Gotland Archaeological Field School  

Gotland, an island situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea, some 170 km from North to South, and 50 km from East to West, has a tremendously rich heritage, particularly when it comes to Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. Being a focal point in the Baltic Sea, with extensive contacts both East and West, gave the island and its inhabitants a unique position as a trading centre.

No place in Scandinavia has such a huge amount of Viking objects found during the last 200 years, and no area has seen so many silver hoards as Gotland. More then 700 hundred hoards, containing in all more then 150 000 silver coins from the Arabic world, England, Germany and other countries, provide clear evidence of the importance of the island in the Viking Age.

Gotland Archaeological Field school has, since 1998, been devoted to research the history of the island's Viking Age, and Early Middle Ages through extensive archaeological excavations and research programmes. The field courses are linked to Gotland University, as well as other universities, by both research projects and lectures.

Spindle whorl with runes

This coming summer, we once again will start excavation at one of the best preserved farmsteads in Sweden, dated from around AD100 to around AD1360. More precisely this year, the excavation concerns a building from the Viking Age.

The courses are for 3, 4 or 6 weeks, and starting on the 2^nd of July and finishing the 11^th of August. For further information about the courses, curriculum, as well as about the excavation site, please see the detailed information at the section of Field Courses 2012

Welcome to Gotland!

Associate Professor Dan Carlsson