Ölandskrukor : Romersk vardag - lyx på Gotland?

Sammanfattning: Two ceramic vessels of the Öland and Gotland type were in the summer of 2016 discovered at an archaeological excavation at the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea. They were produced with two different techniques of firing, resulting in two different colors of the surface of the pot. Ceramic vessels of the Öland and Gotland type dating from the Roman Iron Age are supposed to have been produced at these islands, but thin-section analysis of pottery found in Mälardalen in the mainland of Sweden show that at least some vessels are made of clay from Mälardalen. The type is distinct and differs both in form and composition of the clay from other ceramic vessels of more ordinary character. This type of ceramic vessel is supposed to be inspired of bronze vessels from the Roman Empire and ceramic vessels from both the Roman Empire and the Celtic area. In this thesis, the aim is to shed some light on the characters of this type of vessel with comparative and empirical studies of pots from Öland and Gotland. This is done by comparing vessels and described graves on the two islands. And for references a few pots from mainland Sweden is also studied. Is it possible to understand why the high-status pottery on Öland and Gotland differ from the rest of the Swedish mainland? Clearly, the wealth of the population on the islands was over average if we measure it in objects of foreign origin, compared with the Swedish mainland. Objects from the Roman Empire such as drinking equipment made of bronze and gold and silver coins made its way to the islands in bigger quantities than to rest of Scandinavia with exceptions from some local areas on the Swedish mainland.