The Fogdarp hoard from Scania in Sweden is an unusual deposit from the Late Bronze Age. Unlike similar hoards this was not found in a wetland, but was buried in the ground with a rock placed on top of it. Deposits in dry land have sometimes been considered to be a hiding place for a smith’s metalwork. But since the Fogdarp hoard contains ritual bronze objects, it has been called a ritual deposit. The aim of this paper is to investigate the Fogdarp hoard by using a landscape analysis. By doing so the study will contribute to the understanding of the hoards context, and why this hoard was buried and not deposited in a wetland. The landscape analysis shows that the hoard is buried closed to the water and in a ritual landscape on the edge of a valley. The discussion will also analyze the objects in this particular hoard: their symbolic value will be elaborated in the analysis. As a comparison, this paper includes other deposits from the Late Bronze Age. My interpretation of the objects in the Fogdarp hoard is that they are a part of the sun cult of the Nordic Bronze Age, where sun-goddess and the divine twins play an important role.

This essay takes a look at which gender norms and stereotypes can be found in high-school history textbooks, and the values that they pass on to the students who read them. By analysing the textbooks from both a text and image perspective, a rounded view of the values and ideals concerning power and gender that the books contain can be seen. The use of gender theory gives the essay a clear theoretical framework through which the material is analysed. The result showed that the history textbooks over all contained an outdated view of gender roles and gender dynamics. There was a clear overrepresentation of men in both the text and the pictures throughout the books, and the language used created a hierarchy between men and women.  This in turn sends outdated messages to students, messages which may not fit the current ideal of gender equality.

Today, there are more Egyptian obelisks outside of Egypt than there are left where they were made. The obelisks are certainly beautiful, but what lies beneath are uncountable hours, days and years of work. Work which made the obelisks end up where they are today. From quarrying these enormous pieces of stone by smashing rock against rock, to building ships without equal for their transportation. It is hard to understand the amount of resources, manpower and organization that went into creating these tall monuments. Therefore, this study will attempt to examine each step in transporting the obelisks, from the quarry to their destination. Where theories collide, the study will weigh them against each other critically to give a fuller account of the transportation of the obelisks of Egypt. This study will begin by presenting a background, or basis, which will be further built upon as it progresses. The first chapter is mainly focused around the circumstance of transportation, along with giving a basic description of obelisks as individual objects. The next step lies in studying the general shipbuilding techniques used in ancient Egypt. This in turn will help in understanding the obelisk ships and the loading and unloading of these vessels. The obelisk ships and their loading will be the focal point of this study. The mainstay of the sources used for this study comes from earlier theories. The primary sources of this study will mainly consist of textual remains along with depictions. / Idag finns det fler obelisker utanför Egypten än vad det finns kvar innanför dess gränser. Obeliskerna är helt klart vackra, men vad som ligger under ytan är oräkneliga timmar, dagar och år av arbete. Arbete som gjorde att obeliskerna hamnade på den plats de är idag. Från att bryta dessa enorma stenblock genom att slå sten mot sten, till att bygga skepp utan dess like för deras transport. Det är svårt att förstå den enorma mängd resurser, arbetskraft och ren vilja som krävdes för att skapa dessa höga monument. Av denna anledning kommer den här studien att försöka närma sig varje steg i transporten av obelisker, från stenbrottet till deras destination. Där teorier kolliderar, kommer denna studie att väga dem mot varandra kritiskt för att ge en mer komplett inblick i transporten av antika Egyptiska obelisker. Denna studie kommer att börja med att presentera en bakgrund, eller bas, som kommer att byggas vidare på under arbetets gång. Studiens första del fokuserar  på omständigheterna för transporten, samt med att ge en grundläggande beskrivning av obelisker som individuella objekt. Det nästkommande steget ligger i att studera de tekniker som användes för skeppsbygge i det antika Egypten. Detta kommer i sin tur underlätta för förståelsen av obeliskskepp och avlastning samt pålastning av dessa farkoster. Obeliskskeppen och deras lastning kommer att utgöra huvuddelen i denna studie. Huvuddelen av källorna som använts för denna studie kommer från tidigare teorier. Primärkällorna som använts består till största del av textuella lämningar samt avbildningar.

An iron age double grave containing a man and a woman has been found in Klinta, Köpings Parish, Öland, Sweden. Archaeologist have debated this grave and have begun to interpret the woman as a völva. The most famous artefact was found in the womans grave. It was an iron staff, Klintastaven. This staff have been the main focus when it comes to this grave but there were also three types of artifacts found with the bones: base metal artifacts covered in runes, amulets, as well as animal bones. This essay aims to analyse the artifacts from the grave and their relation to the Old Norse religion of Scandinavia and the research have established a connection between these artifacts and the Old Norse religion of Viking times.

Abstract Gravfält och byar - En komparativ undersökning av sex gravfält från Värend. Gravefields and villages - A comparative analysis of sex gravefields from Värend. Abstract   The basis that this study stands on, is that iron age-gravfields represents nearby village communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate if six gravefields within the old folkland Värend represent different villages, or does the six representative gravefield-villages only show dissimilarity in social differences that occurred within the villages?   A comparative method analysis was used in this study, to help examine comparisons of the different grave types within the gravefields and the social phenomena that they reflect. To help the method further, old maps of the gravefields were used and field observations were made, to get a better picture in how the different grave types were placed and arranged within the gravefields and landscape.   The results show that these six gravefields probably represents their own nearby villages, and many of the graves that occur within the different gravefields, are alike to each other, which show that these supposed representative gravefield-villages had similar grave traditions. / Sammanfattning Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka sex gravfält från det gamla folklandet Värend, varav de sex gravfälten ligger idag inom Växjö kommun. Gravfälten som undersöktes var Lilla Fjäll-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 111:1), Ingelstad-gravfältet (Östra Torsås RAÄ 1:1), Telestad-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 12:1), Skir-gravfältet (Växjö RAÄ 19–20:1), Orraryd-gravfältet (Nöbbele RAÄ 3:1) och Västenhaga-gravfältet (Bergunda RAÄ 25:1). Denna studie fokuserade sig på att undersöka de olika gravtyper som förekommer inom de sex gravfälten. Detta gjordes för att kunna hitta spår av hur de olika gravfältens representativa by-samhällena kan ha återspeglats. Detta gjordes genom att identifiera skillnader mellan respektive gravfält och därefter diskutera vad skillnaderna kan representera. Jag ville veta om det handlar om olikheter mellan sex skilda byar som begravt sina döda eller beror olikheten på sociala skillnader inom byarna? Resultatet visade på att det förekommer ett varierande och komplext gravstruktur där vissa av gravarna kan ha representerat olika gårdar inom byarna, medan vissa av gravarna representerades som högstatusgravar och religiösa/rituella gravar. De olika gravfälten visade även på att de representerade egna närbelägna byar.

Archaeology is a field which has been impacted greatly by digital technology; the new technological instruments are developing both academic research and public mediation. Digital archaeology has been available at the museum for some time, but immersive technologies are recent introductions, which offer new experiences for museum visitors. Even though digital archaeology/virtual heritage have been studied for their technological virtues, the learning opportunities presented to the museum visitor has not yet been examined from a visitor’s perspective. In this dissertation, the visitor experience is the basis of analysis for determining how we can critically assess digital exhibitions using immersive technologies. This study examines if and how critical museology can be successfully applied to immersive digital displays; a detailed analysis of two case studies using VR (high immersion) and AR (low immersion) show that digital experiences are fully capable of communicating cultural content and that these multi-sensory technologies can successfully engage users in the creation of knowledge. The extent of sensory stimuli affecting the visitor is not accounted for in current critical museology, therefore the analysis of this study suggests a number of suggestions for future designs of digital displays using immersive technologies.

My intention with this paper is to study the stone cists on Gotland from the Late Neolithic period. They are often interpreted as representing the domestic life and agriculture, as well as having a strong connection to house and home of the people. Furthermore, these graves show continuity from the proceeding Stone Age culture and provide evidence for an overlap with the Early Bronze Age. This will be discussed, while also exploring the meaning of the grave goods in them and Late Neolithic artefacts that are spread across the island.

In the collections of Uppsala university, cared for by the university Museum Gustavianum, is the collection of finds from the Valsgärde cemetery, located 4 km north of Uppsala. The cemetery contained boat graves, chamber graves, cremation graves and other finds. Among the boat graves, dating from around c 600–c 1000 AD, some includes textile finds. The primary source material for this study are the tablet woven bands found in three of the Viking age boat graves. I first came across these tablet woven borders in 2014 when writing an early stage thesis in Textile history (Textilvetenskap), a subject taught at Uppsala university at the department of Art History. This article is based on the research I carried out then and have since continued with. The research focuses on the weaving techniques and materials used in the bands. An attempt to work with a theoretical framework based in crafts research and crafts as a concept and idea – instead of just being a method for understanding the production process from a technical perspective – is also made. The bands are brocaded with metal thread, similar to the Birka bands. However, in the Valsgärde bands a spun thread is used in all bands but one. What makes the bands from Valsgärde particularly interesting are the two different weaving techniques present.  Some of the bands are patterned with the quite common technique “lifted warp threads”, and some with an additional weft in a soumak technique. Metal brocaded bands patterned with soumak are unusual both in the Viking age and in the later medieval material. The theoretical framework of the study shows that the bands can be interpreted as part of a symbolic funeral outfit. If the bands are used prior to the funeral is not known. The study draws on material from both earlier and later periods to discuss why this dress decor appears in Viking age Scandinavia, and particularly in East Sweden. The fashion of the Frankish crusade era take part in the discussion and so does the tirazsystem of early Islam. The study concludes that understanding Viking age dress is much more than knowing what the persons wore. The symbolic dress in the graves tells us about some kind of fashion – or vestment – system and if we can read the code, we would be a lot closer to an understanding about the Scandinavian mentality of the time. This however is a task for a larger study, this one has only shown where to start.

Sandby borg, an Iron Age ringfort on Öland, Sweden has been and is still at the center of attention in media and archaeological research. The massacre uncovered at the site during recent years opens many doors for analyses on the Migration Period (c. 400-550 AD) Iron Age skeletal remains. Eighteen teeth (molars) from 12 individuals and three rodent teeth were chosen for strontium (87Sr/86Sr) analyses. This was done to establish whether these individuals were locals or non-locals to Öland. The analyses displayed a, for the most part, local 87Sr/86Sr ratio. Two non-locals were identified, as well as a pattern of higher 87Sr/86Sr peaks on numerous of the individuals during a certain age span, which could indicate a local weaning process with a special food. / Sandby borg

<p>Abstract</p><p>Terrace III in the Birka Garrison. An analysis of function based on artifact quantification and find preparation. This paper deals with Terrace III in the Garrison of Birka, Uppland, Sweden. The main purpose is to investigate the function of Terrace III. The analysis consists of two parts. One is to analyse the stratigraphy including layers, constructions and finds. Beads and coins are selected for a discussion of dating. The other part consists of a comparison between the find material from the Hall building, the Smithy and Terrace III. Beads are discussed separately. The results are not definite due to the fact that the terrace is not completely excavated. The finds indicate that Terrace III could have been used as storage house or a dwelling house. The pottery could be taken as evidence for a storage house (and possibly the amount of rivets and nails). The presence of personal finds show that the house might have been used as a dwelling house. A few finds indicate some kind of workshop activity. The finds from Terrace III can be dated to the end of the 10th Century.</p>