Stockholm University

Graduate Student, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies

About

My research is focused on the use of archaeological geophysical prospection methods in Swedish archaeology. Geophysical methods commonly used for archaeological projects include for example. magnetometry, electrical resistance or resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity etc. Even though archaeological geophysics has been used successfully for several decades in many other countries the methods have only been used sporadically in Sweden. The only geophysical instrument that seems to have become very popular among Swedish archaeologists is the metal detector.
I therefore wanted to investigate the reason for this underuse by looking at among other things the few surveys that have been carried out as well as to look into the general attitude among archaeologists towards the methods, as reflected in the different project reports produced after the initial evaluations. Factors such as geology and the nature of the Swedish archaeological record have also been taken into consideration. In addition to this I have performed several geophysical surveys on archaeological sites that chronologically span from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages and geographically span from the mountain tundra region in Lapland to Öland and Gotland in southern Sweden. The purpose of the surveys was to demonstrate both the pitfalls and possibilities of archaeological geophysics when deployed in different geographically and chronologically settings.

Current projects

The foundation of the thesis is based on six projects and articles:

1. A review of the use of archaeological geophysical prospection methods in Swedish archaeology. This study deals with the history and development of the discipline in Sweden and focuses on most of the archaeological geophysical surveys performed in Sweden up to 2008. The article furthermore deals with the geological and archaeological preconditions as well as the general attitude towards archaeological geophysics among professional archaeologists in Sweden. Geophysical survey strategies as well as a more thorough analysis of previous geophysical surveys on Birka and Uppåkra are presented. The article ends with a brief outlook on the future of archaeological geophysical prospection in Sweden (Archaeological Prospection 18, 43-56).

2. St. Mary’s Dominican convent in Sigtuna Revisited. Geophysical and archaeological investigations. This article deals with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and archaeological surveys at the site of a medieval priory in Sigtuna, north of Stockholm (Fornvännen in press).

3. Archaeological Geophysical Prospection of a High Altitude Neolithic Site in the Arctic Swedish Mountain Tundra Region. This study deals with geophysical surveys using magnetic susceptibility and Slingram at a prehistoric tool production and settlement site in northern Sweden. The surveys were performed as a part of the International Polar Year project Arctic Sweden.

4. The fourth article deals with seasonal GPR measurements at a house terrace in ancient Sigtuna (Signhildsberg). Climate and precipitation will ultimately change the conditions in which geophysical surveys are conducted. This article focuses on the effect of season and soil moisture content on the quality of collected GPR data.

5. The fifth article deals with GPR and magnetometer prospections of a Migration period ring fort on Öland.

6. The sixth article focuses on the use of magnetometry and metal detector in the evaluation of metal working sites on Gotland.

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