bhr2.pdf

BARSHALDER 2

Studies of Late Iron Age Gotland

University of Stockholm

MARTIN RUNDKVIST

For YuSie, Samuel and Sprout,

with all my love

ISBN 91-631-3732-1

Cover design: Göran Österlund, using drawings

by Stefan Kayat and a photograph by Peter

Manneke

Graphic design: Martin Rundkvist

Printed by: Elanders Gotab, Stockholm, 2003

Table of Contents

Preface & Acknowledgements ..................................................................................5

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................6

1.1 The research tradition ...................................................................................7

1.2 Gender terminology ......................................................................................7

1.3 Chronological basics ......................................................................................8

1.4 Standards of source criticism .......................................................................8

1.5 Statistical methods .........................................................................................9

2. Migration Period typochronology ..................................................................... 11

2.0 Previous work and methodological critique ........................................... 11

2.1 Data set and methodology ......................................................................... 16

2.2 Pottery ............................................................................................................ 17

2.3 Combs ............................................................................................................. 17

2.4 Strap buckles.................................................................................................. 17

2.5 Sundry strap mounts and staple rings ...................................................... 18

2.6 Strap retaining mounts ................................................................................ 18

2.7 Strap end mounts ......................................................................................... 18

2.8 Fibulae ............................................................................................................. 19

2.9 Dress pins ....................................................................................................... 20

2.10 Pendants ....................................................................................................... 20

2.11 Clasps ............................................................................................................ 20

2.12 Weaponry ..................................................................................................... 20

2.13 Other artefacts, unsuitable for chronological study ........................... 23

2.14 Graves with heirloom objects ................................................................. 23

2.15 The female sequence .................................................................................. 23

2.16 The male sequence ..................................................................................... 25

2.17 Correlating the two sequences ............................................................... 27

2.18 Correlating the female sequences for Gotland and Bornholm ........ 29

2.19 Correlating the female sequences for Gotland and Norway ............ 30

2.20 Correlating the male sequences for Gotland and Norway ............... 31

2.21 Absolute dating............................................................................................ 31

3. Late Iron Age social roles: gender, age and status .......................................... 36

3.1 Migration Period gender ............................................................................. 36

3.1.1 Gender attributes ................................................................................ 37

3.1.2 Gender ratio at Barshalder ................................................................ 40

3.1.3 Sub-gender groups ............................................................................... 40

3.1.4 Women in mortuary symbolism ....................................................... 41

3.1.5 Men in mortuary symbolism ............................................................. 41

3.1.6 Gender-neutral attributes .................................................................. 41

3.1.7 Gender and bone data at Barshalder ............................................... 42

3.2 Migration Period social status .................................................................... 43

3.2.1 Human sacrifice at Barshalder ........................................................... 45

3.2.2 Animal bones at Barshalder ................................................................ 45

3.3 Vendel Period gender at Barshalder .......................................................... 47

3.3.1 Gender attributes ................................................................................ 47

3.3.2 Changing gender roles ........................................................................ 49

3.3.3 Gender ratio .......................................................................................... 51

3.3.4 Female sub-gender groups .................................................................. 51

3.3.5 Male sub-gender groups....................................................................... 53

3.3.6 Gender-neutral attributes ................................................................... 54

3.3.7 Gender and bone data ......................................................................... 54

3.4 Vendel Period social status at Barshalder .................................................. 55

3.4.1 Human sacrifice and slavery ................................................................ 57

3.4.2 Animal bones .......................................................................................... 58

3.5 Late Viking Period gender and age at Barshalder .................................... 60

3.6 Late Viking Period social status at Barshalder.......................................... 62

4. Religious identity in the 11th century ............................................................... 64

4.1 Burial ritual at Barshalder ............................................................................ 64

4.1.1 Sampling .................................................................................................. 65

4.1.2 Non-dress artefacts in pagan graves ................................................. 65

4.1.3 Axes .......................................................................................................... 65

4.1.4 Maces ....................................................................................................... 65

4.1.5 Whetstones ............................................................................................ 68

4.1.6 Rivet clusters.......................................................................................... 68

4.1.7 Combs ..................................................................................................... 68

4.1.8 Knives ...................................................................................................... 68

4.1.9 Amber amulets ....................................................................................... 69

4.1.10 Vessels .................................................................................................... 69

4.1.11 Re-used picture-stones ...................................................................... 70

4.1.12 Animal bones ........................................................................................ 70

4.1.13 Rattles ................................................................................................... 70

4.1.14 Keys........................................................................................................ 70

4.1.15 Spindlewhorls....................................................................................... 71

4.1.16 Sewing needles .................................................................................... 71

4.1.17 Needle cases ........................................................................................ 71

4.1.18 Fossils .................................................................................................... 71

4.1.19 Interpreting the pattern of placement ........................................... 71

4.2 Religious conversion ..................................................................................... 72

4.2.1 Pagan mortuary symbolism ................................................................. 72

4.2.2 Pagan reactionaries ............................................................................... 73

4.2.3 Were the churchless cemeteries in fact pagan? .............................. 73

4.2.4 Confessional geography of Gotland in the 11th century ............. 75

4.2.5 The Strelowian dates and the 11th century

cemetery situation ................................................................................ 81

4.2.6 Conversion-period society ................................................................. 82

5. Conclusions and summary ................................................................................... 84

6. Slutsatser och sammanfattning på svenska ....................................................... 88

7. References ............................................................................................................... 92

8. Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 101

Preface

Acknowledgements

This book is the analytical companion of Barshal-

der 1 , my monograph on Gotland’s largest prehis-

toric cemetery. Having pondered the outlines of

the studies in the present volume during data col-

lection, I began writing them in mid-1998 when

I was allocated a doctoral student’s salary by the

Faculty of the Humanities. The manuscript be-

nefited greatly from constructive criticism by Ing-

mar Jansson, Karen Høilund Nielsen and Bo Pet-

ré who read full versions of it in 2002 and early

2003. At that late date, however, they were given

no opportunity to influence the general lines of

inquiry or the choice of methods.

Being headstrong and set at an early age in

my archaeological ways, I have been a self-suffi-

cient doctoral student. This ensured autonomy

but also meant that I did not have any close con-

tact with my own university department, although

I otherwise enjoy an extensive professional net-

work. This alienation was largely due to what I per-

ceived as a constricting post-modern orthodoxy at

the post-graduate seminar. Here, theoretical plural-

ism appeared to mean that you could have your

Ford any colour you liked, as long as it was black.

The Faculty of the Humanities, luckily, had less

dogmatic views, for which I am very grateful.

Years of bickering with theoretically inclined

colleagues had not prepared me for the final hurd-

le that the manuscript had to pass on its way to

publication. I was dismayed to find that empiri-

cist, common-sensical scholars whose work I ad-

mire were not terribly enthusiastic about it. If I

understand them correctly, they found my style

too terse and my way of thinking too categori-

cal. These traits are still evident in the present

text, for the simple reason that they are intentio-

nal. I have little patience with scholarly verbiage,

and I think like a taxonomist. This work owes its

shape not to an inability to do otherwise, but to

the conscious pursuit of an ideal.

Like any writer, I am anxious to have readers.

I am also keen to communicate with them. Any

comments or questions will therefore be most

welcome.

Funding, in falling order of magnitude: Faculty

of the Humanities, University of Stockholm, doc-

toral student salary 2.5 years; Gunvor och Josef

Anérs stiftelse; Berit Wallenbergs stiftelse; Åke

Wibergs stiftelse; Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftel-

se; State student subsidies; Wilhelmina von Hall-

wyhls Gotlandsfond; my grandmother, Nella Le-

ander; DBW:s stiftelse; Crafoordska stiftelsen; my

mother, Åsa Leander; my father, Pelle Rundkvist;

Magnus Bergvalls stiftelse; Stiftelsen Lars Hier-

tas Minne; Mårten Stenbergers stipendiefond;

Wallenbergsstiftelsens jubileumsfond; Egon

Thuns minnesfond; Department of Archaeolo-

gy, University of Stockholm; Birger Nermans

fond; Rosa och Valter Tengborgs fond; Hierta-

Retzius stipendiefond; Greta Arwidssons fond.

Office space, computer and communication

resources: 1998-2001, Museum of National Anti-

quities, Stockholm; early 2002, Library of the KV-

HAA; late 2002, Accountancy Department of

the National Heritage Board.

CAD equipment: Arkeologikonsult AB.

Libraries visited: The Library of the KVHAA,

Stockholm. The Royal Library, Stockholm. The

Library of the University of Stockholm. The Lib-

rary of the Gotland County Museum, Gotlands

Fornsal, Visby.

Language revision and constructive criticism:

Rebecca Montague.

Helpful and supportive colleagues: Kent An-

dersson, Kerstin Assarsson-Rizzi, Roger Blidmo,

Ing-Marie Back Danielsson, Toralf Fors, Karen

Høilund Nielsen, Ingmar Jansson, Kenneth Jons-

son, Jan Peder Lamm, Mats P. Malmer, Gunnar

Nordanskog, Bo Petré, Zuzana Polaskova, Jörn

Staecker, Göran Tegnér, Lena Thunmark-Nylén,

Per Widerström.

Family and friends: Mona Alvö, Lena Ander-

son, YuSie Rundkvist Chou, Forodrim, Stefan

Kayat, David Kjellberg, Åsa Leander, Jonathan

Lindström, Ansa Messner, Samuel Rundkvist

Messner, Pelle Rundkvist, Tor Sandqvist, SKOM,

Kristina Svensson, Rye Widell, Jonas Wikborg.

Martin Rundkvist

arador@algonet.se

Fisksätra, 4 March 2003

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