A recent discovery in Sweden has revealed details about the final moments of a Mesolithic man. Caroline Arcini, Ann Westmark, Gracijela Bozovic, and Marie-Louise Aurumskjöld take us through what unfolded.
Archaeologists from Swedish National Historical Museums have uncovered an unusual and remarkably well-preserved dog burial believed to date to c.5,000 years ago at a site in Logsjömossen, near Järna, south-west of Stockholm. Excavations revealed the remains of a large male…
More than 1,000 historic Swedish warships lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea have been recorded in a new public database known as the ‘War Log’. The database was created as part of The Forgotten Fleet – Sweden’s Blue…
Archaeologists are increasingly revisiting long-held theories about the past and highlighting how these ideas need to be updated in light of evolving evidence. This is especially the case with many artefact types that were first described by antiquarians or early…
A large silver hoard dating to the medieval period has been discovered near Stockholm, Sweden. The treasure was unearthed by a member of the public digging for worms near his summer house, and reported to the County Administrative Board in…
Burials found in three different cemeteries in Sweden defied explanation until a connection with polio was proposed. Caroline Arcini and Emma Karlsson weigh the evidence and look at how the impact of this disease has changed over the centuries.
A project has begun to preserve the 400-year-old Swedish warship Vasa, which notoriously sank on her maiden voyage. A new metal structure is being installed to support the hull of the ship, which has its own museum in Stockholm and…
Neolithic site uncovered in Sweden Archaeologists working in the Swedish village of Hammar have excavated the remains of a unique ceremonial site associated with the Funnel Beaker Culture. A large number of finds from the site, which is located on…
A large Viking Age burial ground has been discovered in Halland, western Sweden. Archaeologists Anders Kjellin and Petra Nordin tell us about their findings.
The remains of a unique Neolithic ceremonial site have been uncovered in the province of Skåne, in southern Sweden. Investigations were carried out in 2024 in the village of Hammar, outside Kristianstad, by archaeologists from the country’s National Historical Museums…
Excavation of execution sites in Sweden has shed light on the realities of capital punishment in the country. Caroline Arcini and Emma Karlsson explain what can be revealed by examining the skeletons of those condemned to death and the sites where their sentences were carried out.
Being able to determine changes in the environment, and how humans may have adapted to those changes, is an increasingly important aspect of archaeological study. In this month’s ‘Science Notes’, we explore a recent project, led by Dr Amy Styring…
The discovery of a burial in pride of place in Gårdby Church, Sweden, marked the beginning of an archaeological detective story. What could explain the unusual treatment of the man’s body? Caroline Arcini investigates.
Both wrecks had been crafted outside of Sweden in the mid-14th century.
In this photograph, a diver explores the wreck of Södermanland, an 18th-century Swedish ship of the line now resting in the waters off Karlskrona, on the country’s southern coast. Built in Stockholm and launched in 1749, the 42-metre ship could…
As part of Sweden’s long struggle for independence, its army of peasant militia won a crucial battle against a Danish invasion force camped outside Stockholm. William E Welsh describes the action.
Review by George Nash. Throughout prehistoric Europe, there are significant areas where rock art was commissioned, executed, consumed, and abandoned. One of these is southern Scandinavia. Here, during the later prehistoric period, ancient artists provided a sometimes- cryptic insight into…
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological news stories from across the globe.
It is one of the oldest cogs ever found in Europe.
Examining ancient DNA is revolutionising our knowledge of the past. Being able to detect family relationships is revealing ever more about connections between people buried in cemeteries and even individual coffins. Caroline Arcini introduces three cases where DNA evidence has opened new windows into past lives.
There has been much debate about what to call the people of medieval Scandinavia now known widely as ‘Vikings’. The term stems from the Old Norse vikingr, used to describe someone who went on seafaring expeditions, but this was not…
Grave Disturbances focuses on a much-neglected area of funerary archaeology. Disturbed human remains are frequently encountered within burial contexts, but are often given scant attention in comparison to more complete remains in expected anatomical configuration. The case studies in the…
The early 17th century marked a period of rapid growth in warships as the galleons of the previous century began to give way to the ship-of-the-line, which would dominate naval warfare for the next 250 years. One of the first such vessels was the English 55-gun Prince Royal, completed in 1611, which remained in service until her destruction in 1666 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.