Identity, threat and defiance: interpreting the “bulwark”, a 12th century lake building on Gotland, Sweden

“Bulverket” in Gotland has been one of Sweden’s longest standing archaeological mysteries since its purpose was first pondered by Oscar Montelius in 1868. For some, the enormous timber construction in the middle of the lake at Tingstäde was obviously military, but other suggestions spanned the entire social spectrum: a market place, a religious centre, a crusader barracks, a pirate base or even a prison. Whatever its function and meanings, the enterprise demanded a prodigious investment of labour and must represent someone or some group with considerable power and motivation. Yet soon after its construction it seems to have played out its role and been abandoned. The reasons are of course implicated in the fascinating structure itself but they also have to be sought in the wider context of contemporary Gotlandic society.     

Stable isotopes as indicators of change in the food procurement and food preference of Viking Age and Early Christian populations on Gotland (Sweden)

Archaeological samples of human and faunal remains dating from the Viking (9–11th century AD) and Early Christian (11–12th century AD) periods of Gotland, Sweden were assayed through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis in order to investigate whether changes in subsistence occurred between these periods, particularly regarding the importance of seafood. The study was concerned with how the dietary regime of the Baltic trading port and farming settlement at Ridanäs, Gotland was affected by the widespread environmental and sociocultural transformations that characterized the end of the Viking Age. More generally, the research considers how changes in both food procurement and preference may account for observed differences in the dietary regimes of individuals from the Viking Age and the Early Christian period.