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Gold-foil figures and human skulls in the royal hall at Aska, Hagebyhöga, Östergötland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2023

Martin Rundkvist Open the ORCID record for Martin Rundkvist [Opens in a new window] ,
Axel Löfving ,
Rudolf Gustavsson Open the ORCID record for Rudolf Gustavsson [Opens in a new window] ,
Jens Heimdahl  and
Andreas Viberg Open the ORCID record for Andreas Viberg [Opens in a new window]
Martin Rundkvist*
Affiliation:
Instytut Archeologii, Uniwersytet Łódzki, Poland
Axel Löfving
Affiliation:
Independent researcher, Uppsala, Sweden
Rudolf Gustavsson
Affiliation:
Independent researcher, Mariehamn, Finland
Jens Heimdahl
Affiliation:
The Archaeologists, National Historical Museums, Sweden
Andreas Viberg
Affiliation:
Guideline Geo AB (MALÅ /ABEM), Umeå, Sweden
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ martin.rundkvist@uni.lodz.pl
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Abstract

During the mid-first millennium AD, centres of royal power with large halls emerged across southern Scandinavia. No evidence for such sites, however, was known from Östergötland in south-east Sweden. Here, the authors present results from fieldwork at Aska near Vadstena, identifying the principal manor of a petty royal lineage occupied between c. AD 650 and 1000. Excavations have revealed a 50m-long hall raised on a 3.5m-high platform and the largest known assemblage of small gold-foil figures from the first-millennium kingdom of Östergötland. Aska represents a ‘second-generation ruler’ site, similar in form and date to Old Uppsala, Borre, Old Lejre and Tissø, revealing Östergötland as an integral part of the political geography of early medieval Scandinavia.

Keywords

Swedenfirst-millennium ADroyal centrelong-house architectureritual closuregold-working
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 97 , Issue 396 , December 2023 , pp. 1534 - 1547
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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