3 April: Kick-off for Uppsala Technical Humanities Network: "The secret of Valsgärde seaxes (short swords) explored"

2023-03-16

Welcome to a kick-off event and lecture where we introduce the new Uppsala Technical Humanities Network (UTHN). 

John Ljungkvist, Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History and Emma Hocker, Museum Gustavianum, will give a lecture with the title "The secret of Valsgärde short swords explored."

Date and time: 3 April, at 13:15-15:00 hrs

Place: CIRCUS, Observatorieparken Gamla Observatoriet, Kyrkogårdsgatan 8A, Uppsala

Registration: https://doit.medfarm.uu.se/bin/kurt3/kurt/89023

One of the best preserved archaeological grave field materials in Sweden can be found in the Uppsala University collections at Museum Gustavianum. It originates from the Iron Age and the place Valsgärde outside Uppsala. The material is so well preserved and varied to such a degree that it can be studied from unusually many angles. A common denominator for many of the objects is that they are conglomerates. For example, the swords are not only constituted of iron blades but also well preserved scabbards and grips of wood, as well as components of for example leather, bast, hair and textiles. Therefore, the swords are excellent specimens to test how neutron scattering analyses can be applied to gain knowledge about complex archaeological objects. On the PSI facilities in Switzerland, two short swords, so called seaxes, have been analyzed using both neutron scattering tomography and x-ray tomography. These methods supplement each other in very interesting ways. It has been possible to interpret these objects in ways that have not been possible before in Uppsala as well as in Sweden.

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