HÃ¥ga mound

The excavated at the beginning of the 20th century grave mound of Haga (Swedish Hågahögen, even Bjorn hög or Kung Bjorn hög ) lies on the banks of the creek Hagaan west of Uppsala.

The hill consists of turf and contains a grave system that is alien to the area around Lake Mälaren and has südskandinavische influences. He covered a man-sized, hollowed oak trunk that served as a coffin. From him only discoloration of the soil were obtained. In the coffin were burnt bones of a man. Noteworthy were his grave goods: a sword whose hilt was decorated with gold bars and gold pins, called a spectacle spiral of bronze, which is almost entirely covered with spiralverziertem gold sheet, tweezers with gold details, gold thin spirals that may have been worn in the hair or in the costume.

The buried was cremated without additions (which custom was for the most part ). They had placed the burnt bones in the coffin and added the items. Cause is likely that a new burial, namely cremating was introduced by influences from southern Scandinavia. Only the body was burnt, but not the grave goods. At a time to be in the old customs replaced by new ones, it is possible that older ideas remain parallel exist to imported. This is probably the grave mound of HAGA the case. There are other peculiarities in this grave. Thus, the items during the burial, seem to have been made ​​or perhaps bought specially for the funeral was new. This shows how important it was to be buried in a certain way, and how you used funerals to make his power and status to the test.

Among those who participated in the excavation, there was a student named Gustav Adolf Bernadotte. At that time, Sweden's King Gustav VI. Adolf still Prince of Sweden and Duke of Skåne; He was an avid archaeologist who participated in many excavations, especially in Italy. In Häga he received his first lessons in field archeology. His teacher was Oscar Almgren, professor of archeology at the University of Uppsala.