[gothic-l] Goths and Scandinavia

[Tore Gannholm]

Another intersting piece of information is Professor Mårten 
Stenbergers descritpition of Gotlands trade relations from an 
archaeological point of view.

Unforutnately I can't find that it has been published in either 
English or German.
http://www.stavgard.com/Gotland/romaniron_/forngotland/default.htm


"Under yngre bronsålder, som inföll ca 1000-500 f. Kr. f., 
intensifierades den gotländska handeln. Med de av nordisk formgivning 
kännetecknade föremålen förenar sig ett stort antal främmande 
produkter, som peka åt samma håll som många av importartiklarna från 
äldre bronsålder, men en del ge perspektiv av långt större räckvidd. 
Handeln hade blivit vad vi på modernt språk skulle kallat 
internationell. Inte så, att de gotländska köpmännen alltid 
personligen uppsökt de områden, där dessa olika föremål blivit 
framställda, men genom egen och andras verksamhet och initiativ hade 
de blivit medlemmar av den merkantila gemenskapen i ett affärsivrigt, 
av handelsforor och farkoster livligt genomkorsat Europa. Det var 
alltså ej endast med grannländerna i väster, söder och öster och de 
närmast utanför dessa belägna affärskretsarna, man på Gotland var mer 
eller mindre förbunden, utan ön nåddes av varor, som tillverkats i 
avlägset liggande länder, i väst- och centraleuropa, ja till och med 
i Kaukasusområdet. Föremålen från det senare området torde angiva en 
handelsled tvärs genom det nuvarande Ryssland. Särskilt livliga voro 
emellertid förbindelserna med nordtyskland, östra Skandinavien och 
Baltikum, medan av allt att döma det dansk-skånska området av någon 
anledning nu kommit mera i skymundan.

Den gotländska kulturen var emellertid inte endast mottagande utan 
även expansiv. Väster om Rigaviken, i Kurland, finns en flock 
skeppsformiga stensättningar, lika dem på Gotland och hänförande sig 
till samma tid som dessa, vilka ej kunna uppfattas på annat sätt än 
som byggda av människor, vilka utflyttat från Gotland till andra 
sidan Östersjön."

"During younger bronze age that occurred ca 1000-500 B.C. the 
Gotlandic trade was intensified. Together with those of Nordic design 
recognized artefacts we can also see a large amount of imported 
products. These point at the same direction as the import goods from 
the older bronze age. However some give the perspective of coming 
from much further away. Trade had become,as we today call 
international. That does not mean that the Gotlandic business men 
always personally visited the areas where these artefacts were 
produced. Through their own and others efforts and initiative had 
they become members of the mercantile community which in various ways 
criss-crossed Europe. It was not only with the neighbors  in West 
East and South and those countries next to them the people on Gotland 
had contact. Goods from far away like West- and Central Europa as 
well as Kaukasus reached Gotland. Goods from the latter area indicate 
a trade route through present day Russia. Especially lively were the 
connections with North Germany, Eastern Scandinavia and Balticum. On 
the other hand the Danish-Skåne area lost in importance.

The Gotlandic culture was however not only receiving but even 
expansive. West of the Golf of Riga in Kurland there are a couple of 
graves in ships form, similar to those in Gotland and date to the 
same period. These can only be interpreted as built by people that 
have emigrated from Gotland to the other side of the Baltic."

"Tiden ca 150-Kr. f. har kännetecknats av stort materiellt uppsving 
på Gotland liksom på Öland och i de östra delarna av det 
fastlandssvenska området samt mellansverige. Stora gravfält, som 
varit gemensamma för några gårdar eller en begränsad bygd, börja visa 
sig. Den tidigare fattigdomen avlöses av rikedom på fynd, så talrika 
till och med, att Gotland är rikare representerat från denna tid än 
varje annan del av vårt land. "

"The time about 150 B.C. marks a great material lift in Gotland as 
well as in Öland and in the eastern parts of the Swedish mainland. 
Large grave fields that were common for some farms or a limited area 
start to show. The earlier time of poverty is changed into large 
richness of finds, so numerous that Gotland has more finds than any 
other part of Sweden."

"Den utrustning, som den gotländske krigaren har under keltisk tid, 
var i stort sett densamma som de östgermanska stammarnas på 
kontinenten och med keltiskt vapenskick hade den föga gemensamt. I 
vapenformerna på östgermansk botten spåras inflytanden under ett 
tidigare skede från den för länge sedan försvunna Hallstattkulturen. "

"The equipment that the Gotlandic warrior uses during celtic time is 
more or less the same as the East germanic tribes on the continent. 
With celtic armour it had nothing to do. In the forms of weapons in 
the East germanic areas one can trace the influence from an earlier 
era long ago, the Hallstatt culture that disappeared"

Tore





Thanks for your comment. We have discussed this earlier but it seems 
to be forgotten after a while. Just to remind you the book is 
available for reading in my research library on 
http://www.stavgard.com/Gotland/gothicconnectio_/gothic/default.htm

Tore


>The connection between Goths, Götar and Gutar can not be decided by
>historians. Having spoken to leading Swedish archeologists and some
>polish i belive that this short summary from Kaliff gives you an
>indication on where science stand in this issue today. 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.
>

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