The function and symbolism of the Swedish bronze age rampart enclosures has been debated since the late 1800´s. Arguments highlighting their function as fortifications and/ or as ritual centres has been passed back and forth in what today seems to be a subject in a standstill. Very little has been done in comparing the Swedish enclosures with their European equivalents when it comes to the understanding of function. In the early 1990´s their origin in the Lausitz culture of the Late Bronze Age was put forth by several archaeologists, but one needs to keep in mind that this was a time where the Lausitz culture was an increasingly popular subject for Swedish archaeologists to study. In time the similarities between the materials came to be questioned from both an architectural and a chronological standpoint. This paper has therefore been focused on re-examining the Swedish rampart enclosures relation to the European hill forts and fortified settlements. By examining its relations to the import of bronze and ceramics between the southern and eastern coastal areas of the Baltic Sea area and Scandinavia around 1300­-1000 BC, my main goal was to provide an updated and valid theory for the origins of the earliest Swedish rampart enclosures from the same time. Based on the analysis presented in this paper I have, to some extent, been able to distance the earliest Swedish rampart enclosures from the previous Lausitz origin theory. The conclusion is instead that an origin is to be sought in the earlier Únětice culture and it´s rampart fortified settlements from between 1800-1500 BC.

Through social landscape theory the aim of this thesis is to broaden the understanding of the bronze age monumental graves on the coast of Norrland. Questions about similarities between the stone ship settings and long cairns are analysed by looking at size and placement in the landscape. This shows the possible connections between the two construction types and were questioned throughout the process of writing. A reconstructed shoreline set to Late Nordic Bronze Age period IV, has been analysed by looking at the monuments placement to see possible connections through a maritory between Norrland and southern Sweden. In this thesis I have incorporated some instances of Gotlandic as well as other stone ship settings and long cairns from the Baltic Sea area, to strengthen the point of a possible maritory that connected the societies of northern Sweden with the societies placed around the Baltic Sea. The long cairns can be found in Gävleborg’s county from Söderala parish along the coast all the way up to Byske parish in Västerbotten’s county and seem to be constructed in a way that follow the shape of the mountain, with some anomalies. Stone ship settings can usually be found along the mouth of rivers and are placed more specific in the environment, where the orientation seems to relate to the ancient shoreline and in some cases the monument even point towards plausible routes that would be possible to follow with a ship inland. There is a clear concentration of all monument types in Västernorrland’s county, more specifically around the area of Docksta. The placement of the monuments above sea level in relation to the ancient shoreline, seems to be varied, with no clear rule of what height they should lay on. Many similarities can be found between the two, yet so many differences that only can be answered by excavations of more monuments. Further research and excavations is needed in Norrland with focus on the Bronze Age, which is crucial for the understanding of Sweden’s northern coastal areas and the trade across the Baltic Sea.

Denna uppsats syftar till att studera platser med kontinuitet genom slutet av den sena bronsåldern på Peloponnesos för att undersöka vilka faktorer som bidrar till kontinuitet genom en period som traditionellt definieras av dess förstörelse och sociala oro. Undersökningen utgår från platser med kontinuitet genom SH IIIB–SH IIIC på Peloponnesos publicerade i Mycenaean Atlas Project, och studerar dessa platser genom en kvantitativt jämförande analys. Studien använder resiliensteori, och undersöker vilka karaktärsdrag hos platserna som möjliggjorde resiliens och kontinuitet genom SH IIIB–SH IIIC. Materialet ställs i relation till huvudsakligen två förklaringsmodeller rörande samhällsnedgången under slutet av sen bronsålder: det torrare klimatet, och social oro. I det sociala perspektivet visar resultatet att en försvarbarhet och isolering från palatsens kontaktnät var fördelaktigt för kontinuitet genom perioden. Ur det klimatologiska perspektivet kan ingen tydlig koppling etableras mellan platsernas karaktärsdrag och deras möjlighet till kontinuitet. / This essay aims to study places with continuity through the end of the Late Bronze Age in the Peloponnese to examine what factors contribute to continuity through a period traditionally defined by its destruction and social unrest. Source material for the essay is confined to places with continuity through LH IIIB–LH IIIC in the Peloponnese published through the Mycenaean Atlas Project, and the places are studied through a quantitative and comparative analysis. The study uses resilience theory and examines what place traits made continuity and resilience through LH IIIB–LH IIIC possible. The source material is put in relation to two explanatory models regarding the societal decline during the end of the Late Bronze Age: the drier climate, and social unrest. In the social perspective, the results indicate that defendable places and isolation from the palace networks are favourable aspects for continuity through the period. No clear link between place traits and continuity can be established in the climatological perspective.

Denna kandidatuppsats täcker användningen, deponeringen och handeln av Hallstattsvärd i Sverige under den yngre bronsåldern. Mycket har sagts om fynden, spridning och användning av svärden som hittats inom Hallstattkulturens geografiska gränser men jämförelsevis har lite skrivits om den rika samlingen av Hallstattsvärd som hittats i Sydskandinavien. Denna avhandling syftar till att diskutera kontexten kring dessa fynd genom rumslig och jämförande analys tillsammans med tolkningar av tidigare forskning för att ta reda på hur dessa främmande föremål kan ha använts utanför deras ursprungsområde. Resultaten drar slutsatsen att de svenska Hallstattsvärden har deponerats i de traditioner som rådde i Skandinavien under YBÅ, många av dessa visar även spår av lokal produktion. Svärdens eggskador tyder även på att de kan ha använts annorlunda från den tolkade användningen som kavallerivapen inom Hallstatt. Svärden har tolkats ur ett postprocessuellt perspektiv som levande föremål vars förstörelse och deponering efterliknar den mänskliga användarens död och begravning. / This bachelor’s thesis covers the usage, deposition and trade of hallstatt swords in Sweden during the late bronze age. While much has been said about the findings of hallstatt swords within the geographical boundaries of the Hallstatt culture comparably little has been written about the rich collection of the same swords found in southern Scandinavia. This thesis aims to discuss the context of these findings through spatial and comparative analysis together with the interpretations of previous archaeologists to figure out how these foreign objects may have been used outside of their area of origin. The findings conclude that the Swedish hallstatt swords have been deposited in the traditions prevalent in Scandinavia at the time and many of them show signs of local production. The blade damage prevalent on some swords suggest a different usage from the perceived cavalry weapons observed in Hallstatt. The swords have been interpreted from a post processual perspective as living objects whos destruction and deposit mimics that of the death and burial of the human user.

Denna uppsats är en empirisk studie av mänskligt skelettmaterial från en hällkistegravplats från Sundre, Gotland. Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera materialet för att diskutera hälsan hos individerna. Analysen genomförs på det osteologiska materialet för att fastställa eventuella patologier och andra förändringar på skelettet. En diskussion om individernas hälsa framförs efter resultat från analyserna av de mänskliga kvarlevorna för att överlägga huruvida det är möjligt att avgöra hälsa genom enbart osteologiska material. Bronsålder är den huvudsakliga tidsperioden som diskuteras, men med 14C dateringar som gjorts på ett antal benfragment kan man se en kontinuerlig återanvändning av gravplatsen från senneolitikum till vikingatid. I materialet observeras både barn och vuxna i olika åldrar som diskuteras tillsammans med skeletala förändringar i form av aktivitet och sjukdom. Den huvudsakliga diskussionen om hälsa framförs baserat på detta och har resulterat i en slutsats om att hälsan var förhållandevis god under bronsåldern. / This paper is an empirical study of human skeletal material from a stone cist burial site from Sundre, Gotland. The purpose of the essay is to analyze the material to discuss the health of individuals. The analysis is carried out on osteological material to determine any pathologies and other changes on the skeleton. A discussion of the health of the individuals is presented following results from the analyzes of the human remains to consider whether it is possible to determine health through osteological materials alone. The Bronze Age is the main time period discussed, but with 14C dating made on a number of bone fragments, a continuous reuse of the burial site from the Late Neolithic to the Viking Age can be seen. In the material, both children and adults of different ages are observed, which are discussed together with skeletal changes in the form of activity and disease. The main discussion of health is advanced based on this and has resulted in the conclusion that health was relatively good during the Bronze Age.

During the Bronze Age, bronze items were sacrificed to the gods by leaving them in the landscape. When making these sacrifices, known as deposits, the Bronze Age people followed certain landscape rules. These rules, and other similarities between the sites, can be rediscovered by analyzing the attributes of the sites. By understanding which attributes are relevant for the deposition sites, we can find more sites and contribute to the understanding of how Bronze Age depositions took place. This study aims to identify relevant attributes for the siting of Bronze Age Lake deposition sites near the lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren in Sweden. 13 lake deposition sites were examined in ArcMap with respect to 6 attributes: Elevation, Soil Wetness, Aspect, Soil Type, Shore Distance, and Shore Direction. The attributes were studied independently of one another. The results revealed that a majority of deposits were the closest to a southern shore, there were no deposits in northern slopes, and no deposits were made between certain distances from the Bronze Age shoreline. Therefore, the attributes Shore Direction, Shore Distance, and Aspect appear to be relevant to lake deposition sites. The study briefly discusses how these results are related to archeological theories. As this study had a small sample size, the results cannot be assumed to apply to all lake deposit sites. Future studies should study more attributes, how attributes relate to one another, and examine the relevant attributes in other landscape features.

This thesis studies the contacts between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean area during the Scandinavian Bronze Age. These contacts have been the topic of controversy for a long time as one side of the debate believes in direct contacts between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean area, and the other side believes that contacts between the two areas could only have been by down the line trading contacts. This thesis then aims to see what evidence there is that the contacts would have been direct or otherwise. This is done by studying the archaeological evidence as well as the pictographic depictions on rock art in Scandinavia and painted pottery from the Mediterranean area, as well as ships and ship technology to understand if Scandinavian ships would have been able to travel to the Mediterranean in the first place. Further, this thesis also studies the urn burials introduced to Scandinavia during the Bronze Age from northern Italy to see the spreading of ideas, as well as isotope analysis of bronze from Sweden and Denmark together with strontium analysis of Bronze Age individuals to form a complete picture about these contacts and how they took place.

This thesis presents a micro-archaeological analysis of the osteological material from theunmarked communal grave L1977:6727, in Sigsarve, Gotland. The grave was found during the ploughing of a field and excavated in 1911. Documentation of the grave was poor; hencethe aim of this thesis was to investigate who the individuals in this grave were through their skeletal remains. The number of individuals, their age, and sex was determined, andpathological or activity-related changes were examined. A discussion on who these individuals were, whether their health could imply anything about their life, and how the grave might have been used, was based on these osteological results. The grave was likely a family grave used by a farming group. The elements displayed a fair amount of physical strain, particularly in a few individuals. The osteological material from the same grave waspreviously examined in 1912 by Carl M. Fürst. To examine the relevance of re-analysing osteological material analysed during the earlier 20th century a comparative analysis of Fürst’s and the new results was made. Although there were similarities, the older analysis provided very limited information in comparison to this analysis. / Denna avhandling är en mikroarkeologisk analys av det osteologiska materialet från flatmarksgraven L1977:6727, i Sigsarve, Gotland. Graven plogades upp och grävdes ut 1911. Då dokumentation om graven var minimal blev uppsatsens syfte att undersöka vilka individerna i graven kan ha varit genom det osteologiska materialet. Antalet individer, deras ålder och kön bedömdes, och eventuella patologiska eller aktivitetsrelaterade förändringar undersöktes. Utifrån resultaten diskuterades individernas liv, hälsa samt gravens bruk. Det kunde konstateras att graven troligen var en familjegrav som brukats av bönder snarare än jägare/samlare. Benen påvisade fysisk påfrestning, i synnerhet hos ett fåtal individer. Det osteologiska materialet undersöktes tidigare år 1912 av Carl M. Fürst. För att utreda relevansen av att åter-analysera osteologiskt material som analyserats under det tidigare 1900-talet gjordes en jämförande analys av Fürsts och de nya resultaten. Medan det fanns likheter i resultaten gav den äldre analysen mycket begränsad information i jämförelse med denna analys. / Gotland in the 3rd ML BCE

Sydskandinaviska hällristningar har varit av stort intresse för arkeologin under en längre tid. Cirkelmotiv och skepp är några av de vanligaste hällristningsmotiven och detta har resulterat i att en mängd studier har publicerats genom åren. Olika forskare försöker att komma närmare ristningarna på olika plan. Det rör sig om olika symboliska ingångar, men också de mer objektiva ingångarna som datering och utbredningar. Istället för en fördjupning i hällristningarnas betydelser, ägnar sig denna studie åt att studera hur forskningen ser ut inom detta fält. Olika forskares arbeten presenteras vilka skiljer sig i metodiker och teoretiska ingångar. En del är publicerade i fel tid, vilket menas att de avviker från den dåvarande forskningstrenden. Resultatet av det kan variera. En del tenderar att hamna i skuggan av de som följer trenden, men blir relevanta efter sin tid. Studien försöker således att se till vad som händer med forskningen som avviker och även vad de teoretiska ingångarna grundar sig i. / South Scandinavian rock carvings have been of great interest to archaeology for a long time. Circular motifs and ships are some of the most common motifs and this has resulted in a number of studies being published over the years. Different researchers try to get closer to the carvings on different levels. These are various symbolic inputs, but also the more objective inputs such as dating and distributions. Instead of an in-depth look at the meanings of the rock carvings, this study devotes itself to studying what research looks like in this field. The works of various researchers are presented, which differ in methodologies and theoretical inputs. Some are published at the wrong time, which means that they deviate from the current research trend of their time. The result of it may vary. Some tend to be overshadowed by those who follow the trend, but become relevant after their time. The study thus tries to see what happens with the research that deviates and also what the theoretical inputs are based on.

Denna uppsats undersöker Storsudret, Gotlands sydligaste udde, i ett övergripande perspektiv av landskapet och dess geografiska egenskaper, samt Sundre socken för en lokal analys av fornlämningar och människorna i området. Sydvästligast ligger Hoburgen, en klint eller klippa som har satt spår i den gotländska kulturen på flera olika sätt. Baserat på studerandet av kartor, analys av ett osteologiskt material samt etymologiska kopplingar till Hoburgen målar detta arbete en nyanserad bild av platsen och människorna däri. Genom att studera dessa aspekter kommer vi närmare att förstå människornas relation till platsen genom tiderna och varför man valt att återkomma och återbruka forna tiders gravplatser. / This thesis examines Storsudret, Gotland’s southernmost peninsula, through an overview perspective of the landscape and its geographical features, as well as Sundre parish for a local analysis of ancient monuments and the people in the area. The south-westernmost point is Hoburgen, a cliff that has left an imprint in the Gotlandic culture in various ways. Through the study of maps, analysis of osteological remains, and etymological connections to Hoburgen, this thesis demonstrates a nuanced picture of the place and the people within. By studying these aspects, we come closer to understand people’s relationship to the landscape throughout the ages and why they chose to return to it and reuse ancient burial sites. / Gotland under det 3:e årtusendet f.Kr.