UPPSALA UNIVERSITET : Arkeologi och Antik historia : Publications
Gothic Connections
Order
this book via email
Abstract
Kaliff, Anders. 2001. Gothic Connections. Contacts between eastern Scandinavia and the
southern Baltic coast 1000 BC – 500 AD. Occational Papers in Archaeology 26. Uppsala.
Different finds from archaeological investigations in eastern Sweden show evidence of
close contacts with the Baltic coastal area on the continent, and further towards the
south-east. This is visible in the find material from the Bronze Age onwards. Swedish
rescue excavations in the past few years have contributed with material for the study of
such contacts. From the Bronze Age onwards, there are signs of contacts between eastern
Sweden and areas in modern Poland and eastern Germany and also with areas in the Baltic
states. This is evident in material from several sites in eastern Sweden. Pottery as well
as special house types and graves show contacts with the Lusatian culture, but also with
more distant areas. These cultural elements fit well into a pattern of long-distance
cultural contacts during the Bronze Age, probably maintained by an élite in society.
These contact routes across the Baltic sea seem to have continued in a similar way during
the Early Iron Age. During this period, some grave structures and objects demonstrate
cultural contacts between Scandinavia and the Wielbark culture in Poland. Such finds have
traditionally been connected with Jordanes´ Getica,
and its account of a migration of Gothic people from Scandinavia. In modern research, the
theory of a massive migration has generally been abandoned. The Wielbark culture is
generally believed to have developed from earlier cultures in the same area. Research of
recent years have more often focused on questions regarding a Gothic identification with a
Nordic origin, as possibly invented during the 4th century or as a genuine
tradition in the form of a myth. However, this does not explain archaeological evidence
for contacts during earlier periods. A reasonable explanation for similarities in the
material cultures can be that they are products of long-term contacts, perhaps originating
in connections between the Lusatian culture and other urnfield groups on the continent and
eastern Scandinavia already during the Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age. Regular
contacts between high ranking groups in different geographic areas could eventually have
developed into a close relationship between certain groups of the Wielbark culture and
groups of people in Scandinavia, visible in similarities in material culture, language and
burial customs. The archaeological record could indicate that Jordanes´ history
concerning the origin of the Goths was based on an oral tradition with some sort of real
background.
Key-words: Cernjachov culture, cultural contacts, Early Iron Age, Goths, Late Bronze
Age, Lusatian culture, migration, Roman Iron Age, Wielbark culture,
Anders Kaliff, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University. S:t
Eriks Torg 5, SE-753 10 Uppsala, Sweden.
