Northern Europe 9700 BC-AD 410): 08 SWEDEN (Scandinavia): Bronze Age, Pre-Roman Iron Age

Bronze Age (1700-500 BC)

This period is marked by the importation of bronze from the east Mediterranean (copper was not mined locally at that time and Sweden has no tin deposits), and the carving of pictures on rocks (petroglyphy). The imported Bronze was exchanged for amber (the fossilised resin from coniferous trees), furs, slaves and gems; bronze was used for weapons, agricultural tools and jewellery. Woollen cloths replaced animal skins and became the primary form of clothing. A sophisticated system of trade evolved that extended across much of Europe.

Rock carvings show horses being used for riding and driving. Cattle are shown in pairs harnessed to a plough, boats were very large, without masts, but with at least thirty pairs of oars or more.

Stone tombs remained in use during the early part of Bronze Age but their use was gradually replaced by burial mounds – barrows (earth), cairns (stones) – along the south and west coasts of Sweden. The corpses were generally cremated, the ashes being put in burial urns which were then placed in burial chambers.

North of Hovgården on Adelsö (I), Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, are graves and mounds from the Bronze Age (1800-500 BC) and others dating from c.1050 to 1520.

The Nordic Bronze Age (1100-500 BC) looks to have been a prosperous period but the succeeding Pre-Roman Iron Age in Scandinavia seems to have been a period of economic hardship. Suggested explanations for this are trade links with the south broken by the advancing Celts, a serious drop in temperature, or emigration.

Pre-Roman Iron Age (500-00-09)

Bronze continued in use but mostly confined to ornamental items such as bracelets, etc. New metal alloys emerged, including brass, electrum and leaded copper.

Whereas bronze had to be imported, iron ore was available from peat bogs. Iron is easier to work than bronze and more versatile in usage. Wood for smelting was available in the forests of the country. The introduction of iron technology into Sweden was probably by itinerant metal workers.

Weapons used during the Pre-Roman Iron Age in Sweden included spears, swords, axes and shields. An important change in Sweden’s archaeological record are cemeteries with graves containing abundant grave goods, usually comprising iron-edged weapons such as swords and spears and other military equipment. By the turn of the first millennium this practice had become firmly established.

In the sacrificial bog at Skedemosse on the island of Õland, Mörbylånga Municipality, Kalmar County, thirty-nine human skeletons were found in addition to weapons, goods and thousands of fragments of animal bones. The site was in use from this period to the Viking Age.