<p>On the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea there have been 18 archaeological find of bronze swords and five finds of bronze miniature swords and they have been dated to the bronze age periods II-VI. They have been found as ritual hoard offerings, as treasure hoards and in graves. These finds will be put in relation to each other and the bronze age landscape they have been found in. The purpose of this is to see if there is a pattern to be seen, if a specific sword-type can be found in a grave or hoard or if there’s a pattern to be seen in there placement in the landscape relating to other bronze age sites. The question of who used the sword during the bronze age will also be asked, followed by a discussion of gender, gender roles and power on Gotland during the bronze age.</p>

On the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea there have been 18 archaeological find of bronze swords and five finds of bronze miniature swords and they have been dated to the bronze age periods II-VI. They have been found as ritual hoard offerings, as treasure hoards and in graves. These finds will be put in relation to each other and the bronze age landscape they have been found in. The purpose of this is to see if there is a pattern to be seen, if a specific sword-type can be found in a grave or hoard or if there’s a pattern to be seen in there placement in the landscape relating to other bronze age sites. The question of who used the sword during the bronze age will also be asked, followed by a discussion of gender, gender roles and power on Gotland during the bronze age.

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.