Yesterday a co-worker passed away. I was fortunate enough to have been working with him, though unfortunately only for a much to brief a time. Björn Winberg was an inspiring man with great knowledge and understanding of archaeology and cultural heritage. I’ll remember him as a man who showed that he cared for those around him, a storyteller (mostly regarding archaeological antics) and a man with an odd but warm scene of humour.
For the last months he worked at Arkeologicentrum, but Björn Winberg has worked with cultural environment and archaeology since the early 70s. He is perhaps foremost known for his work with the surveys for ancient monuments and remains for the economic map. For many years he was s a site leader at the National Heritage Board’s ancient monuments survey, and for a period acting as department director for the same.
My thoughts are with his family in this time of grief. In memory of Björn Winberg.
Me & Björn as we worked earlier this fall in Östergötland
Yet another dissertation on the Middle Neolithic’s in Scandinavia is on the way, this time it’s Kim von Hackwitz who puts foward Längs med Hjälmarens stränder och förbi – relationen mellan den gropkeramiska kulturen och båtyxekulturen aka. Along the shores of Lake Hjälmaren and beyond – the relationship between the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture. Stockholm Studies in Archaeology 51. Stockholm. Written in Swedish with an English summary.
The abstract as well as the thesis is available at academia.edu
Kim will hold her defense December 19th at Stockholm University, I wish her the best of luck (I’ll be attending). I’ve only glanced through the pages but it seems an interesting read on the now century old but ever pressing issue on whether the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture are two material cultures that express two different ethnical groups or whether as Kim proposes different expressions in culture that express a dynamic and active society that manifests itself through a variety of different places, which were maintained for specific purposes.
I’ve attended a conference held by RAA (The Swedish National Heritage Board) on the topic Quality in exploratory/assignment archaeology.
This was two interesting days with good seminars and discussions and of course a lot of old and new friends.
Most speakers spoke on what quality is and on how to reach good quality, about problems and obstacles but also on possible solutions. As it’s very possible that the Swedish assignment archaeology will be subdued to the Public Procurement Act (Lagen om Offentlig Upphandling) in a near future. Today there are some exceptions to that act but the procedure is to be done in the spirit of thePublic Procurement Act, now there are disadvantages and advantages with this that I’ll not word on today. A lot of thoughts we’re brought fourth on what was best for the future; a reversal to the old ways (a public system), to go forward with the Public Procurement Act or to find a new way of conducting assignment archaeology.
Though interesting the discussion ended up a bit of topic and was perhaps more on the future of assignment archaeology than on quality in assignment archaeology.
I’ll try to put a few words on print on the discussions the coming days as soon as I’ve time to decipher my notes.
Now it’s time for a couple of hours sleep and then it’s off north to Östersund.
It’s been a difficult and in many ways a hard week, for different reasons. This Monday I attended a funeral, in Jonkoping, for a close friend of the family. Funerals are never fun but can be a situation for contemplation. Besides thinking on the departed I found myself thinking on ceremonies and rites. As an archaeologist you work with the past and the remains of those who lived a long time ago. Large parts of our material are from graves; memorial monuments over fathers, mothers, sons and daughters constructed by religious and social conventions, pretty much as today.
We often read in lots of things when studying these remains, some based on the finds, some based on interpreted texts from the time and some based on reasoning. What struck me was our, mine and those attending, need of coming together, in grieving and remembering and our need to find closure and to say goodbye. In archaeology we often seem to miss this fundamental theme when discussing or contemplating burial processes, it’s more often a discussion of social dimensions, religious belief and architectural qualities. Though this is information to be found and interpreted we shouldn’t forget the person buried and what the burial meant to them who needed to remember, as individuals and not only as a society.
In loving memory of Rolf Åkerlund
My thoughts are with the family and my memories of Rolf will live on in my mind and heart.
After the funeral I went north to Ostersund, ca 900 kilometres apart, where rain and snow awaited. I had thought I would spend this week indoors writing reports etc. but it became three days outdoors surveying instead. We are currently working some miles north of Ostersund deep in the wilderness. On Wednesday it was raining and part of the ground was covered in snow; though not that much that it was impossible to read the landscape but enough to freeze your feet and this combined with the rain and the water stuck on trees made it an unpleasant experience. Today it was a lot better as there was no rain which made it quite a pleasant day. Another problem is of course the light or rather the lack of light as the sun sets down early. Yet one day remains let us hope for good weather.
Next week I’ll spend the first couple of days in Stockholm as I’ll attend RAA’s (The Swedish National Heritage Board) conference: Kvalitet i uppdragsarkeologin (Quality in exploratory/assignment archaeology) and then continue up to Ostersund.
It’s been a bit quite here at Testimony lately. I currently read a couple of books that I intend to write a few lines on here and for the Osteological Associations periodical Benbiten.
To give sound to the silence two hits of the 60’s one by its original artists and a cover;
Keep a look out for some pictures and words on “the 3rd grave of Christianity”.
This week will be a GIS kind of week for me, a lot o f measuring with the rover and the total station and processing the data and in between helping out in the search pits. As winter’s approaching the days are getting shorter, the weather in itself posses small or no problem but the light does, as the time with sufficient working light becomes shorter. It also means that we start early, I getting up at 05.30 which is not my preferred time to get up; I just seem to want to curl up under bed sheets and sleep for just a little longer.
My name is Magnus Reuterdahl and I am a Swedish archaeologist and osteologist. Most posts are connected to my work or my interests in general; Scandinavian archaeology, osteology, cultural heritage, literature and so forth.
On the blog Aqua Vitae (in Swedish) and Testimony of a wine (in English) junkie I blog on wine.
Contact; inventerare[at]hotmail[dot]com or via a comment.
