The aim of this paper was to study fourteen pottery sherds found at the site of Ayia Irini in northern Cyprus using Gas chromatography- Mass spectrometry. Ayia Irini has by the archaeologists of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition been interpreted as a sanctuary, with activity spanning from the Late Bronze Age throughout the Cypriot Iron Age. The results showed traces of vegetable lipids in almost all samples, and traces of lipids from terrestrial animals in all but two. One sample showed traces of resin. Several samples were contaminated by different components found in plastics, such as plasticizers. No obvious common denominators were found for samples of similar pottery type or similar dating. The analysis yielded results of differing quality in all samples. However, usable data was collected from all except one sample, which was too heavily contaminated to glean any clear traces of organic residue from the time of deposit.

This paper deals with the question of when hill forts – or enclosed mountains – were built and to what purpose, by examining two enclosed mountains (RAÄ 78 and 79) in Grödinge parish in the province of Södermanland. A phosphate analysis was conducted to trace anthropogenic activities. The analysis showed only a slight elevation of phosphate content in the soil. A histogram indicated that the elevations were not normally distributed, which could suggest that they were caused by anthropogenic activities. A focus on boundaries is evident in the material, whether it is about erecting physical barriers or the boundary between life and death.

This paper deals with the embalming process in ancient Egypt. Samples were collected from six objects from Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. The objects were one supposed ladle and five different contents from pottery. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and gas- chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to characterize the components of the materials. The result was then correlated with previously made analysis of embalming materials to discover similarities. The results show complex mixtures mainly consisting of resin from Pinaceae origin, also beeswax, vegetable oil and Castor oil. Some samples show differences in the mixture, one dominated by cholesterylacetat. The results of the ladle samples is comparable to previous samples from other analysis and can therefore be confirmed as an embalming ladle.

This thesis examines a sample of Pitted Ware pottery from the Gotlandic site of Ajvide in regard to the spatial and temporal relationship of the shards. Ajvide Stone Age site have been extensively excavated over the past 25 years and the most recent analysis of pottery was carried out by Inger Österholm in 1987 and new analyses of the material are therefore greatly needed. Pottery from three sample areas was analysed in regard to their distribution, decoration, fragmentation, part of pot and quality of the goods. To analyse the material in a contextual way a multivariate statistical analysis called correspondence analysis was used. Two areas denominated “dark areas”, which Österholm defined previously, as possible ritual sites, and one reference area with mixed material were chosen for the analysis. By including two of these “dark areas” the study also examine if similarities or differences could be seen among the shard distribution how these areas have been defined and possibly re-defined.

Techniques used in the building of a number of ships from the Mediterranean will be presented in this paper. The two techniques thnat will be discussed are shell-based technique and skeleton-basedtechnique. An attempt to clearify and delineate the transition between these two techniques will be made. The possible reasons for transition will then be described and discussed. The development ofthe techniques is going to be identified with help from four wrecks by analyzing their edge joineriesand this facts will be used as a basis for a chronological presentation. Finally, data from theanalyzed wrecks will be compared and the results are interpreted in the text.

Den här studien gäller Romersk järnålder i Sverige och Storbritannien med fokus på den senare. Det är en komparativ analys av utvalda delar av den materiella kulturenfrån ett antal olika lokaler i Sverige och Storbritannien med intentionen att skapa vidare förståelse rörande romersk influens i dessa regioner. Vidare är intentionen att uppsatsen skall undersöka möjliga likheter eller skillnader och därigenom dra slutsatser om romerska influensen var stark eller svag i de utvalda bosättningarna i Storbritannien och Sverige. Var den så kallade Romaniseringen för samtliga invånare eller var den enbart reserverad för eliten? / This is a study of the Roman Iron Age in both Sweden and Britain but with a focus on the latter. The study includes a comparative analysis of selected goods in the material culture at a number of different sites in Sweden and Britain in the aim of understanding the extent of the Roman influence at these sites. The aims of the essay is to investigate if we can notice similarities between the Swedish and British setting and thereby draw conclusions regarding the Roman influence or lack of it in the Rural setting of Britain as well as the chosen settlements in Sweden. Was the Romanization of Britain for everyone or was it reserved for the elite?

No description available.

Previous research about dance has chiefly been focused on categorization of dance but no earlier study has specifically dealt with dance scenes where men and women occur in the same register, or over a longer time frame. This study concerns scenes where men and women dance in the same register and scenes included comes from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. The study investigates in what contexts men and women occur in the same register, and why and the study grasps dance at its widest sense with movements that also could be related to acrobatics and play. The study is an iconographic investigation and analyses will be made according to culture-specific art-conventions. 12 scenes and one fragment are included and analyzed. The conclusion shows that in each time period the occurrence of scenes are concentrated to specific places, and sometimes they are located in close approximation geographically, had the same artist or have tomb-owners that are related to each other. This points to a local expression of dance scenes with mixed gender rather than it was usual nation-wide. The men and women occur in contexts that where usual for dance scenes to be in such as presentation, procession and funerary scenes. Physical contact between the two genders is rare, and is only seen once in the tomb of Baqet III of the Middle Kingdom. Even though the female and male dancers are in the same register they are likely to be seen separated by people clapping their hands or by empty spaces between them. If this separation reflects the reality is hard to tell but the Egyptians seemed to have preferred, esthetically, to depict the two genders separated in these ways in dance scenes.

The subject of this thesis is animal bones found in the Pitted Ware Culture site of Ajvide in Eksta parish, Gotland, Sweden. The site has been excavated since the 1980s and along with 85 graves and 7500 artefacts about 2500 kg of animal bones has been collected. Previous studies have often focused on specific areas or species, but the aim of this work has been to get a wider perspective of different areas within the Ajvide site. A total of about 20 kg of animal bones from ten different areas in Ajvide have been analysed with osteological methods. The analysis has shown that there are some differences between the areas considering amount of bone material found and the present species. The material consists of almost exclusively unburnt fragments and fragmentation is high in all areas. In the deeper layers fish is the most common species while fragments of pig are the most common considering every layer and area analysed. The difference seen between the areas most likely depend on how the sites were used by the people in the Pitted Ware Culture and discussions are made on how some of the areas could have been used for more ritual purposes while others possibly have been used in the everyday life.

This paper will be based on osteological analysis of the animal bones associated with the riverine cultures of ancient Nubia, especially the animal bones from the Pangrave and C-group cemeteries. These bones were excavated by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition in the 1960’s and are now conserved as a part of the Nubian collection at Museum Gustavianum in Sweden. The Nubian collection contains a variety of species and show a vastly differing treatment of the various animals. There are deliberately modified skulls adorned with patterns of red ochre and black sot. But there are some animals which seem to have been dismembered to be cooked or burned at the burial sites, while other animals have been buried intact alongside humans. Using osteological methods and the original research notes from the Scandinavian Joint Expedition I will attempt to create clearer picture of what the Nubian collection consists of and why.