Project Manager
Andersson, KentAmount granted
20 000 SEKYear
2014
The burial ground at Gödåker was investigated on various occasions during the 20th century and very remarkable graves and finds were discovered. Despite its great importance for the understanding of Uppland and central Sweden in the period around 100 to 400 AD, the cemetery has never been published in its entirety. Instead, individual graves or finds have been discussed in smaller papers. In the book "Gödåker - ett uppländskt gravfält från äldre järnålder", this internationally and nationally significant material is published for the first time and analyzed in the light of modern research findings. Through a detailed analysis of the objects from the graves, it is possible to date the cemetery in a way that has never been done before and to link the objects to status groups. With the help of these analyses, it is possible to show that Gödåker is completely different from contemporary burial grounds in central Sweden. No other burial ground has so many finds of Roman import objects and gold objects and the status continuity that has been demonstrated, which extends over about 300 years, is unparalleled in the region. The results of the analyses show that the cemetery belonged to a settlement that was a regional center, perhaps a predecessor of Old Uppsala.
In addition to the analyses of the objects from the graves, the book also contains an analysis of the graves, both the superstructures and the internal construction, a report on the osteological analysis of the bone content of the graves made especially for this publication, and a catalog of all the graves.