The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss clinch-nails found at an excavation at terrace II in the Garrison of Birka, on the island of Björkö in Sweden. This type of clinch-nails is common in Viking age Sweden and is usually interpreted as coming from boats. The study will try to show that these types of nails could have been used in several kinds of wooden constructions. It will also show how the nails were made and what kinds of tools were used by the Viking smiths. The study has shown that this type of nails were used in several different types of wooden constructions such as boats, sleds, cart bodies, coffins, Birka's ramparts and buildings. Nothing confirms the use of rivets in Viking age buildings but the material from terrace II probably contains clinch-nails from the other categories. The largest portion of the clinch-nails comes from disused boats and from the ramparts surrounding Birka's hill fort Borg. The tools for making nails have not been found in the Birka Garrison.

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.

In today’s archaeology there’s a growing need for non-invasive prospection methods. However there’s a methodological gap and what’s missing is a method for locating human bones. In this study a specially trained German shepherd is put through scientific tests determining how good the dog is at telling the different between the scent of human and animal bones. The dog is also tested in an outdoor environment to simulate an actual archaeological site. The tests in this study show that the dog can distinguish between the smell of human and animal bones with an accuracy of 94,2 % and that he can detect human bones in the field. Further tests need to be conducted to calibrate the method.

The main purpose of this study is to view the aims of the local authority of Botkyrka for their prehistoric village, and to compare those with the actual activities in the village. Because of no official formulated aims, the study were laboured through interviews, observations, analysis of evaluations and a parallell literature study. For the visiting pupils today, the village has an introduction, but not a follow-up. Pedagogically the follow-up is the most important part, seeing that it’s there the knowledge is created in relation to the experience. Through experience-pedagogy, based on learning by doing, try to attain an experience intended to generate knowledge. But in this case, the focus lands on doing, and the reflection fails to occur. This is a learning based on the situation, rather than on the reflection, situated learning. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att synliggöra Botkyrka kommuns syften och mål med den i kommunen belägna, järnåldersbyn. Samt att väga dessa gentemot den faktiska verksamheten. På grund av saknandet av officiellt formulerade syften och mål, baseras studien på intervjuer, observationer och analyser av utvärderingar, samt en parallellt pågående litteratur studie. För de besökande har byn idag en introduktionsdag, men ingen uppföljning. Pedagogiskt är uppföljningen den viktigaste delen i en upplevelse pedagogisk verksamhet. Efter som det är där kunskap skapas i relation till upplevelsen. Avsikten i denna järnåldersby är att genom metoden learning by doing, skall barnen nå en upplevelse och inlevelse som skall generera kunskap. Men i detta fall, så har fokusen landat på görandet, och reflektionen uteblir. Detta sorts lärande, baserat på situationen snarare än på reflektionen, kallas Situerat lärande.

This thesis deals with the image of the Vikings. I wish to investigate how this image came to being during the 19th and early 20th century and give examples of how the Viking age was approached archaeologically during this time period. In addition to this, I discuss the image of the Vikings in relation to concepts such as nationalism, Scandinavian identity and how we use history. The aim is to contribute to the discourse about ideology in relation to history. I wish to raise awareness about how we use history and how our evaluation of the past, in this case the Viking age, affects our perception of the past and the present. I have chosen three archaeological sites in order to exemplify how archaeologists have approached the Viking age, and how archaeology can be linked to ideology. These sites are Old Uppsala and Birka in Sweden, and Hedeby in present-day Germany. In addition to this, I also discuss what role the Viking age played in the 19th century world of ideas. I read and analyse publications on the topic from different time periods and contexts. The theories used are those of Stefan Bohman, Benedict Anderson and Lise Nordenborg Myhre on nationalism and its symbolism. The discussion is also based on Evert Baudou’s theories on archaeological interpretations, as well as the theoretical framework characteristic of the 19th century, culture-historical archaeology. The Viking age played an important part in shaping a Scandinavian identity, particularly in Sweden. The loss of Finland to Russia in 1809 created a need of a new identity. In the wake of this, as well as deepened relations to Norwegians and Danes, a new ideology called scandinavism was formed with the Viking age at centre. Later, the Iron Age was of significance when the German Nazi regime needed to legitimise their policies and ideology. The excavations at Hedeby mirror the Nazi ideology, but the Swedish sites have also proven to have connections to nationalism, both at the time of excavation but also in the form of interpretation. I base my analysis on the phenomena explanation, consolidation and rejection in order to establish how the past can be used in defining the present in relation to the past. I discuss how the past is used to define the present, ourselves and our society and how it is can be used in a nationalistic setting.

In this essay, Neolithic potsherds from Alby, Öland has been examined. The purpose was to investigate the connection between the lipid residues and the vessel shapes and ornament. To solve the attempt lipid and morphological analyses were executed. The lipid analysis revealed traces of different food residues and the morphological method showed various shapes and decors. The result indicates that the Alby ceramics has been used for cooking/storage of different fish and meat dishes, as well as vegetables and that the vegetables doesn’t derive of cereals.

De moderna beskrivningarna av Gotlands invasion 1361 delar ett ofta använt narrativ, där de gotländska och danska arméerna beskrivs som motsatser. Den danska armén sägs ha bestått av proffs, som var välutbildade och välutrustade. Den gotländska bondemilisen är däremot beskriven som en bondehop, dåligt utbildad och utrustad med föråldrade vapen och rustningar. Men hur stämmer det här narrativet om den gotländska bondemilisen med källorna? I den här uppsatsen studeras den gotländska bondemilisen utifrån samtida källor, regleringar genom lagar och representation i massgravarna efter slaget vid Visby.  Detta genom en källpluralistisk metod där skriftligt och arkeologiskt materialet studeras, i kombination av isotopanalyser på mänskliga kvarlevor. Detta som svar på det moderna narrativet och historiografin om invasionen av Gotland 1361.

In this paper, two parishes on Gotland have been the focus for intense study regarding the organisation and formation of local communications networks. The parishes of Buttle and Fröjel have been studied to see if it is possible to say anything about local communication during the 6th century, a task that earlier research has shown to be difficult. The parishes represent two different types of landscapes, one costal and one inland. The paper has also asked questions about how the development and quality of the roads and communications networks have changed over time. It also discuss how the topographical- and cultural landscape has influenced the organisation of the communications network. The following questions are asked in this paper; 1. How was local communication (communications between the farmstead, its economic resources and its connections to the larger communications network) in the parishes organised? 2. What can be said about the communications networks development and quality through time? 3. How was the topographical- and cultural landscape organisation connected to the communications network?   The main methodology used in the paper is the retrogressive methodology used to recreate a possible 6th century communications network. This methodology utilises and studies the relationship between the earliest known communications network, registered in the 18th century maps, together with Iron Age sites registered, in the FMIS database, as well as topographical and geological maps to recreate a possible 6th century communications network. The analysis shows that it is hard to grasp the local communications during the 6th century. The local communications only emerge when the local roads merge with the regional ones. In many cases, the local roads were probably not much more than paths in the edges of the fields or only identified by the use of known landmarks. The investigation also shows that the regional (and local) roads were situated closer to the 6th century settlements than previously thought. It is also shown that the development of the road network has steadily lead to a more refined and rationalised network. The largest changes can be related to the 19th century laga skifte and to the later introduction of motor vehicles. Before the 19th century the situation is quite stable, only some minor changes during the 18th century can be seen until you reach the beginning of the middle ages. The major changes probably relate to changes in the landscape organisation in relation to the introduction of Christianity. However, it might also relate to the expansion of cultivated land and the resulting changes of settlement patterns. The investigation also shows that the topographical landscape on Gotland provides little hindrance for the organisation of the landscape. Instead, it feels very much like an artificial landscape where borders and organisation are created by humans, rather than by natural landscape formations. The borders in this case are created by the use of graves and their location in the landscape.

The Canary Islands are a popular tourist destination. But, behind the good weather and the beautiful beaches there is a traumatic story. Guanches, the island's indigenous people, died as a result of the Spanish colonization. Only a few aspects of Guanche's life remain - their human remains and their material culture. The purpose of this study is to see how Guanche's human remains are treated and whether it has thus affected how they are displayed today in museums. In order to draw conclusions, El Museo Canario's osteological exhibition has been evaluated. The exhibition has barely changed since 1880 and has clearly been influenced by factors such as colonialism, nationalism, tourism and ethnicity. The ethics behind this exhibition have also been discussed. The conclusion of this discussion was that El Museo Canario has adhered to ethical considerations. However, there are aspects of the exhibition that could be improved. Articles from El Museo Canario's publication from 1880–1900 and 2007–2011 have also been reviewed. This was done in order to see how research purposes have changed over time. The results of this analysis show that there are clear differences in research purposes depending on the year of publication. This change in mindset is not reflected on El Museo Canario's osteological exhibition. / Las Islas Canarias son un destino turístico popular. Pero, detrás del buen clima y las hermosas playas hay una historia traumática. Guanches, indígenas de la isla, murieron como resultado de la colonización española. Hoy solo quedan algunos aspectos de la vida de los Guanche - sus restos humanos y su cultura material. La intención de este estudio es ver cómo se tratan los restos humanos de Guanche y, en consecuencia, como ha afectado las exhibiciones en los museos. Para poder hacer conclusiones, se ha evaluado la exposición osteológica de El Museo Canario. La exposición apenas se ha cambiado desde 1880 y claramente ha sido influenciada por factores como el colonialismo, el nacionalismo, el turismo y la etnicidad. La ética detrás de esta exposición también ha sido discutida. La conclusión de esta discusión fue que El Museo Canario se ha adherido a consideraciones éticas. Sin embargo, hay aspectos de la exposición que podrían mejorarse. Además, se han examinado artículos de la publicación de El Museo Canario de 1880–1900 y 2007–2011 para ver cómo los motivos de investigación se han cambiado con el tiempo. Los resultados de este análisis muestran que existen claras diferencias entre los motivos de investigación según el año de publicación. Este cambio de mentalidad no se refleja en la exposición osteológica de El Museo Canario.

The inland of northern Scandinavia has received more attention in archaeological research in recent years than before. This has among other things resulted in a better understanding of the trading systems within Iron Age Scandinavia and highlighted the importance of raw materials produced in the boreal regions. A significant part of the iron, antler and furs used in central agricultural areas like the Mälaren Valley during the Iron Age originated in northern Sweden. This indicates that central places to the south were dependent on products from the forested areas of the north, and that the two probably would have developed differently without this relation. The aim of this study is to perform a spatial analysis of swords found in northern Sweden to better understand the contacts and trading systems within the region during the middle and late Iron Age. This is based on the hypothesis that the swords indicate places with important functions, and that they are especially prominent in areas which controlled the trade of products like iron, antler, and furs. The results of the study show that swords are most frequent in agricultural areas by the coast connected to the largest rivers, where these raw materials were mainly transported. This pattern is apparent in all represented periods of the Iron Age except for the Vendel Period from which most swords have been found in outland locations far from the coast. This indicates that the Vendel Period differs clearly from other periods of the Iron Age in northern Sweden, concerning how the inter-regional trade was performed.