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

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 ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiquity 2023-12, Vol.97 (396), p.1534-1547
Main Authors: Rundkvist, Martin, Löfving, Axel, Gustavsson, Rudolf, Heimdahl, Jens, Viberg, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Ancient civilizations
Anthropological research
Archaeology
Architecture
Architecture, Medieval
Carbon dating
Cemeteries
Design and construction
Excavation
Figurines
Gold
Historic sites
Human remains
Millennium
Political geography
Rites & ceremonies
Royalty
Sculpture
Second generation
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0003-598X
1745-1744
DOI:10.15184/aqy.2023.157