Usuari:Jordi M R/proves/gamla uppsala

Els tres grans túmuls reials i l'església de Gamla Uppsala

Gamla Uppsala (Vella Uppsala) és un centre històric, església i població que pertany a la municipalitat d'Uppsala ("Uppsala kommun"), a Suècia. Durant l'edat del ferro, als segles III i IV, va ser un important centre religiós, econòmic i polític. Fou la seu dels reis suecs abans de l'edat mitjana i aparegué amb freqüència a la mitologia nòrdica. El centre històric conserva gran quantitat de túmuls, tres dels quals reials. Durant l'edat mitjana va ser la ciutat més gran d'Uppland i d'un centre de culte pagà passà a ser la seu de l'arquebisbat de Suècia en 1164.

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Categoria:Uppsala

Pâgines relacionades: Adam de Bremen Temple d'Uppsala

INDEX

Situació geogràfica Història Els túmuls reials L'esglèsia Llocs d'interès ..Museu ..Disagarden ..Odin's place

Enllaços

http://www.arkeologigamlauppsala.se/Sv/nyheter/2012/Pages/snart-satts-spaden-i-marken.aspx

I Gamla Uppsala härskade sveakungarna, som menade att de var släkt med fruktbarhetsguden Frej. Här byggdes monumentala gravhögar, maktens människor samlades vid stora gästabud och man firade religiösa högtider där det offrades till gudarna. Även efter kristnandet spelade platsen en stor roll. 1164 blev Gamla Uppsala Sveriges första ärkebiskopsstift och vid samma tid uppfördes en domkyrka intill kungshögarna. Fortfarande var platsen viktig för kungamakten. Gamla Uppsala var Upplands största by och en del av den ägdes av kronan.

http://www.arkeologigamlauppsala.se/Sv/the-story-of-old-uppsala/Pages/default.aspx

Old Uppsala – greater than its myths In Old Uppsala, myths loom as tall as the royal mounds. Here the kings of the Swedes are to have ruled, claiming kinship with the fertility god Freyr. Beneath the grand mounds, supposedly the tombs of Aun, Adils and Egil, people were to have gathered every nine years for great sacrificial feasts, offering both animals and humans to the glory of the gods. In the 1070s Adam of Bremen suggested that looming over the site was a golden temple. But is any of this actually true? Every archaeological investigation in Old Uppsala brings us closer to reality. The more complex image of the site that is evolving does not make it any less interesting. Quite the opposite! Fact is stronger than fiction.

A Central Place From the early Vendel Period (550-800 AD) til the 1100s Old Uppsala was a so-called central place; an important centre for economy, social interaction, politics and religion. A central place incorporated important functions for the rulers of the society. Here council could assemble and important religious and ritual ceremonies undertaken. Also, a market could be held, attracting traders and craftsmen. A central place was an arena for society’s elite, but attracted a large population from all social strata. Old Uppsala before Old Uppsala Far from the sea – still central Possibly, the first visitors arrived as early as during the Stone Age. All that was visible then was a terminal moraine, a low ridge rising out of a large straight of water. Here the Royal mounds were built much later. Through shore displacement the water receded more and more, but many waterways remained, enabling travel in all directions So despite the fact that Old Uppsala was not situated by the coast, it could be reached by boat. Also, from the Iron Age onwards a vast road network emerged. The site was easily defended and the clay soils surrounding it were very fertile – in other words an attractive location. During the Late Bronze Age there was a permanent settlement here. On the field barley, wheat and oats grew, and livestock provided meat, milk, wool and leather. Visible hierarchy During the Roman Iron Age (0-400 AD) traces have been found of substantial settlements, at least in the valley of the River Samnan, a small tributary of the larger River Fyris. Already at this point, a hierarchy is visible. Those with power and means had exclusive houses built, preferably on elevated terrain or terraces, so they would be visible from afar. Others not as affluent settled further downhill in smaller houses. Settlements move From the 4th century the settlement pattern started to change and around 600 AD many of the old farms had been abandoned. This is not a unique to Old Uppsala, but a process that has been observed all across the lake Mälaren basin. At this time the area around the present day church was populated, as well as the rest of what would be known as Old Uppsala village. This vast settlement came to exist from the 6th to the 16th century, and during the middle ages this was the largest village in Uppland.

The Royal Mounds Some of the most exclusive graves in Sweden Spring in Old Uppsala. Foto: Beng A Lundberg Riksantikvarieämbetet There were once many more graves in Old Uppsala than are visible today. Many were ploughed over when the old burial grounds were put into use for farming.Others have been used as gravel pits. Estimations of how many people were laid to rest here run into thousands. About 1400 years ago the three royal mounds were raised; The West Mound, The Middle Mound and the East Mound. They were built on the terminal moraine, or esker, and to make them loom even higher the areas between them was dug out. The kings of the Ynglinga line According to the Ynglinga saga the kings Aun, Egil and Adils were buried in Old Uppsala. One interpretation is that these are buried in the three great mounds. They belonged to the Ynglinga line which, if the Icelandic sagas are to be believed, was established in Old Uppsala in the late 5th century. The term “The Ynglinga line” is derived from the fertility god Freyr, also known as Yngve-Freyr. The kings meant they were descended from him. That three kings were buried in the royal mounds has never been confirmed. Read on about The east mound Map over Old Uppala drawn by Truls Arnvidsson in 1709.

The east mound A double grave? The East mound, the largest of the monuments, was excavated in 1847. Various interpretations as to dating exist. The archaeologist and professor Sune Lindqvist (1887-1976) suggested that it was erected around 500 AD, or in the early 6th century (The Migration Period), while the archaeologist John Ljungkvist places it around 550-600 AD (The Vendel Period). The east mound is around 9 metres tall and its oval shape measures around 75 by 55 metres. At the mounds base was a stone cairn covering a burial urn with burnt bone. Remains of two persons So who was buried there? One interpretation is that it is a double grave, with two individuals. One was a boy, only 10 to 14 years old at the time of death, the other was a woman. The reason little can be made of the osteology material is in part that the bodies were cremated, in part the most of the bone material was reinterred after excavation. Gold and glass Since the dead were cremated on a pyre along with the grave goods, artefacts have largely been destroyed by the fierce heat. Examples of what nevertheless could be discerned were: · Thin bronze plate, possibly originally mounted on the kind of helmet known from the bout burials in Vendel and Valsgärde. Bone gaming pieces Remains of glass beakers A bone comb A small bone duck, which possibly once festooned the top of a bone needle. Iron rivets, possibly from a casket or chest Whetstones for sharpening knives A object which may have been a makeup pallet Fittings possibly from a drinking horn Three gold objects: a piece of gold plate with filigree (thin strands and granules of gold), a piece of gold plate with animal ornaments and fittings for garnets. All three objects may have festooned a so-called scramasax, a single edge fighting knife. Burnt and unburnt bone from a least three dogs, a hunting falcon, cattle and sheep Bone from bear claws, suggesting that the deceased was laid out on a bear pelt. The west Mound A princely burial The West mound during excavation in 1874. The West mound excavated in 1874 measures 67 by 51 metres and is 10 metres tall. Various interpretations of the mound’s age include Sune Lindqvist's suggestion that it was raised in the mid-6th century AD (The Migration Period), while the archaeologist John Ljungkvist places it around 570-625 AD (The Vendel Period). Again, the majority of the bone material was reinterred after excavation. The excavators claimed at least one man and one woman were interred in the mound. But when modern osteologists analysed the material in 1999 only one adult individual could be identified. The grave goods indicate that this person was male. Gold and garnets The mound contained the remains of: Two dogs and a northern goshawk Bone from bear claws, suggesting that the deceased was laid out on a bear pelt. Horse, pork, poultry – for food? Two bone combs Six whetstones An iron belt clip with silver ornamentation Ivory gaming pieces – probably of late roman origin Remains of two glass beakers Strips of gold foil that may have been woven into textiles Cloisonné fragments, i.e. gold fitted garnets Part of a belt buckle or a sword mounting A gold fragment with a small animal head – identical to those on the gold collar necklace from Möne in Västergötland. Could there have been a gold collar necklace in the grave? Three small cameos with various motifs. These may be from the near east, dating from the 4th century. Have they adorned a book? Or were they fitted to a helmet or a casket? Six iron rivets, possibly from a casket or chest A small ornamented bone cylinder, probably an Upplandic made artefact mounted to a staff. The middle mound The Middle mound is only partially investigated – the actual burial has never been excavated.

The thing mound Is it a grave? The large mound north of the royal mounds may be a grave, but nothing is known about its age or content. The flat top indicates other functions than purely burial. Other large mounds southwest of the West mound are another four large burial mounds and south of these is a burial ground once containing hundreds of small mounds or barrows. Unfortunately nothing is known about the age of these monuments, some can date from the 5th century, others from the Viking Age. Boat graves A lady dressed in silk An area west of the church, by the vicarage, was the scene of a 1973 discovery of four boat graves, a horse grave and five cremation graves. An elderly woman had been laid to rest in a 5 metre long boat. Fragments of her attire showed that she had been dressed in silk clothes, possibly from China. She was wearing an interesting pendant, depicting a woman with a mead horn. The figure has been interpreted as the fertility goddess Freya. The Royal Manor Terraces The seats of power North of the church in Old Uppsala are the so-called Royal manor terraces. Both were subject to archaeological investigation in the summer of 2011. The investigations showed that a vast hall, i.e. a house for ceremonial meetings and feasts had stood on the south terrace. The hall was almost 50 metres long, with an inner dimension of almost 500 square metres. Archways with iron ornaments The walls consisted of two differently constructed walls, one outer and one internal with a 1 – 1,2 m space in between. The outer wall consists of posts, planks. The internal wall was apparently a clay lined wattle and daub construction. Heavy burned well-preserved pieces of wattle and daub had imprints of wickerwork, planks and posts and traces of white paint. A total of four doorways have been found, two in the south and two in the north. They were placed opposite each other, thus dividing the house into least in three large rooms. The archways have probably been fitted with decorations of the many spirals of iron found in the house. Possibly it was adorned with iron decorations like the doors of medieval churches? The imposing hall was destroyed in a probably intentional fire, sometime around 800. Workshops for Artisans The north terrace lies nearby and here archaeologists dug trenches as well to investigate the early settlement. Not only glass beads were found here, but sensationally also almost 600 fragments of garnets, found in an area of only 3 square metres. These red semi-precious stones were popular during the 7th and 8th centuries, both on the continent and in Sweden. They were often set in minute gold cells, using cloisonné technique, adorning clothing clasps and sword hilts. The investigation is cooperative project involving Uppsala University, Upplandsmuseet and The Swedish National Heritage Board. Offerings to the gods The pagan temple. Foto: Riksantikvarieämbetet

“The sacrifice is performed as follows: Of every living creature of male gender nine are offered, their blood is used to placate the gods.

The bodies are hung in a grove close to the temple. This grove is thought so holy by the heathens that every tree is said to possess divine power emanating from the death and decay of the sacrificed bodies. There also hang hounds and horses along with people, and one Christian has told me he saw seventy-two bodies hang there.” This is how the German church historian Adam of Bremen described the cult in Old Uppsala in the 1070s. He himself was never there; his account is based on hearsay. Attendance at the sacrificial feasts was compulsory, but Christians could pay their way out of attending. Adam writes that the sacrificial feast was every nine years, and drew attendants from “all the provinces of the Swedes”. Was the golden temple a hall? He also mentions a golden temple on the site: “This people have a famous temple called Uppsala, not far from the town of Sigtuna. At this temple, which is completely covered in gold, the people worship three gods.” The mightiest of them, Thor, has his throne in the middle of the hall. On each side of him sit Odin and Frey. Actually, Adam never used the word “temple”. In his Latin text he wrote “triclininium”, meaning “dining hall”. Possibly the temple was actually a hall for meetings and sacrificial feasts? Read on about Old Uppsala church Historical reenactment in 1931 Foto: Berit Wallenberg Riksantikvarieämbetet

Old Uppsala Church Old Uppsala Church. Foto: Beng A Lundberg Riksantikvarieämbetet The church at Old Uppsala stands on a man-made terrace previously containing several buildings. Under parts of the church remains of buildings in the form of large boulders and postholes have been found. Some have interpreted the remains as belonging to the temple described by Adam of Bremen at the end of the 11th century. It can also be remains of a grand hall where the people met for ritual ceremonies. Also it is possible that a wooden church has stood on the site before the present stone church was erected. Today only half remains of the grand three-aisle cathedral which began to be built in the mid-12th century. After a devastating fire in the 1240s the transepts and nave were demolished, leaving only the central tower, chancel and apse standing. The cathedral was demoted to parish church after 1273 when the episcopal see was moved to present-day Uppsala, at the time known as Östra Aros. Old Uppsala Village Once the largest in Uppland When the episcopal see was moved from Old Uppsala to Uppsala in 1273, several farms remained. At the end of the middle ages we know there were about 20 farms, making it the largest village in Uppland. It was divided into two parts: The eastern part was owned by the crown and was called the Church village or Old Uppsala village. The land was at the heart of Uppsala öd, the royal estate. At the end of the middle ages the village consisted of 12 farms of equal size, run by peasants. These farmers were not yeomen; they did not own the land they farmed, but paid rent. The western part consisted of the King’s Farm – a common name for four farms owned by the crown north of the church, and three large farms west of the church (The Vicarage, Ovanberga and Backa), donated to the episcopal see by royal decree in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Why are we digging here and now? Archaeologists at work in Old Uppsala. Foto: Kristina Ekero Eriksson The excavations at Old Uppsala in 2012 and 2013 will considerably increase our knowledge of the site. The excavations were brought about because The Swedish Transport Administration plans to redirect the East Coast Railroad. This has given archaeologists opportunity to investigating an area of 70 000 square metres. The main goal of the project is to explore “landscaping and community building in Old Uppsala in the Iron Age and middle ages.” We wish to emphasise that the site was created based upon the social relationships existing between the elite of society and the population at large. The theme was selected so as to highlight the whole spectrum of social groups rather than focusing solely on the King and the aristocratic environment The excavations are a joint venture project involving Riksantikvarieämbetet (The Swedish National Heritage Board), SAU, an independent research foundation, and Upplandsmuseet (the county museum of Uppland).

This happened in 2012 The excavation area, the burial mounds lie just west of the museum. Foto: ©2012 www.flygfoto.com As early as the 7th century AD there was a densely populated community at Gamla Uppsala, this was before there were towns in this country. Now, our understanding of what is perhaps Sweden’s most iconic ancient site is beginning to be increase. Generally, Gamla Uppsala I associated with power, imposing burial mounds and sacrificial feasts on a grand scale. Now, the archaeologists have unearthed a broader view. In 2012 large areas a few hundred metres east of the mounds were investigated. The excavations provide a unique insight into the diversity of the people who lived and worked at the site. Now, for the first time, we can put the royal mounds and the royal manor terraces into a larger context! As early as from the 7th century AD and onwards there was a densely populated community at Gamla Uppsala, with great social diversity. This settlement was teeming with men, women and children; there were textile craftsmen, blacksmiths, traders, aristocrats, farmers and thralls. A hundred houses and more than ninety graves have been excavated and thousands of artefacts from near and afar have been found. Glass beakers, gold rings and runic engravings are contrasted by food remains, pottery and rusty knives. Also, traces of ancient cult, such as amulet rings and Thor’s hammers have been found, but some Christian artefacts lay hidden in the ground as well. Here you can read a summary of the 2012 excavations. Why excavate? The excavations were necessitated by Trafikverket’s (Swedish Transport Administration) plans to rebuild Oskustbanan, a major railway line to the country’s North. The excavations are a joint venture project involving Riksantikvarieämbetet (The Swedish National Heritage Board), SAU, an independent research foundation, and Upplandsmuseet (the county museum of Uppland). Where was the excavation? Most of the excavated areas were situated west of the Vattholma road, where extensive settlement remains were investigated. East of the road additional settlements and a large burial ground were excavated. Last year a total of about 35 000 square metres (about 8 ½ acres) were investigated by about 40 archaeologists in conjunction with various specialists, such as osteologists, archaeo-metallurgists and archaeo-botanists. The opportunity of excavating as large areas has provided us with a unique opportunity to study how life was lived on the farms in Gamla Upsalaa and how the dead were buried from about the 6th and 7th centuries and up until the 12th and 13th centuries. The period includes the Migration and Vendel Periods, as well as the Viking and Early Middle Ages. What, actually, was Gamla Uppsala? Gamla Uppsala was neither a village nor a town during the ancient times, but rather a so called central place. These were linked to manors, seats of the society’s elite. What did the settlement look like? There was a settlement here already when the royal mounds were built in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, but it seems to have intensified and become more concentrated around 600 AD. Archaeologists have investigated the traces of a hundred buildings, among them dwellings, outbuildings, smithies and so called sunken floor huts (se images at the bottom of the page). A majority of the investigated houses were found west of the Vattholma road, the modern thoroughfare passing through the village. The road probably originated during Middle Iron Age, around the 7th century AD. You can see that houses from this time on are orientated along or at right angles to the road, with gables or side walls facing it. Who lived and worked in Gamla Uppsala? Among the dwellings archaeologists have found many artefacts indicating everyday life. Vast amounts of bone reveal what was on the menu; beef, lamb, goat, pork and horse. From the kitchens there were also a fragment of a soapstone vessel, wooden barrels, pottery and skewers. Pins, spindles, buffing glass, and loom weights are traces of textile work. All classes of society seemed to have been represented here. Perhaps female thralls (slaves) from the south Baltic have made the Baltic pottery found, and ground serial with the rotary querns found. The wealthy have feasted on moose, deer and crane. Finds of spurs and large dogs may suggest that hunting was a favourite pastime. Exclusive artefacts, including a gold ring, glass beakers, game pieces, gilded pendants and fittings, tell of their way of life. Arrow heads and rings from chain mail could possibly be linked to professional warriors. Some exclusive artefacts have reached Gamla Uppsala by way of traders, who have left traces in the form of silver coins, balance scales and scale weights. Many items have also been made locally, in instance in the three smithies. The sunken floor huts have been used for various crafts. These structures, also known as pit houses, were small, usually covering 5-10 square metres (45-90 square feet). They were dug into the ground – the floor making up the bottom of a pit, and the sides of the pit forming the walls of the house. A roof and possibly an inner wall have been added. In total, 37 sunken floor huts have been excavated, most probably dating from the Vendel Period (550-800 AD) and the Viking Age (800-1050 AD). They may have functioned as dwellings, workshops, weaving houses or granaries. How were the dead buried? Archaeologists estimate there to have been several thousand graves in Gamla Uppsala, but most have been destroyed by farming and quarrying down through the centuries. East of the Vattholma road a burial ground hs been investigated, dating from the Migration Period (375-550 AD), the Vendel Period (550-800 AD) and the Viking Age (800-1050 AD). The burial ground lay on a low ridge, nicely elevated. As the area had been farmed in later times the graves were to a lesser or greater degree destroyed by ploughing. Superstructures such as mounds had all but disappeared and stone cairns had been damaged. All graves were so called cremation graves, which mean the dead had been burned. No Christian graves were found. These may possibly be located closer to the church, but we do not know when burials started there. Those buried here were probably mostly those living in Gamla Uppsala. The archaeologists can see that the dead represent different social strata.The most exclusive graves contained glass beakers, gaming pieces, silver and gold jewellery, while some graves lacked any artefacts whatsoever. How the latter group should be interpreted is not clear at the moment. Earlier scholars suggested that these were the graves of thralls or servants, but the link between burial goods and social status is probably more complicated than that. An unusual feature was the large number of children’s graves. In one of these a German coin from the 11th century was found. It had been converted to a pendant. Ancient cult Gamla Uppsala is often linked to a golden pagan temple, consecrated to the gods Odin, Thor and Freyr, with worship involving animals and humans sacrificed to the gods. This is according the German church historian Adam of Bremen, who described the cult in the 1070s. Now archaeologists have found traces ov a more everyday cult, including animal bones deposited, or sacrificed underground. The most striking feature comprised the large number of iron amulet rings found on the settlement as well as adjacent to the graves. Some of these amulets are in the form of strike alights, on which pendants were attached, for example miniature sickles. Amulet rings, usually iron, are quite common on settlements in The Mälaren region, but usually only two or three on the same site. In Gamla Uppsala, about 80 have been found, complete or fragmented. Few other sites have harboured large amounts of amulets. These include Borg in Östergötland, Hälgö Island on Lake Mälaren and Lilla Ullevi in Uppland. We do not know how they were used – a ring on the Sparlösa rune stone in Västergötland has been interpreted as hanging on the door of a house. They may have been hung on special sacrificial poles. A picture stone from Lärbo parish on Gotland shows men walking in procession with rings in their hands. Christian objects Artefacts linked to Christianity have been found as well. On the settlement a fragment of foil with barely legible runes, dating from around 1100 , was found. “Catherine”, “holy”, “help” and “Michael” are some of the words that could be deciphered. The runes may refer to the Arch angel Michael and the saint Catherine of Alexandria. Another interpretation was that the foil belonged to a person named Catherine, an upper class name in the middle ages. Another medieval fitting with the words “Ave Maria”, was found on one of the settlements - from the mid-1100s there was a cathedral at Gamla Uppsala. The fitting may have been part of some pilgrim’s attire. The archaeologists also found a round metal object with a loop, decorated with a crowned Christ. What happens now? At the conclusion of the excavation season in November 2012 work began on analyses and report writing. For instance, the archaeologists will examine the relationship between the royal manor by the mounds and the rest of the settlements. Did they live their lives side by side with the upper echelons of society, or did they have specific functions on the manor, such as servants, craftsmen, farmers or other food producers? In mid-April 2013 archaeologists returned to Gamla Uppsala. The project will run through to January 2017, when the scientific report is published, coinciding with the launch of a more popular book about Gamla Uppsala. Different types of houses were investigated A sunken floor hut, or pit house, during excavation – and a sketched reconstruction. Foto: Teckning Anders Andersson Monument discovered at Old Uppsala Publicerad 2013-10-18 A row a standing posts may have flanked a road leading to Old Uppsala. Foto: Teckning: Göte Göransson Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a grand and previously unknown monument from the 5th and 6th centuries AD at Old Uppsala. Just a couple of hundred metres from the famous royal mounds, at the heart of one of the most important Swedish Iron Age sites, two long rows of massive pine posts have loomed over the countryside. One of the rows was close to a kilometre long, with 144 posts, which up until now had been hidden under the Vattholma road – see map below. The other row of posts was at least 500 metres long and ran a few hundred metres south of the royal mounds before it turned north and ran along the ridge – see map below. - This is an extraordinary monument. It may be a territorial marker, but it could just as well constitute a religious or ritual boundary. We know that Gamla Uppsala was a centre for Pre-Christian cult. We believe the post have been tall, maybe as much as eight to ten metres. They have been visible from afar, possibly flanking a road into Gamla Uppsala, says the project director Lena Beronius-Jörpeland. Remaining to this day are very large and deep pits, strengthened by stone. A few have the remains of the actual posts, and others contain animal bones. This may indicate the ritual sacrifice of horses, cows and pigs. In one pit, the skeleton of a puppy was found. - Few monuments like this are known in Scandinavia, and these rows constitute the largest of its kind, says Lena Beronius-Jörpeland. Gamla Uppsala has for long been known for its impressive royal mounds, dating from around 600 AD. The site was a central gathering place, with important religious, judicial and trade functions, as well as being a centre for artisans. This new discovery adds a new and exiting dimension to Gamla Uppsala. Listen to archaeologist Robin Lucas on Radio Sweden!

Remaining to this day are very large and deep pits. Foto: www.flygfoto.com