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Journal of Baltic Studies

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Swedish contacts with the

Eastern Baltic in the pre-Viking
and early Viking Ages: The
evidence from Helg
Jutta Waller
a

National Board of Antiquities, Stockholm

Available online: 28 Feb 2007

To cite this article: Jutta Waller (1982): Swedish contacts with the Eastern Baltic
in the pre-Viking and early Viking Ages: The evidence from Helg, Journal of Baltic
Studies, 13:3, 256-266
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01629778200000441

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SWEDISH CONTACTS WITH THE EASTERN BALTIC

IN T H E P R E - V I K I N G A N D E A R L Y V I K I N G A G E S :

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THE EVIDENCE FROM HELG(3

Jutta Waller, National Board of A ntiquities, Stockholm

A look at a map of the North European trading centers from the first millennium AD shows that even before the Viking Age there were several such centers
in the Baltic (see Figure 1). Farthest to the west along Denmark's southwest
coast lies Dankirke whose name refers to Denmark's first church (Ansgar's
church) dating from the ninth century. The oldest finds from the site come from
the third and second centuries BC. The majority, however, come from the late
Roman Iron Age and the Migration Period. Coins show that the site continued
after 600 AD, and it was later probably replaced by the nearby town of Ribe
where, among rich handicraft finds, settlement remains from the eighth and
ninth centuries have been found. 1
On Gotland, from a somewhat later period, lies the trading center of Paviken
(ca. 700-1000) which had a natural harbor. Here considerable remains of shipbuilding and different handicrafts have been found. Numerous pieces of glass,
glass rods, and drops of glass point to the manufacture of glass beads. Imports
of Byzantine mosaics, almandines (garnets), weights, amber, and thirty Islamic
silver coins or dirhams show that trade was conducted here during a period of
some 300 years starting in the early eighth century. The site was probably replaced later by the nearby town of Visby. Further to the north, in Sweden, we
fred the same phenomenon: the pre-Viking Age settlement and trading center at
Helgt~ was replaced by the commercial town of Birka. s
At Grobin (Grobina), in Latvia, extensive excavations were undertaken by the
Swedish archaeologist Prof. Birger Nerman in 1929-1930. Three cemeteries were
excavated with a total of nearly 100 graves from the period 650-800 AD. Two
of the cemeteries had a purely Middle Swedish character both in terms of the
grave forms and the grave goods. The third cemetery had a purely Gotlandic
character. A black habitation layer, possibly from a town, was also found. It
could have been left by the same settlers, but it has not yet been excavated.
256

The Evidence from Helg6

257

Because of its numerous Swedish finds, Grobin has been interpreted as a Swedish
colony in Latvia dating from ca. 650-800. 3

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FIGURE 1. BALTIC SITES OF THE PRE-VIKING AND VIKING ERA

The eastern Baltic was oriented up till 400 AD primarily towards the south,
i.e., towards northern Germany. This southern orientation later declined markedly and was replaced by a western, i.e., Scandinavian, orientation. Literary
sources as well as archaeological finds attest to this change. The oldest of these
literary sources is the Guta saga. It was first written down around 1350 but describes much earlier times. It was apparently transmitted for many centuries
through oral tradition before it was recorded. The saga tells of overpopulation
on Gotland which drove one third of the island's population eastward to Dag6
(Hiiumaa). Here they built a fortress which still existed at the time the Guta
saga was written down. The emigrants from Gotland continued, however, up the
river Diina/Western Dvina (Daugava) into Russia and then down to Byzantium.
Before the Gotlanders migrated, they had built a fortress on the island called
Torsburgen. According to the saga, it was the largest in Scandinavia. a The
wall of Torsburgen, which is still preserved today, was examined several years
ago (1977-78). A cross section was made and samples for C-14 analysis were
taken. The results show that the wall was built in two stages, with one dating to

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258

Journal of Baltic Studies

between 180 and 410 AD(270+-90; 320+-90) and the other to the Viking Age.
Earher, a coin was found here dating from 400-500 AD which was believed to
have been the earliest the fortress could have been constructed. 5
Other literary sources tell about Swedish expeditions to the eastern Baltic
during the period 600-800 AD. Snorre Sturlasson's Ynglinga saga reports on
the Svea king Yngvar (from Middle Sweden) who was a powerful warrior and
fought both against the Danes and in the East. He probably lived around the end
of the sixth century and was also mentioned in the Historiae Norwegiae. Snorre
goes on to tell us that Yngvar's son, Anund, also lost his life in Estonia.
Anund was succeeded by his son, Ingjaldr, who according to the saga was defeated
by Ivarr. Ivarr conquered Kurland, Estonia, and all the land belonging to Ghrdarike, e Even the Bishop of Bremen, Rimbert, notes in his Vita Ansgarii, written
around 860, that the Swedes of his time had conquered Kurland. Saxo Grammaticus also mentions repeated crusades from Scandinavia to the eastern Baltic. 7
In addition to the rich archaeological remains in Grobin, other cemeteries of
this period with Scandinavian finds have been found in Latvia. Ed ~turms, for
example, discussed seven and possibly eight cemeteries with Scandinavian objects
from the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries. All are located within an area of
100 sq km in western Latvia. This region was later seized by the Vikings who
moved further into the country by rivers (D~na, Windau [Venta], and Aa
[Gauja]). 8 During the 1970s, at least four cemeteries with Scandinavian ties
from this period were found in Estonia. 9 One of them is the cemetery with
stone settings at Proosa which contains objects having direct ties to the moulds
found at Helg6. However, before taking a closer look at the Proosa fimds, we
should not forget several other sites along the Gulf of Finland which show that
even before the Viking Age Scandinavians had extended their voyages as far as
Lake Ladoga. In 1938, in the village of Nukuttalahti (at Sortavala) in Karelia,
a cremation grave from the Migration Period was found containing, among
other things, two bracelets (with perpendicular ornamentation), two clasp buttons of a Swedish type, a spiral finger ring, and a blue glass bead. Prof Ella Kivikoski, who has studied these finds, considers the graves to be Swedish. From an
even earlier time is a cemetery with sixth-century cremation graves located south
of Old or Staraia Ladoga. 1 o
Tyttersk~ir had a strategic location both for Swedes travelling towards Lake
Ladoga via the Gulf of Finland and if one wanted to attack Estonia's northern
coast. Here, among other things, have been found a large equal-armed brooch
with Germanic animal ornament from the Migration Period (in Style I)along
with a mount with terminals shaped like animal heads, both of which are typical
Scandinavian products. North of Tyttersk~ir and the Gulf of Finland, i.e., in
southern Finland, no remains of permanent settlements from the late Iron Age
have been found. A single grave mound of Swedish character from Orslahti can
be interpreted as the result of a temporary visit by a passing sailor. South of
Tyttersk~ir, in northern Estonia, the tongue of a buckle done in gilded silver has
been found at Ojaveski. The object has a face mask and may be considered

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The Evidence from Helg6

259

Swedish) 1 A very similar buckle, only whole, was found in a grave from the
cemetery at Proosa and is considered completely foreign in composition to the
eastern Baltic) 2
Literary sources thus speak of Swedish ties with the eastern Baltic during the
pre-Viking Age, and archaeological finds, to a certain extent, seem to confirm
this. But was the opposite also true? Are there eastern Baltic finds of this period
from Gotland and the Swedish mainland? Did reciprocal trade ties exist? In
fact, there are few Baltic finds in Sweden from the period 600-800 AD. During
the Viking Age, they become more common. Such finds may very well be seen
as objects taken from the eastern Baltic by Swedes returning home as well as
artifacts brought by Baits who visited Sweden. On Gottand, seven different
pieces of eastern Baltic jewellery are known. 1 a From the Swedish mainland we
have two mounts of drinking horns from the famous seventh-century boat
grave cemetery at Valsg/irde (boat grave 7) which are of Baltic origin. 14 From
the settlement site at D/irsg/irde, in Skederids parish, located not far from Valsg/irde but on the coast, two staff pins of a Baltic type have been found along
with ceramics and house remains of timber construction of Baltic type.1 s
It is remarkable that at Helg6 no less than eight different pieces of eastern
Baltic jewellery have been found, i.e., at one settlement site there has been
uncovered approximately the same quantity of Baltic jewellery as on the entire
island of Gotland. On the other hand, this phenomenon is not necessarily remarkable since Helg6 was an important trading center. It is located by the sea
approach to Lake M/flaren not far from Birka and Sigtuna. Here settlement
remains and cemeteries along with a hill fort have been found within an area of
about one square kilometer (see Figure 2). The finds show that Helg6 was inhabited from 200-300 AD until the early Viking Age. At the beginning and the
end of this period, the finds are few in number, but during the fifth, sixth, and
seventh centuries, they are much more numerous. These centuries are considered
Helg6's apex. During the Viking Age, Birka took over the leading commercial
role and grew into a town while Helg6 completely lost its importance. 16
The excavations at Helg6 were undertaken between 1954-1975 under the
leadership of Prof. Wilhelm Holmqvist. 17 The site soon became well known for
three exotic finds: a small 8.4-cm-high statue of Buddha from India, a Coptic
bronze cup from early Christian Egypt, and a bronze crozier belonging to a
Bishop's staff from Ireland. It is noteworthy that all of these objects have religious ties. The Buddha was probably made in the area of Kashmir during the
sixth or seventh century AD where a very similar statue was uncovered after
much research. The Coptic cup dates to approximately the same time and was
possibly used at a baptism. It may have been transported along with Christianity
to the north during the sixth century. The crozier is somewhat more recent,
coming from the eighth century. It has an enamel inlay of Irish character and
the motif of a human head in the jaws of an animal.
Numerous imported objects were found at Helg6. They come mainly from
four areas: ( I ) the Roman Empire; (2) the eastern Baltic; (3) the Continent, i.e.,

Journal of Baltic Studies

260

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FIGURE 2. HELGO
Germany and France; and (4) the west, i.e., Ireland, England, and Friesland.Two
treasure troves with gold coins are worth mentioning as well as two solidi found
on the site. The larger hoard consisted of forty-seven solidi and a massive gold
bracelet. The coins were struck between the years 408 and 517, and thirty-seven
of them are from East Roman mints, four from West Roman mints, and six
were Gothic (from Theodoric). This is the largest treasure trove of solidi found
on the mainland. The other Helg6 solidi hoard consisted of twenty-one coins
from nearly the same time.
From the eastern Baltic, we have eight items ofjewellery. 1 a A bronze brooch
with a short, faceted bow has similarities with Baltic finds of the late Roman era.
A fibula with enamel inlay belongs to a group of brooches which are called
Tiirs~im~ie fibulae. There are nine of them from five sites in a restricted area in
northeastern Estonia, in the district of Virumaa. They belong to the period from
200 AD until the beginning of the fifth century. Other than the Helg6 find, only
one other such fibula has been uncovered outside Estonia and that came from
Finland. 19 Imported from the eastern Baltic were also two other fibulae, a chainholder in the shape of a half-moon, a ring-headed pin, and two neck rings. 2
The chain-holder in the shape of a half-moon dates from about 400-500 AD and

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The Evidence from Helg6

261

is a usual form in western Latvia where it survived for a long time. 21 Typical
of the eastern Baltic, especially of eastern Latvia, are neck rings with flattened
ends such as the fragment found at Helg6. They do, however, also occur in Finland and Russia. The earliest date from about 600, and they continue until about
1200. A similar ring was found at Dumpji, Mezome parish, SemgaUia, and belonged to the period 600-800. The other neck ring fragment consists of a twisted
rod. This form of neck ring is unknown in Scandinavia but was very common in
the eastern Baltic, especially in the south, during long periods of the Iron Age.
The pin with a ring-shaped head has a profiled needle with three small double
discs below the ring. The needle is fragmentary and broken below the discs.
The form developed from the earlier staff pins of the seventh century which
probably originated in southern Latvia. The special form with a profiled needle
developed in Estonia and spread to Finland. The profilation strengthens and
develops into small discs as in the Helg6 pin. The nearest parallel is found on the
island of Osel (Saaremaa) in Paikiila, Karla parish from ca. 800. 22
The settlement at Helg6 was located on a north slope as well as on the area
below and north of that slope. It has been possible to locate house foundations
within five, and probably, eight areas of which three are larger. All of these areas
were not occupied simultaneously since a certain difference in the times of
habitation has been established. Near the building groups there are at least six
cemeteries, possibly seven, along with individual graves dispersed outside of
defined cemeteries. Higher up, to the south of the settlement, a hillfort is located with a view of a sound called Bockholmssundet, through which ran the
water route to the Baltic Sea. In the three larger areas with house foundations
(building groups 1, 2, and 3) the houses were built on narrow terraces and both
their finds and the remains of house construction possess differing characteristics. Building group No. 1 lies farthest to the west and is probably the latest.
The relatively sparce finds here date the area to the Migration Period and Viking
Age. The remains of about fifteen houses include, among other things, one main
building with a stone-paved entrance along with two wings, a 3
The middle building area (No. 2) has provided the most differentiated material both with regard to period and to activity. It was here that the excavations
began in 1954 after the Coptic bronze cup was found by accident. This building
group gives an overall impression of homogeneity. Habitation lasted the longest
here and celebrations, religious practices, and everyday life are reflected in the
finds. Extensive iron working was also carried out here. As Andrew Oddy remarked recently, "the importance of the site cannot be overestimated for the
light it sheds on metalworking in the early medieval period. ''24 As in the remaining building group areas, there is no sharp delimitation of the settlement
in the excavated area. The settlement, with about seventeen house foundations,
continued to the west, north, and south of the area.
Building group No. 3 has six terraces which are well marked on the steep
slope, as The whole area is characterized by extensive casting activity, primarily
of jewellery dating from 400-600 AD. Some 10,000 fragments of moulds and

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262

Journal of Baltic Studies

crucibles have been found on the terraces and in the area below the slope. One
mould might consist of about ten fragments. The three largest mould groups
consist of relief brooches, clasp buttons, and dress pins, but even parts of swords
such as the pommel were manufactured here. As an example of the extent of
the casting activity from building group No. 3, it might be mentioned that of the
brooches found in Scandinavia, there are six different types of head plates and
ten different types of foot plates. The impressions from the moulds in Helg6
show twenty-three different types of head plates and twenty-nine different
foot plates. 26
Objects with great similarities to the Helg6 moulds have been found in western
and southern Norway, around Lake Storsj6n, in eastern Sweden and along the
coast as well as on ~land and Gotland, in western and southern Finland, and
northern Estonia. 27 We have spoken about objects which were imported to
Helg6. Now, the moulds provide us with evidence of what was exported from
Helg6. From the cemetery at Proosa near Tallinn no less than fourteen clasp
buttons have been found of which thirteen have direct ties to the moulds at
Helg6. as The Proosa finds also include the remains of a brooch and a sword
pommel for which the moulds exist at Helg6. The excavations undertaken at the
"stone cemetery" of Proosa unearthed a variety of very valuable imported
objects from Estonia's Middle Iron Age. The objects provide evidence about the
relationship between the inhabitants of the area around Tallinn and Scandinavia
as well as an indication of Scandinavia's relationships with the rest of the eastern
Baltic and the eastern forest area. a 9
The cemetery lies some 10 km east of Tallinn in the village of Saha-Loo.
It is located on a low limestone ridge approximately one-half km from the right
bank of the river Pirita. The cemetery was discovered in 1969. Excavations were
begun in 1970, and within two years 1,297 objects were found within an area
of 318 sq m. Burned bones lay beneath and between the limestone layers. The
finds from the first two years dated to the twelfth-thirteenth centuries. The
closest parallels to both the grave rituals and the grave goods were from the
stone graves on the island of Osel off the western coast of Estonia. 3
In 1973, the excavations continued to the east of the limestone plateau and
included an 8 x 12 m exploratory trench. The majority of the finds were jewellery
and objects used in dress. They belonged to the sixth-seventh centuries AD and
are very unusual in the Estonian material. Many finds were uncovered here for
the first time. Few tools and everyday objects were found and weapons were
scarce. Among other things, a 20-cm-long knife, three lance points with cases
45, 22, and 19 cm long, a chape, and a shield boss should be mentioned. There
were single rivets and nails of iron. Pottery sherds were small and had a thick
profffle, round shape, and were without ornamentation. 31 The Proosa excavations, which still go on, have uncovered in recent years a cross-shaped mount
with an ornamentation unique for northern Europe. The mount is of gilt bronze
with a relief ornament of stylized animals and the faces of a man and animals, a2
At Helg6, by 1972, a total of 526 fragments of moulds for clasp buttons

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The Evidence from Helg6

263

had been found. Now, there are even more. These moulds have been differentiated into eight variants with secondary types. 3a Moulds for clasp buttons with
a marginal framework and animal ornament, Variant I, are the most common
with forty-six fragments. Of the Proosa buttons, there are five corresponding
to this variant. Four of them correspond to the subgroup Variant I: 3, of which
there are fifteen fragments. The fifth button has a central knob in the animal
ornamentation and corresponds to Variant I: 2a. There are twenty-six fragments of Variant I: 2 with variations of the animal ornament dividing them into
smaller subgroups. 3a
Only one mould appears with a triskelion decoration (Variant II) like that on
one of the Proosa buttons. 35 Variations of this motif in the form of other
spirals appear on twenty-four buttons from ten finds, half of which come from
Norwegian sites, a6 A clasp button with the same form and nearly the same
spiral ornament as one of the Proosa buttons originated in a cemetery south of
Stockholm (Sk~icklinge, Botkyrka parish). 37 Two of the clasp buttons from
Proosa are domed with a three-pointed field with knobs between the points,
corresponding to Variant VI of the moulds. Of this group there are seven fragments. A similar clasp button was found at HelgS. There are twenty-six further
parallels of cast clasp buttons with a distribution pattern around the Baltic
Sea in G~istrikland, and in the M~ler area, Gotland, and Pohjanmaa, Finland. as
There are five further clasp buttons from Proosa domed with knobs and
ridges. From this type there are four small fragments (Variant VII). A button
of this type as with one from the previous variant was probably cast in a twoor three-part form. There are thirty-five specimens of similar buttons from
sixteen sites with the same geographic distribution pattern as the previous group.
In addition, however, one came from Nukuttalahti, Karelia. a9 Symmetrical and
simple spirals appear on the sword pommel from Proosa. 4 This
ornamentation is also found on moulds from a sword pommel from Helg6. A
pendant from a grave in Proosa is probably part of an earlier brooch of the socalled Husby type, i.e., a fibula of a typical Uplandic character, a 1 The fibula
contains several separate parts: a perpendicular rod with loose profiled terminals
and a spring mechanism along with a loop. We know of fourteen such finds from
Uppland/Sm~land/V~stergotland and Finland (Kjuloholm and Gulldynt). Three
of the brooches come from Helg6, and three more can be included even if they
are not so typical in their appearance. 42 The moulds to these have also been
found at Helg6.
In addition to the finds having direct connections with the moulds at Helg6,
there are other finds in Proosa with Scandinavian ties. There is, for example, a
rectangular mount of silver with gilding on which it is possible to see two stylized
animals with five spiral rings under them. Other mounts and spiral motifs appear
in Proosa as well as buckles that are probably of Uplandic type. A gilt bronze
mount with animal ornament may possibly belong to a sword case. Among the
"Scandinavian" finds at Proosa, a magnificent buckle has already been mentioned.
It is unique in Northern Europe and belongs to the second half of the fifth cen-

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264

Journal of Baltic Studies

tury AD. A brooch with nearly the same form comes from Sj6rup, Sk~ne, and
another comes from Snartemo, Norway. 43 The latter has both spiral and animal
ornamentation.
In addition to the finds from Proosa, several individual Scandinavian artifacts
of this era have been found during recent years at other places in the eastern Baltic. They include, among other things, a button with spiral ornamentation and
a sword pommel with animal head terminals. These objects were found together
with Estonian objects and not in the same combination of finds as in Sweden.
Both come from a cemetery at Paju in the northwestern part of the island of
Osel. The clasp button is connected with those previously mentioned that had a
spiral ornamentation while the ornamentation of the sword pommel had parallels among other strap mounts from Gotland's Migration Period as well'as in
small equal-armed brooches with similar terminals from Gotland and Uppland.
The cemetery of Paju is dated through the finds to 400-500 AD which corresponds fairly well to the C-14 results. 44
In 1973, a stone setting in Lihula, Haapsalu district, l.~inemaa region, Estonia, was excavated. Here 230 objects, mainly pottery, were found. Among the
artifacts was a small gilded silver mount with spiral ornamentation similar to
that on finds already mentioned. 45 From a so-called Tarand grave in Kuninguste,
Estonia, there came a strap mount of bronze like those from Gotland dating to
the fifth century. 46
The relations of Gotland and Middle Sweden with the eastern Baltic in the
pre-Viking and early Viking eras are clearly demonstrated by the materials from
Grobin. There, we apparently have Swedish colonization which was also
mentioned by the sagas. In addition to burials with completely Middle Swedish
and Gotlandic grave goods, the graves are Middle Swedish and Gotlandic in construction. Completely Swedish graves have, on the other hand, not been found in
Estonia. There, graves have been uncovered with Swedish objects which suggests trading contacts and commercial relations instead of colonization. These
relations date to one or two centuries before the colonization that began in the
seventh century. These eastern Baltic trading relations with Scandinavia were
mostly with Helgti where Baltic jewellery has also been found. One can imagine
that Swedish trading relations with the eastern Baltic went partly by way of
Gotland and partly by a more northern route directly to Estonia possibly via
3sel. We even have evidence for trading ties being continued eastwards as far as
Karelia and Lake Ladoga. The Ynglinga saga tells us about King Agnes' crusade
to Finland around 400 AD and about voyages to the east of the Baltic Sea during
the sixth century. There is then no doubt that the water routes to the east
through the Gulf of Finland were used prior to the Viking Age.
We see from these ties an example of the fact that in the past water connected
peoples and did not divide them in the same way as today. I would like, in
conclusion, to refer to Adam of Bremen's account of Scandinavian geography.
It gives a good example of the difference in travelling by land or by sea. Freely
translated, he tells us that if one sailed from Sk~ne, one reached Sigtuna or

The Evidence f r o m Helg6

265

Birka during the fifth day. If, on the o t h e r hand, one traveled by land, t h e n
the j o u r n e y w o u l d take a whole m o n t h . 47

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NOTES
1 Wilhelm Holmqvist, "Die Ergebnisse der Grabungen auf Helg6 (1954-1974)," Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 51 (1976), 168, and the literature cited there.
2 Ibid., 169.
3 Birger Nerman, Grobin-Seeburg: Ausgrabungen und [?uncle (Stockholm: Almqvist &
WikseU, 1958), 174.
4 Birger Nerman, Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und dem Ostbaltikum in der
jiingeren Eisenzeit (Stockholm: KVHAA Handlingar de140:1, 1929), 7 if.
5 Johan Engstr6m, Torsburgen--.en g~ta inf6r sin 16sning (Visby: Arkeologi p~ Gotland,
1979), 121-30.
6 G~rdarike was the Old Norse name for the Swedish realm of the Vikings in Russia.
7 Nerman, Ferbindungen, 11-15.
8 Ed ~turms, "Schwedische Kolonien in Lettland," Fornviinnen, 44 (1949), 205-17.
9 Jfiri Selirand, "Die archaologischen Forschungen in der Estnischen SSR in den Jahren
1967-1978," Zeitschriflfur Archiiologie, 14 (1980), 82-85.
10 Ella Kivikoski, "Svenskar i 5sterled under 500-taler," Finskt museum, 46 (1939), 1-11.
11 Ibid., 10.
12 Kaupo Deemant, "Neue Funde aus dem Steingr~iberfeld yon Proosa," Eesti NS V Teaduste
Akademia Toimetised: Uhiskonnateadused [hereafter E N S V T A T ] , 26 (1977), 62-63,
Tafel VII.
13 Birger Nerman, "Ostbaltiskt fr[in yngre vendeltid bland fynden fr~n Helg6, Eker6,"
Fornviinnen, 51 (1956), 148; Birger Nerman, Die Vendelzeit Gotlands, 11: Tafeln (Stockholm: KVHAA, 1969), Tafel 4.
14 Greta Arwidsson, "Tv~ baltiska dryckeshorn fr~n 600-talet," Finska fornminnesforeningens tidskrift, 45 (1945), 160-69.
15 Bj~SrnAmbrosiani, "Darsg~irdekomplexet," Fornviinnen, 53 (1958), 161-76.
16 Holmqvist, "Ergebnisse," 127 ft.; Agneta LundsttiSm, "Helg6 als friihmittelalterlicher
Handelsplatz in Mittelschweden," Friihmittelalterliche Studien, 2(1968), 278-90;
Wilhelm Holmqvist, Helg6-den g~tfulla 6n (Uddevalla, 1969), 197.
17 The finds from Helg~5 are reported in annual reports and in Excavations at Helg6, ed.
Wilhelm Holmqvist, Vols. 1-IV, and ed. Agneta Lundstr6m, Vols. V, VII (Uppsala-Stockholm: KVHAA, 1961-1981). Vols. VI and VIII deal with the pre-medieval area and do
not concern us here. Additional volumes in this series are scheduled for publication.
18 Nerman, "Ostbaltiskt," 148-52.
19 Valdemar Ginters, "Die Emallverzierte Fibel von Helg~5, Ks Eker/5, Uppland," Fornviinnen, 56 (1961), 1-25.
20 Lundstr6m, "Helg6," Tafel XIX:31.
21 Francis Balodis, Det iildsta Lettland (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1940), 138-39.
22 Nerman, "Ostbaltiskt," 150 ft.
23 Holmqvist, "'Ergebnisse," 129. The buildings will be discussed in a future volume of
Excavations at Helg6.
24 Andrew Oddy, a review of Iron and Man in Prehistoric Sweden in MedievalArchaeology,
25 (1981), 229.
25 Holmqvist, "Ergebnisse," 131.
26 Ibid., 134.
27 The distribution of jeweUery made from moulds found at Helg~5is shown on the map in
Holmqvist, "Ergehnisse," 142.

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266

Journal o f Baltic Studies

28 The archaeological finds from l~oosa have been published by Kaupo Deemant in ENSV1
A T: "Das Griiberfeld yon Proosa bei TaUinn," 24 (1975), 78-80; "Zur Untersuchung des
Steingr~iberfeldes yon Proosa," 25 (1976), 55-56; "Neue Funde"; "t3ber die Ausgrabungen des Steingr~iberfeldes von Proosa," 27 (1978), 81-83; "Funde der mittleren Eisenzeit aus l~oosa," 27 (1978), 337-38; "Das eisenzeitliche Steingriiberfeld yon Proosa," 28
(1979), 368-69; "AusgIabungen des Steinhistengrabes yon Proosa," 29 (1980), 360-61 ;
"Ausgrabungen in Proosa," 30 (1981), 394-96.
29 Deemant, "Das Grfiberfeld," 79.
30 Ibid., 78.
31 Ibid.
32 Selirand, Fig. 8.
33 Kristina Lamm, "Clasp Buttons," Excavations at Helg6, Vol. IV (1972), 70-131.
34 Ibid., 73-77.
35 Ibid., 77.
36 Ibid., 113.
37 Sonja Wigren, "Fornl~mning 207, gravf~ilt folkvandringstid Sk~cklinge, Botkyrka sn
S6dermanland," (Stockholm: RA~_ / SHMM [UV Rapport 1977:31], 1977), 11.
38 K. Lamm, "Clasp Buttons," 117.
39 Ibid., 118-20.
40 Selirand, Fig. 8.
41 Deemant, "Neue Funde."
42 Jan Peder Lamm, "Fornfynd och fornl~imningar p~ Lov6," (Stockholm: Theses and
Papers in North-European Archaeology, 1973), 11-12.
43 Bj6rn Hougen, "Snartemofunnene," Norske Oldfunn, 7 (Oslo, 1935), Snartemo V, P1.
IV, 1-2.
44 See Selirand, 83, and the literature cited there.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid., 84.
47 Per G. Berggren, Svensk Historia enligt samtida skildvingar, Serie 1 (Stockholm, 1901),
77.