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This paper presents osteological analyses and radiocarbon dates from human remains found in early churchyards on the Baltic island of Gotland. Graves from the first phases of burial have been discovered beside churches on Gotland on many occasions since the late nineteenth century, usually during preparations for new interments. Previous work has focused on the artefacts found with many of them, which suggest that the early churchyard dead were buried in costume closely resembling that worn in the last phases of the traditional grave fields. These finds have been a key source for research into the chronology and process of the Christianization of Gotland during the late Viking Age and early medieval period. Neglected, however, are the human remains which were sometimes recovered alongside the artefacts, but until now escaped research attention. Here we present analyses of the remains of 26 individuals recovered from Garda churchyard, with smaller numbers from Stånga, Havdhem and Fardhem. The results contribute osteological characterization of the early adopters of churchyard burial, along with new absolute dates for the establishment and use of the new Christian burial sites, and demonstrate that the practice of furnished burial was maintained in churchyards for an extended period.

This article discusses late Viking Age mortuary practices in the town of Sigtuna during the early urban phase (c. 980–1100 AD) with focus on the so-called graveyards (Sw. gravgårdar): cemeteries where the dead were inhumed mainly in accordance with Christian customs, but that lacked churches. It aims to trace cultural, social, or religious communities among the early town dwellers based on an analysis of their burial rituals, in combination with results of osteological and bioarcheological studies of their physical remains. The paper shows that burial customs varied within the early townscape: the dead were laid to rest under visible grave constructions in exposed topographical locations, as well as on flat-ground cemeteries in lower terrain close to the settlement area or at early churchyards. Moreover, diversity in mortuary customs, sex and age distribution, gender division, and diet can be detected between individual cemeteries, indicating that they were used by different urban groups that to some extent parted from their dead in different ways. The results of bioarcheological analyses indicate a heterogenous early urban population, comprising people from the Mälaren area, and also from distant regions. The burial customs reflect this specific urban situation, bearing witness to both long-distance contacts and roots in local mortuary traditions.

The Nunnan block in western Sigtuna is best known for its large number of graves belonging to Sigtuna’s oldest urban phase, unearthed during archaeological excavations in the 1980s and early 1990s. Less well known is that the 1984 excavation also revealed the remains of buildings and an almost 0.25 m deep cultural layer. The close spatial relation between burial and house, situated less than 30 m apart, is noteworthy, as is the character of the settlement remains. Yet this town plot at Nunnan has rarely been discussed within Sigtuna research. This article therefore examines the results of the 1984 excavation with regard to current knowledge of urban developments in Sigtuna.

The excavation revealed two areas with one house each, situated in the SE part of the Nunnan block just N of Stora gatan. Three successive structural phases were detected for each house. Closest parallels with regard to building techniques and house types are to be found in the earliest settlement remains in other parts of the town belonging to the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The finds from the Nunnan houses also suggest an early date, possibly in the foundation phase of the town (c. 980) and the immediately subsequent period.

These remains of buildings at Nunnan most likely formed part of a short-lived town plot with an E-W orientation. This does not fit the general pattern of Sigtuna’s town plan with its narrow N-S orientated town yards. However, deviating town-yard arrangements have been noticed elsewhere during excavations in Sigtuna in recent decades. Thus this reassessment of the Nunnan plot helps to nuance our understanding of the early townscape of Sigtuna. The dating of the Nunnan building phase suggests that this town plot, as other settled areas in western Sigtuna, was abandoned already during the second half of the 11th century. This seems to be concurrent with the period when the close-by cemeteries in the Nunnan block went out of use, which makes one wonder if there is a connection?

THE EMERGENCE of churchyards is one of the most significant transformations of the landscape during the conversion to Christianity. This article examines changes in burial and commemorative practices during the 11th century, based on early Christian grave monuments. These are the first examples of churchyard memorials in central Sweden, yet at the same time they also form an integral part of the late Viking-Age runestone tradition. This article presents an analysis of their temporal, regional and contextual backgrounds, tracing developments in the early ecclesiastical landscape. It is concluded that different regional designs of rune-carved funerary monuments are related to substantial differences in the Christianisation process, reflecting variation in early ecclesiastical organisation and providing insight into how the conversion process was related to social and political structures.

Monuments funéraires des débuts du christianisme et développements ecclésiastiques en Suède au 11e siècle 

L’émergence des cimetières paroissiaux est l’une des transformations du paysage les plus marquantes pendant la conversion au christianisme. Ce papier examine l’évolution des pratiques de sépulture et commémoratives au 11e siècle, en s’appuyant sur les premiers monuments funéraires chrétiens. Ces premiers exemples de mémoriaux dans les cimetières du centre de la Suède rentrent cependant tout à fait dans la tradition des pierres runiques à la fin de l’ère viking. Cet article analyse leur contexte de fond, temporel et régional, en retraçant les développements dans le paysage ecclésiastique primitif. Il conclut que les divers modèles régionaux de monuments funéraires avec des pierres runiques sculptées sont liés à des différences majeures dans le processus de christianisation; l’implication étant qu’ils reflètent les variations existant au sein des premières organisations ecclésiastiques et fournissent des indications sur la manière dont le processus de conversion s’articulait avec les structures sociales et politiques.