Detta arbete utreder kontexterna för de föremål som benämns som Helgöklenoderna som hittades i husgrupp 2, terrass 1, samt deras relation till andra fynd från sen vendeltid och tidig vikingatid funna på samma terrass. Husgrupp 2, terrass 1 och Helgöklenoderna tas upp som huvudsakligt källmaterial med övriga fynd och anläggningar som presenteras under arbetetsgång med en översiktlig presentation i samtliga bilagor. Arbetet utgår från det vi vet idag om det yngre järnålderns Nordens centralplatser och religionsutövande och hur detta påvisas i det arkeologiska materialet. Den huvudsakliga metoden är därför kontextuell analys kompletterat av jämförande paralleller med andra kända central- och kultplatser än Helgö, som till exempel Gudme i Danmark och Uppåkra i Sverige. Genom analys och dragna paralleller är det fullt troligt att Helgöklenoderna blev deponerade på terrassen, antingen som ett rituellt offer eller av ren formalitet. / This work investigates the contexts of the objects referred to as the Helgö treasure that were found in building group 2, terrace 1 and their relationship to other finds from the late vendel age and early viking age found on the same terrace. Building group 2, terrace 1 and the Helgö treasure are used as the main sourcematerial with other finds and features that are presented during the course of the work with an overview presentation in the appendices. The work is based on what we know today about the central places and religious practices of the prehistoric Nordic region and how this is demonstrated in the archaeological material. The main method is therefore contextual analysis supplemented by comparative parallels with other known central and cultplaces than Helgö, such as Gudme in Denmark and Uppåkra in Sweden. Through analysis and drawn parallels, it is quite likely that the Helgö treasure was deposited on the terrace, either as a ritual offering or out of pure formality.

This thesis investigates the archaeological material beneath the fairy tale Frau Holle through well deposits. Wells used to serve a ritual purpose, but our understanding of these rituals is limited. By bridging the gap between archaeology and ethnography, this thesis aims to uncover how fertility beliefs were ritually expressed in wells and how far back in time this tradition can be traced in the Low Countries and beyond. Three find categories are analysed: plough shares, harvesting tools and wheels. The material is approached through the theory of the biography of wells, which determines how an artefact can be interpreted based on its location within the well. Furthermore, the perspective on religion highlights two aspects of belief: the substance and the function. The continuity of the tradition is approached through this framework. The concepts of ritual and profane are in this thesis not treated as mutually exclusive. The study shows that plough shares, harvesting tools and wheels were deposited in wells with a connection to seasonality, to bridge the winter, or for land initiation. The wheels may correlate with the worship of the Germanic goddess Nerthus or related beings. The exploration of the material demonstrates that there was a cosmological continuity in the function of this religion for approximately two millennia. / Denna uppsats undersöker det arkeologiska materialet bakom sagan Frau Holle genom brunndeponeringar. Brunnar brukade ha ett rituellt syfte, men vår förståelse av dessa ritualer är begränsad. Genom att överbrygga klyftan mellan arkeologi och etnografi syftar denna uppsats till att avslöja hur fruktbarhetstro rituellt uttrycktes i brunnar och hur långt tillbaka i tiden denna tradition kan spåras i ”lågländerna” och bortom. Tre fyndkategorier analyseras: plogskär, skörderedskap och hjul. Materialet analyseras genom en teori om brunnars biografi, som avgör hur en artefakt kan tolkas utifrån dess placering i brunnen. Vidare lyfter ett perspektivet på religion fram två aspekter av tro: substansen och funktionen. Traditionens kontinuitet analyseras genom denna teori. Begreppen religiös och profan behandlas i denna uppsats inte som ömsesidigt uteslutande. Studien visar att plogskär, skörderedskap och hjul deponerades i brunnar med koppling till säsongernas förändring, för att överbrygga vintern eller för landinitiering. Hjulen kan korreleras med dyrkan av den Germanska gudinnan Nerthus eller relaterad varelser. Utforskningen av materialet visar att det fanns en kosmologisk kontinuitet i denna religions funktion under ungefär två årtusenden.

På senare år har miljöarkeologi genomgått en signifikant utveckling, men det är inte helt tydligt på vilket sätt den kommersiella sidan av arkeologi har följt med i utvecklingen. Det huvudsakliga målet med denna studie är att utforska hur miljöarkeologin tillämpas inom den svenska uppdragsarkeologin. Studien utvärderar krav och föreskrifter gällande miljöarkeologi inom uppdragsarkeologi genom att studera lagar, och relevanta texter författade av Riksantikvarieämbetet och Länsstyrelserna. Studien utforskar också hur ofta miljöarkeologi appliceras inom det uppdragsarkeologiska arbetet genom att studera ett urval arkeologiska undersökningar där de enskilda Länsstyrelsernas krav och utredarnas (arkeologernas) val av miljöarkeologiska analysmetoder sammanställs och jämförs. Fortsättningsvis utforskar studien vilka uppdragsarkeologiska undersökningar som använder vilken typ av miljöarkeologiska analysmetoder genom att studera rapporter från Västerbottens län publicerade mellan åren 2010 och 2024. Resultaten visar på att miljöarkeologi är ett krav från Länsstyrelserna när det är ansett att vara en del av god vetenskaplig kvalité. Kraven på miljöarkeologi skiljer sig åt mellan de olika länen. De miljöarkeologiska analysmetoder som används inom uppdragsarkeologi, både i jämförelsen mellan olika län samt i sammanställningen av olika uppdragsarkeologiska undersökningar inom Västerbotten, visar på ett begränsat urval av möjliga metoder. Val av miljöarkeologiska analysmetoder har dock blivit mer varierat, samt tillämpats oftare, på senare år. De underliggande orsakerna till resultaten beror sannolikt på större systematiska problem inom den uppdragsarkeologiska sektorn.

<p>The Pitted Ware Culture site Korsnäs in Södermanland, Sweden presents a, for the region, unique amount of preserved organic material suitable for chemical analyses. Human and faunal skeletal material has been subjected to stable isotope analysis with the aim of examining whether the diet of the Korsnäs people correlates with the seal-based subsistence of Pitted Ware Culture groups on the Baltic islands. Further, the relationship between the faunal assemblage and the human diet has been studied, and the debated question of whether the Pitted Ware people kept domestic pigs has been addressed. Ten new radiocarbon dates are presented, which place the excavated area of the site in Middle Neolithic A, with a continuity of several hundred years. The results show that the diet of the Korsnäs people was predominantly based on seal, and seal hunting was probably an essential part of the Pitted Ware Culture identity. Based on the dietary pattern of the species, it is argued that the pigs were not domestic. The faunal assemblage, dominated by seal and pig bones, does not correlate with the dietary pattern, and it is suggested that wild boar might have been hunted and sacrificed and/or ritually eaten on certain occasions.</p>

This paper deals with issues on how archaeology might participate in transdisciplinary research andwork towards sustainable development. Three main themes are explored based on sustainabilitywork mainly from Stockholm Resilience Centre and previous archaeological texts about theutilisation of archaeology for environmental benefits. The themes are nature/culture-dichotomies,deep time perspectives and heritage. Each theme is continously adding unto the next one,whereafter applicability scenarios are discussed in three Sweden-specific environmental contexts:The Baltic Sea, agricultural landscapes and the alpine environment. Implications include: thedevelopment of a heritage perspective that bridges the nature-culture divide and focuses oncontinuity rather than preservation and includes human usage of heritage, possibilities forarchaeology to be used to inform environmental management and to counter NIMBY-ism

<p>This paper deals with archaeological prospection of an Iron Age farm site in Toland, Fresta parish, Uppland County in Sweden. The purpose of the paper has been to see whether the geophysical methods applied (GPR & EM-38) could produce useful results that could motivate its use in similar surveys in the future. Geochemistry has been used for the purpose of identifying possible activity areas on the site. The results have shown that it is possible with a GPR survey to identify postholes originating from the Migration Period longhouse at the site. The combining of several methods have been important for the identification and interpretation of several areas of interest.</p>

<p>From the pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age, a number of different fossil agrarian landscapes can be found in southern Sweden - clearance cairn areas, celtic fields, stone-wall complexes and geometrically laid-out strip fields. With two different comparative analyses, this paper tries to explain some of the differences between clearance cairn systems and the other fossil field systems</p><p>The shape of the early Iron Age agrarian landscape varies between different provinces of southern Sweden. At Gotland, celtic field systems were laid-out before 500 BC. In Småland at the same time, areas with clearance cairns were created. How can the difference be explained? The different physical appearance of clearance cairn areas and celtic fields can be explained by the different ways to handle the ard in till and in sandy soil. In sandy soils, and other fine soils, the ard will at each turn deposit small amounts of roots, soil and debris at the edge of the field, which over the years will build up the walls of the celtic fields. But in boulder-rich soil the ard will constantly have to be lifted and tilted, which means that the material will be released before the ard reaches the edge of the field. Since crops, vegetation, houses, field system areas, etc. are identical or at least similar in both landscape types, they most likely represent the same farming system with hay-meadow – stabling – manure – intensely cultivated fields</p><p>In most provinces in southern Sweden, the pre-roman celtic fields and clearance cairn areas were replaced by geometrically laid-out strip fields or different kinds of stone-wall complexes enclosing the fields and farms, around AD 200, but not in Småland. There, the clearance cairn areas were used and extended throughout the Iron Age. How can this regional variation be explained? A comparison between the different landscape types reveals no significant differences in tools, crops, houses, etc. that would support that the difference is explained by a shift in farming systems. A more likely hypothesis is that the difference is due to regional pre-state or early-state political structures with an ambition to control land-use. This is based on the observations that 1) within each region the physical appearance of the fossil landscape is very coherent; 2) between the different regions there are significant differences, and; 3) the different systems were introduced approximately simultaneously in the regions Gotland, Öland, Östergötland, Uppland and Västergötland. This hypothesis implies that Småland either had a separate political structure which chose to keep the old clearance cairn land-use system, or lacked a corresponding regional structure.</p>

This paper deals with archaeological prospection of an Iron Age farm site in Toland, Fresta parish, Uppland County in Sweden. The purpose of the paper has been to see whether the geophysical methods applied (GPR &amp; EM-38) could produce useful results that could motivate its use in similar surveys in the future. Geochemistry has been used for the purpose of identifying possible activity areas on the site. The results have shown that it is possible with a GPR survey to identify postholes originating from the Migration Period longhouse at the site. The combining of several methods have been important for the identification and interpretation of several areas of interest.

The Pitted Ware Culture site Korsnäs in Södermanland, Sweden presents a, for the region, unique amount of preserved organic material suitable for chemical analyses. Human and faunal skeletal material has been subjected to stable isotope analysis with the aim of examining whether the diet of the Korsnäs people correlates with the seal-based subsistence of Pitted Ware Culture groups on the Baltic islands. Further, the relationship between the faunal assemblage and the human diet has been studied, and the debated question of whether the Pitted Ware people kept domestic pigs has been addressed. Ten new radiocarbon dates are presented, which place the excavated area of the site in Middle Neolithic A, with a continuity of several hundred years. The results show that the diet of the Korsnäs people was predominantly based on seal, and seal hunting was probably an essential part of the Pitted Ware Culture identity. Based on the dietary pattern of the species, it is argued that the pigs were not domestic. The faunal assemblage, dominated by seal and pig bones, does not correlate with the dietary pattern, and it is suggested that wild boar might have been hunted and sacrificed and/or ritually eaten on certain occasions.

This paper deals with the chemical identification of artefacts correlated with the process of ancient Egyptian mummification dating to the Graeco-Roman period. The samples were harvested from two artefacts belonging to the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. The original description of the said samples defined them, as natron filled linen bags and bee product (honey?). To identify the true nature of the samples, advanced methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and powder X-ray Diffractometry were used. The results were correlated with previous made analyses regarding embalming materials to discover similarities. Furthermore, the research revealed that the previous sample identifications were false, while providing hypotheses based on the new results.