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FULLTEXT01.Pdf Digitalisering av redan tidigare utgivna vetenskapliga publikationer Dessa fotografier är offentliggjorda vilket innebär att vi använder oss av en undantagsregel i 23 och 49 a §§ lagen (1960:729) om upphovsrätt till litterära och konstnärliga verk (URL). Undantaget innebär att offentliggjorda fotografier får återges digitalt i anslutning till texten i en vetenskaplig framställning som inte framställs i förvärvssyfte. Undantaget gäller fotografier med både kända och okända upphovsmän. Bilderna märks med ©. Det är upp till var och en att beakta eventuella upphovsrätter. SWEDISH NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD RIKSANTIKVARIEÄMBETET Mwtwl ^ bfikj O Opw UmA mwfrtMs O Cme-fou ö {wert* RoA«l O "liWIøf'El'i'fcA Birka Bente Magnus National Heritage Board View from the Fort Hill towards the Black Earth and Hemlanden (“The Homelands ”) at Birka. Birka is no. 2 in the series “Cultural Monuments in Sweden”, a set of guides to some of the most interesting ancient and historic monuments in Sweden. Author: Bente Magnus wrote the original text in Norwegian Translator: Alan Crozier Editor: Gunnel Friberg Layout: Agneta Modig ©1998 National Heritage Board ISBN 91-7209-125-8 1:3 Publisher: National Heritage Board, Box 5405, SE-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden Tel +46 (0)8 5191 8000 Printed by: Halls Offset, Växjö, 2004 Aerial view of Birka, 1997. The history of a town In Lake Mälaren, about 30 kilometres west protectedlocation, it attracted people from of Stockholm, between the fjords of Södra far and near to come to offer their goods Björkfjärdenand Hovgårdsfjärden,lies the and services. Today Birka is one of Swe­ island of Björkö. Until 1,100 years ago, den’s sites on Unesco’s World Heritage List there was a small, busy market town on and a popular attraction for thousands of the western shore of the island. This was summer tourists. Birka, the only town on the Scandinavian Björkö measures 4 by 1.5 km, but in peninsula in the Viking Age. Because of its the Viking Age, when Mälaren was an arm 4 Grönsö Ansgar's Chapel Björkö village Cemetery Ang- Museum ho|men Fort Town rampart Fort rampart Hemlanden Black Earth Cemetery Excav. Terraces 1990-95 Villagejetty Harbour area Jetties Key to the aerial photograph. of the Baltic Sea, the island was only half one can glimpse the medieval as big. The water level at that time was whitewashed church on the island of roughly 5 m higher than it is today, so that Adelsö. To the north-east you can see the southern part of Björkö was a separate parts of the old town area and the rampart island, consisting mainly of barren rock and that once separated the town from the moraine. It is crowned by a large burial biggest of the cemeteries, Hemlanden cairn from the Bronze Age. (“The Homelands”), with over 1,600 For those who come to Björkö for the burial mounds. To the south-east is first time, it is not easy to imagine what a Ansgar’s Chapel, dedicated in 1930, and market town in the Viking Age might have the village of Björkö, which today consists looked like and how it functioned. Narrow of only two farms. The village may have gravel tracks lead to grassy paths where been partly contemporary with Birka, and Birka once lay, and lovely birch woods grow the peasants there continued to farm the between the burial mounds. At the highest land onBjörkö when Birka was deserted. point of the island inside the fort rampart In 1996 a museum of Birka was there is an old stone cross erected in 1834 opened, a beautifullow wooden building to commemorate the first visit to Birka by down at Ångholmen, where all the the Benedictine monk Ansgar. There is a tourists land. The museum’s exhibition is broad panorama from here. In the distance based on the results of research into Birka 5 Map of the Mälaren area, showing some important place-names. 6 A day in Birka in late winter around 900. Model by Lars Agger, figures by Eva Rahmqvist. and the Viking Age which has been going in 830; a scene from a winter’s day in the on since the 1930s, and especially the town just before 900; and a feast for for­ excavation and research project “Birka the eign merchants at the king’s residence on Viking Town”, which was carried out Adelsö some time in the first half of the between 1990 and 1995 under the tenth century. A long archaeological sec­ leadership of Björn Ambrosiani. tion through part of the town that was ex­ The overall theme of the exhibition is cavated in 1990-1995 shows how the his­ Birka as a meeting place. People from all tory of the town is reflected in layer upon corners of Europe met here to trade and layer from the beginnings until the aban­ deal, and this is reflected in the finds: raw donment of Birka after about 200 years. materials for the craftsmen, provisionsfor Under the section there are showcases with the townspeople, luxury goods of many examples of finds from the town: creepy kinds for the king and the most powerful things like snails, beetles, and flies, waste families. from various crafts, and finds that give us The permanent part of the exhibition insight into both winter and summer ac­ consists of three large models showing tivities. The large quantity of food refuse events in the history of Birka: Ansgar’s in the form of bones collected during the arrival in Birka harbour one autumn day large excavation serves as a basis for a 7 Glass beads from the Black Earth. The blue bead with white eyes and the pointed oval brown bead with blue bands are oriental. “still life” in a separate showcase to illus­ distant past which visitors can take with trate what the townspeople ate. them as they go out to explore the cultural Birka has been best known for many landscape of Björkö. Birka museum should years for the unique finds from the not be regarded as a traditional museum; cemeteries which the scientist and the exhibitions are meant to be a archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe investigated complement to the structures in the at the end of the nineteenth century. With landscape which the visitors can see on the aid of maps and splendid copies of their tour of the island,the town area (also luxury goods found in the graves - known as the Black Earth), the fortress rock gleaming sharp weapons, beakers of with its mighty rampart, the rampart round transparent glass, gilt ornaments, the town, the harbour, and the cemeteries. multicoloured glass beads and semi­ The original finds, which are fragile and precious stones, furs, colourful textiles and sometimes fragmentary, are preservedand silk - the exhibition seeks to show the exhibited at the Historical Museum and power of Birka and its international the Royal Coin Cabinet in Stockholm. character and to create some images of a Map of Europe and the Near East, showing important cities and trading sites. A town comes into existence In the course of the eighth century several many reasons why this took place at this market towns were built on the northern particular time. One factor is that social periphery of Christian Europe: first Ribe development had reached a phase when the in western Jutland, then Staraya Ladoga leading families in large regions elected a in Russia, and then Birka. At the same time king and supported him in the establish­ coastal trading sites grew up and acquired ment of a fixed base for trade. In the sec­ varying degrees of importance, although ond half of the century another important they never became towns; examples are factor was the expansion policy of Char­ Paviken in Gotland, Åhus in Skåne, Grobin lemagne, who sought to gain power over in Latvia, Ralswiek on Rügen, Skiringsal Europe to the north and east of his Frank­ (Kaupang) in southern Norway. There are ish kingdom, controlling important trade 9 or hird, a bodyguard of young mounted men who accompanied him on all his travels. They were tied to the king by powerful bonds of loyalty, which he reciprocated by means of generous gifts: weapons, fine horses, good food. Free­ born women were often pawns in a political and economic game between two families, their husband’s and their own, and had to mediate between conflicting parties. They were entitled to keep the bridewealth they received on marrying, and they could demand a divorce. The big farmers were a strong and con­ Three small female figures of silver. The one servative group, each with great power on the right is from Birka. Could they be within his own territory, and especially goddesses? when they assembled for war. They had the resources to equip men for warfare and plundering raids, to build and furnish routes and trading sites and converting the ships for trading voyages. It was their task pagans to Christianity. It was common in to maintain a good relationship both with this age for powerful families to collabo­ the great gods Thor, Frey, and Odin, and rate on enterprises, and there were oppor­ with the ancestors. They presided over the tunities for a son with initiative to achieve rituals at sacrifices. From early childhood a new and different life. they were trained in athletics and combat, Viking Age society was kin-based and and taught to act so as to achieve a good hierarchically structured. The most posthumous reputation. important dividing line ran between free Women were brought up to manage the and unfree people. The most powerful household and the servants, and to rear families - those with most cultivable land the daughters to become good housewives.
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