The boat-burials in Scandinavia presents several rich findings in the form of boats, possession and their owners. These boat-burials are reviewed in this work through a lens of maritime archaeology, to connect the possible roles held by the boat itself in context with the placement and nature of the burial gifts deposited around and inside the vessel. The burial grounds in Vendel, Valsgärde, Tuna I Badelunda, Ultuna and Old Uppsala are presented to compare and create context between findings to define a common tradition and cosmology involving the boat-burials in question.

<p>I have statistically worked up a material from 228 graves from the late Iron Age in the area of Mälardalen.</p><p>In my material I have gathered the incidence of combs, knifes, beads, weapons whetstones and torshammarsrings.</p><p>I have found that beads are overrepresented in graves of women and whetstones in graves of men. I only found weapons in graves from male.</p><p>I found no indication from my statistic hypothesis (Z-test) that a grave that contains more than three beads should define the grave of a woman. A grave that contains a lot of beads, more than 20, consider I as a female gender.</p><p>Combs, knifes and torshammarsring are considered as gender neutral.</p>

<p>In the Late Iron Age, the Mälaren region contained a clearly stratified society and many sites in the landscape indicate the presence of an upper stratum, an elite. This concept – elite – may perhaps be seen as problematic, but in this case it is decidedly more neutral, and considerably less limiting and excluding than many other concepts.</p><p>The elite was a group that we know possessed larger farm buildings, more monumental and richly equipped graves as well as control over a large part of the specialised handicraft. The people in this elite group of society clearly advertised that they belonged to a special social unit. There are indications that these people had clear similarities with the nobility of the Middle Ages, but they were active in a society without any towns, Christianity or church administration. This dissertation discusses a number of issues concerning the elite of the Late Iron Age. Two studies are central. The first concerns six sites in the Mälaren region: Old Uppsala, Helgö, Vendel, Valsgärde, Husby in Glanshammar parish, and Ancient Sigtuna. The sites are compared to study the similarities and differences of elite settings. I investigate the evidence of different sources for the presence of great landownership, and of their importance for the rulers compared to other resources such as plunder, trade and taxation. The results indicate that the sites had many structural and economic similarities. At the same time, the resource use varied, and each site had its own unique character. The study is concluded with a discussion on the economic structure of the sites.</p><p>The second study deals with the elite in the vicinity of Uppsala, an area that mainly through Old Uppsala and the presence of boat graves are usually connected with ancient rulers. The investigation is mainly based on a number of excavated as well as non-excavated graves, some of which have never been published. In addition, a number of placenames and three unique ritual deposits are discussed. The study indicates that the people usually included in the concept of elite were quite common. This provides a new perspective for our view of two long renowned sites: Old Uppsala and Valsgärde.</p>

In the Late Iron Age, the Mälaren region contained a clearly stratified society and many sites in the landscape indicate the presence of an upper stratum, an elite. This concept – elite – may perhaps be seen as problematic, but in this case it is decidedly more neutral, and considerably less limiting and excluding than many other concepts. The elite was a group that we know possessed larger farm buildings, more monumental and richly equipped graves as well as control over a large part of the specialised handicraft. The people in this elite group of society clearly advertised that they belonged to a special social unit. There are indications that these people had clear similarities with the nobility of the Middle Ages, but they were active in a society without any towns, Christianity or church administration. This dissertation discusses a number of issues concerning the elite of the Late Iron Age. Two studies are central. The first concerns six sites in the Mälaren region: Old Uppsala, Helgö, Vendel, Valsgärde, Husby in Glanshammar parish, and Ancient Sigtuna. The sites are compared to study the similarities and differences of elite settings. I investigate the evidence of different sources for the presence of great landownership, and of their importance for the rulers compared to other resources such as plunder, trade and taxation. The results indicate that the sites had many structural and economic similarities. At the same time, the resource use varied, and each site had its own unique character. The study is concluded with a discussion on the economic structure of the sites. The second study deals with the elite in the vicinity of Uppsala, an area that mainly through Old Uppsala and the presence of boat graves are usually connected with ancient rulers. The investigation is mainly based on a number of excavated as well as non-excavated graves, some of which have never been published. In addition, a number of placenames and three unique ritual deposits are discussed. The study indicates that the people usually included in the concept of elite were quite common. This provides a new perspective for our view of two long renowned sites: Old Uppsala and Valsgärde.

Akademisk avhandling--Arkeologi--Stockholm, 1980. / Résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 307-324. Index.

In this study, four dogs from three graves from the Iron Age burial field Broa in Halla 48: 1 will be analysed. What can an osteological analysis of the dog’s skeletons tell about them? How big were they, how old, and were there some diseases? Can the relationships between dogs and the individuals from the graves be seen? How were the dogs killed? What can the dog tell us about society in Broa Halla during the Iron Age? Why were dogs buried with hu mans? Is it a hunting companion who faithfully follows its owner to life after death or is it a symbol of something? This study has examined similar tombs from Sweden to see if there are any similarities and/or differences. Such an example is Halla Broe 46:1 which has been interpreted to be part of the same burial ground as Broa Halla. Examination and comparison of the graves from Vendel and Valsgärde is added as well. The conclusion in this essay is that the graves have dogs that are large with a shoulder-height between approximately 60-73 centimeters. They have probably been used in hunting with horses when the graves also have horses in them. Larges dogs in this size are first seen in archeological materials from the iron age. Two of the dogs have some similarities with the greyhound type but this can not be conclusory proven due to the deteriorated state of the remains. This type of dogs shows that the humans in the graves have had a high societal standing in the community in Broa at their time and shows to contact with other places and import. This can also be evidence of breeding that targets different uses of dogs.

The aim of this essay is to question and analyze problems surrounding the current research within the field of spikes.The latest breakout was in the early 50's,since then there haven't been any major research projects and no interpretation have been made.Not only does this  essay bring a contribution to the research of spikes but also question what has earlier been established through interpretations.The focus of this essay is on the spikes found on the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea,these are currently stored at the Museum of Gotland.What was the main area of use that these spikes had and in which context are they found? Although only 27 finds will be analyzed during this essay ,the goal is to get a greater understanding of the usage of these finds and how this will contribute to the archaelogical sites.

The cemetery of Valsgärde, Sweden contains 92 human graves dating from the 3rdc. BCE to the 11thc. CE, the majority and most elaborate of which date to the Vendel and Viking Ages (approximately 500-1100 CE). This total consists of 15 unburnt boat graves, 15 inhumation and chamber graves, and 62 cremations. In addition to the human remains and wealthy goods, the site is noted for its richness in zooarchaeological material, with a variety of primarily domestic animals appearing buried alongside humans. One of the most commonly represented animals in these graves is the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), a trend which has been noted in many other sites from Vendel and Viking Age Sweden. This project quantifies and analyses the morphology of the dogs in the unburnt Vendel and Viking graves at Valsgärde in order to a) assemble a general typology and demographic profile for the population, b) assess the level of morphological variability in the population, and c) speculate on the possible roles these dogs may have played in Scandinavian society in the Late Iron Age. Comparisons are made between the character of dog burials in the Vendel vs Viking periods, to identify any notable shifts in trend over time. The analysis shows that while the size of the dogs generally remains consistent throughout both periods, a number of different types are represented within this limited size range, and the Viking Age burials contain notably fewer dogs than the graves of the Vendel Period.

The deposition of animals in graves was an essential aspect of burial practice in Scandinavia during the Vendel Period and Viking Age (550–1050 AD). While this rite occurs in many different regions, it is most clearly observed in the boat-graves from the famous cemeteries in Swedish Uppland, such as Vendel and Valsgärde, as well as in a number of high-status cremation graves. Former studies have tended to interpret faunal remains from burial contexts as food offerings, diplomatic gifts or simply as sacrifices. These explanations place an emphasis on the importance of the human dead and imply that grave assemblages mainly served to accompany the deceased as a provision for the afterlife, or to illustrate power, status and identity among the living. The master’s thesis presented here, comprises an analysis of animal depositions from both cremation and inhumation burials in Uppland. By applying the theory of agency, this study focuses on grave assemblages and human-animal relationships as a means of understanding burial practices. Instead of only paying attention to the type of bones and the animal species, it is equally important to consider the condition of the bones, their placement inside the grave and the placement of artefacts ascribed to certain animals in relation to the human dead. This is not only essential to decoding human-animal relationships as evident in burial practices, but also to understanding the many different processes that culminated in the deposition of animal bones in graves.

The focus of this study is to detect any similarities – or lack thereof – between the alloys of different types of oval brooches from the later Iron Age in Scandinavia. The study is furthermore concerned with how the alloys and the typologies can be mutually complimentary to one another in regards to dating or determining the age of specific oval brooches. For this purpose X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) was used on five different items deriving from Birka, Vendel and one of unknown context. The results indicate continuity with earlier studies regarding copper alloys with contents of zinc, and that this study’s brass brooches may have been produced in this alloy for its gold-like appearance. A higher level of lead can be found in the younger brooches, therefore indicating that tortoise brooches of a later date may contain more lead than their earlier counterparts. Furthermore, the study shows that brass may be mistaken for gold, and it raises questions about the use of metal originating from native copper sources. This study is a part of the Birka Black Earth Harbour project. / The Birka Black Earth Harbour project