia then transported to Scandinavia through unknown means. There it was modified from a mount on a sword belt with male, martial associations into a piece of fastening-jewellery associated with female costume and display. It was also determined that the adoption and adaption of foreign material culture was primarily a way of displaying foreign connections in a way better suited to their own aesthetic and material preferences. / En av de mest rikligt förekommande smyckestyperna från vikingatiden i Skandinavien är treflikiga spännen. Den här uppsatsen undersöker livshistorien av ett treflikigt spänne (555783) som upptäcktes i Birka. Genom ett arkeologiskt objektbiografiskt tillvägagångssätt undersöker denna uppsats spännet konstruktion, ursprung, förflyttning, förändring och deposition. Undersökningen illustrerar hur spänne 555783 och liknande exempel utvecklades i det skandinaviska samhället jämfört med i sin ursprungskultur. Vidare syftar denna uppsats till att belysa ett bredare mönster i vikingatida skandinavers kontakt med och anpassning av främmande materiell kultur. Uppsatsen besvarar detta genom jämförelse med andra liknande exempel. Slutsatsen ernådd är att spänne 555783 troligen har tillverkats i det Frankiska riket och sedan transporterats till Skandinavien på ett okänt sätt. Där modifierades den från ett beslag på ett svärdsbälte med manliga, krigiska associationer till ett smycke förknippat med kvinnlig uppvisning av status. Det fastställdes också att inlemmandet och modifieringen av främmande materiell kultur i första hand var ett sätt att visa utländska kopplingar som var anpassat till deras egna estetiska och materiella preferenser.

Runstenarna i Sollentuna följer ungefär samma mönster som de i resten av Uppland vad gäller fördelning av vilka som reste stenarna och till vilkas minne. Därför är det självklart att förhållandena var också det samma vad gäller arvsmönster, där bakarv, delade arv och kvinnliga arvingar var ett vanligt inslag. Av de 83 runstenssponsorer som syns på ristningarna var 67 (80 %) män och 16 (20 %) kvinnor. Av de 44 runinskrifter där man kan tydligt se antalet sponsorer så hade 18 (40 %) en sponsor och 26 (60 %) flera. Av de 67 ihågkomna var 55 (82 %) män och 12 (18 %) kvinnor. De utlandsfärder som gjordes av Sollentunabor gick i österled, tydligen främst till Grekland och det tycks ha funnits minst en släkt som ordnade dessa expeditioner som bodde i området, kanske fler. Runstenarnas placering visar också att det redan på vikingatiden stod en kyrka i Spånga och en i Ed. De antyder också att när folk valde var de skulle resa sina runstenar, speciellt de större och mer påkostade verken, så brukade man välja de platser även tidigare generationer hyllat sina döda. Mot slutet av perioden förvandlades runstenen till slut till en variant av den kristna gravstenen. Förutom att hylla sina döda släktingar var runstenarna också ett sätt att stärka sin egen ställning i samhället, genom att visa upp vem man var släkt med och som ett sätt framhäva sin rätt att ärva egendomar och även titlar och makt. Brostenarna och de stenar som nämner utlandsfärder visar på några mäktiga och rika släkter inom området. Om man också ser brobyggandet som en form av avlat är de också ett tecken på kristendomens genombrott. / Uppland is the most runestone dense region in Scandinavia and Sollentuna is no exception to this.The goal of this paper is to analyse the inscriptions on the runestones found in Sollentuna härad andthrough them discuss society and familial relationships at the time. Comparisons of the material in Sollentuna to research done on runestones in other areas are done. As runestones are generally Christian monuments they also provide information on the spread of Christianity in the late Vikingage. Their positioning may also provide hints regarding the locations of the earliest churches in the area. They are also considered a tool to assert rights of inheritance and thus also provide informationon the rules of inheritance at the time they were made. Finally, a few of them mention expeditions abroad and provide some information regarding the destinations of these travels as well. Considering the large number of runestones in the area, it is likely that the erection of runestones was popular among most land owning people. Some runic inscriptions are much larger than the others and it is likely that their sponsors wished this to reflect their wealth, prestige and power.

<p>Joakim Schyman, 2009. Den gotländska vikingatida bebyggelsens rumsliga placering ilandskapet - En empirisk detaljstudie av Hemse socken (The spacial distribution of the VikingAge settlements on Gotland – An emperical study of remains from Hemse Parish.)</p><p>This essay investigates whether a relation between Viking age graves and Viking agesettlements in Hemse parish can be found. This was done by using database information onViking age findings, such as silver hoards, phosphate levels and location of graves in Hemseparish. Literature and maps were also used. Earlier research shows that the Viking agesettlements can be found by silver hoards and relatively high phosphate levels. This essay'sanalysis verifies this. The analysis also shows the possibility of a prehistoric court leet locatedin the center of Hemse parish. The Viking age graves are located close to the possible courtleet, along the ridge running through the parish. These graves are seen as a grave fieldcommonly used by all the settlements in the parish. Findings close to the settlements showthat inhabitants also buried their dead close to their settlements as a marking of territory. Thisgives us a complex picture of the connection between the habitants and their burials duringthis period.</p>

Joakim Schyman, 2009. Den gotländska vikingatida bebyggelsens rumsliga placering ilandskapet - En empirisk detaljstudie av Hemse socken (The spacial distribution of the VikingAge settlements on Gotland – An emperical study of remains from Hemse Parish.) This essay investigates whether a relation between Viking age graves and Viking agesettlements in Hemse parish can be found. This was done by using database information onViking age findings, such as silver hoards, phosphate levels and location of graves in Hemseparish. Literature and maps were also used. Earlier research shows that the Viking agesettlements can be found by silver hoards and relatively high phosphate levels. This essay'sanalysis verifies this. The analysis also shows the possibility of a prehistoric court leet locatedin the center of Hemse parish. The Viking age graves are located close to the possible courtleet, along the ridge running through the parish. These graves are seen as a grave fieldcommonly used by all the settlements in the parish. Findings close to the settlements showthat inhabitants also buried their dead close to their settlements as a marking of territory. Thisgives us a complex picture of the connection between the habitants and their burials duringthis period.

This thesis examines the political functions of the performance of skaldic poetry during the Viking Age. It aims to establish the vital role that skaldic verse plays in the establishment and maintenance of power, as well as the importance of skaldic performance in the negotiation of that power in the inter-community relations between various courts both within and outside of Viking Age Scandinavia. The first chapter provides a contextual understanding of Viking Age power structures by considering the central ideological constructs surrounding the concept of óðal (ancestral property). Óðal-derived power, it will be shown, is based on ruler-presence (which extends to ancestral presence) in the landscape, which is perceived as a crucial element in the legitimisation of authority and power. My second chapter will consider the political significance of skaldic performance within the context of ruler itinerancy, which develops in response to political practices based on the importance of óðal-derived legitimacy. Of particular importance in this respect, will be the use of 'presencing' proper- and praise-names in skaldic poetry that effect both spatial and temporal itinerancies in a highly distributable format. My third chapter will establish the representational features of skaldic performance and elaborate on the definition of Performance not only as action (in the Austinian sense), but also as a type of action that is defined by its artifice, its temporal continuity and its emergent dialogism. This will provide the theoretical context for my fourth and final chapter which will aim to examine the employment of skaldic Performance in Viking Age diplomatic praxes. Here the phenomenologically perceived 'binding' of the Self through the dialogic rhythmicity that arises out of skaldic ambiguity and crypticism will be of central importance.

The purpose of this thesis is to perform a gender study focusing on Viking Age weapon graves. A female weapon burial, a male weapon burial and a female burial are studied in this thesis. It is necessary first to discuss the meaning of a weapon burial. Thereafter the thesis will discuss if it is possible to find any differences in the gender interpretation of weapon burials belonging to men and females. The weapon graves will also be interpreted in relation to a female burial. The research history is primarily based on Conkey &amp; Spector’s (1984) article regarding archaeological androcentrism. The result of the thesis states that a weapon burial must consist of at least one of following weapons: sword, shield, spear, axe, horse equipment or arrowheads. The results also state that the interpretation of a weapon burial depends on the sexual identity of the buried individual. It is easier to state that the buried individual is a warrior if the individual is assumed to be a male. It is also possible to see differences regarding male and female burials in general where the interpretation of rich female graves is questioned due to the absence of a man in the grave. The graves are still interpreted in traditional gender roles, where the gender roles are based on the grave goods.

This paper deals with iron objects found in the 2015 excavation in Birkas Black Earth harbour on the Island of Björkö, in Adelsö parish. The purpose is to through EDTA -conservation and x-rays identify which objects they derived from, and how they can be linked to activities associated with a harbour environment.

In this paper, I discuss layer 23 from the 2015 excavation at the harbor in the black earth, Birka, through identification and conservation of a number of iron objects from this specific layer. These objects are in many cases broken and worn out, which indicates that they have been thrown away on purpose. Traces of bone and charcoal in the layer supports the idea that the harbor has been a place where people left their waste. Many of these excavated objects can be related to craftsmanship and/or the ships gear.

Abstract: This essay is a comparative study conducted on several iron staffs and a few staffs made of wood believed to be either roasting spits, measurement rods or staffs of sorcery. The aim of the study is to distinguish if all the staffs can be perceived as staffs of sorcery or which of them should not be considered as such. Also if there is a standard type of staffs of sorcery. Furthermore the study will also contain the question, if the ritual specialization of “volur” could be a role in which an ordinary matron would be able to perform as. Another question is if the Sami shamanism share features with the Nordic ritual of “seidr”, if so, is there reason to believe the staffs also might share features with shamanism.

In the mid-10th century the import of dirhems from Eastern Europe came to an end. From being a steady flow of Islamic coins from Viking-Age Russia the focus shifted to western European coins such as German and English. Most studies on Viking Age coins and hoards in general have focused on determine the individual coin type and the composition of the hoard in whole. Others have focused on the more social aspects on why the hoards even exist. My study will investigate if it is possible to detect if there are different networks behind the import of coins by analysing the composition of hoards in the transitional phase. By using a correspondence analysis and also GIS analysis, I want to investigate differences and similarities in the hoards composition. The correspondence analysis will show if there are any affiliations between different variables, which a means recurring pattern or combination of data represented in the hoards such as mints, size, TPQ and find distribution on Gotland etc. These presence or absence of affiliations will then be discussed if they could indicate different networks operating the coin import. The material the study is based on are 10th century hoards from Gotland which contain coins from late Islamic dynasties, Germany, England and the Byzantine empire. The result shows no specific indications in the hoards composition on different networks or groups that imported different kinds of coins. There is however a chance that different local groups have imported the same type of coins. The correspondence analysis also clearly visualizes the shift from the import of Islamic dirhams to Western coins.