During the 9th and 10th centuries large amounts of Islamic coins arrived in Scandinavia. Most of them were used as silver in a bullion-economy and were often fragmented because of this. However, their use was not limited to only economic purposes because we see large amounts of pendants made of these coins. By suspending a coin with a loop or only ...
While knowledge of Viking Age military structures such as ditches, camps, and enclosures outside of Scandinavia is growing, possible counterparts in the Scandinavian regions are generally less known. But despite the lack of trenches, camps, and enclosures, other traces of army life and organisation are preserved. In this chapter, it is suggested th...
The purpose of this essay is to investigate the deformed Viking swords as seen in the historical Swedish province of Uplands during the Late Iron Age.Three sites have been selected for their concentration of deformed and fragmented swords,as well as other phenomena that are part of the phenomenon. Birka,Kiplingeberg and Söderby are the three choose...
Birka Folk High School, Jämtland County Folk High School, opened its doors in 1901 and welcomed its first students. As part of their studies, the students participated in discussions covering a wide range of issues. The purpose of this thesis has been to examine the views on citizenship expressed in discussions among students at Birka Folk High Sch...
The aim of this thesis is to identify what actions of change museums have taken to adjust to the ebb and flow of societal norms and values. The empirical evidence is based on three case studies of objects in three museums: the Birka warrior from grave Bj-581 in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, the G’psgolox totem pole in the Museum of Ethno...
A Viking Age shipyard at Kugghamn, Birka. This is a report of an archaeological investigation of maritime remains close to and connected to the Viking Age town of Birka on Björkö, Uppland, Sweden. The investigations included surveys using GNSS receivers and drones, geochemical mapping, and the excavation of four trenches, carried out in August 2020...
This study aims to investigate the identity of the individuals, presumed to have been a part of the early eastern trade network who were laid to rest in Birka. The study is a case study over ten graves containing dirhems and aims to answer three research questions: In what grave contexts are early dirhems found, and can they be seen as an indicatio...
Archaeology and art history are two disciplines that have a lot in common, especially in the pre-historic field where both disciplines rely on the same material – artifacts. Interdisciplinary methods have become increasingly more common the last few years and are very beneficial as it allows for more insight and variables into the study of the huma...
The purpose of this thesis is to study the symbolic role of weapons, specifically axes in Viking age burials. The thesis will also discuss the axe´s role in relaion to the character of the grave and the grave goods. A total 18 graves will be studied and analysed with help from J. Petersen´s typology of Viking age weapons and Holger Arbman`s works o...
