Editing Birka (section)

==Björkö archaeological site==
[[File:Birka Svarta jorden 1991.jpg|thumb|1991 excavation in dark earth]]
[[File:BirkaExcavation2.png|thumb|right|July 2004 excavation of Birka]]
The exact location of Birka was also lost during the centuries, leading to speculation from Swedish historians. In 1450, the island of Björkö was first claimed to be Birka by the "[[Chronicle of Sweden]]" (''Prosaiska krönikan'').<ref>[http://www.nordlund.lu.se/Fornsvenska/Fsv%20Folder/05_Filer/Proskron.rtf Prosaiska krönikan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206012459/http://www.nordlund.lu.se/Fornsvenska/Fsv%20Folder/05_Filer/Proskron.rtf |date=6 February 2012 }}. Original text. Translation in English is by Wikipedia editors.</ref>

In search of Birka, National Antiquarian [[Johan Hadorph]] was the first to attempt excavations on Björkö in the late 17th century.

In the late 19th century, [[Hjalmar Stolpe]], an [[Entomology|entomologist]] by education, arrived on Björkö to study fossilized insects found in [[amber]] on the island. Stolpe found very large amounts of amber, which is unusual since amber is not normally found in lake Mälaren. Stolpe speculated that the island may have been an important trading post, prompting him to conduct a series of archeological excavations between 1871 and 1895. The excavations soon indicated that a major settlement had been located on the island and eventually Stolpe spent two decades excavating the island. After Björkö came to be identified with ancient Birka, it has been assumed that the original name of Birka was simply ''Bierkø'' (sometimes spelled ''Bjärkö''), an earlier form of ''Björkö''.

A significant collection of textiles fragments were retrieved during excavations, mostly from chamber graves. [[Agnes Geijer]] published the most detailed analysis of this collection in 1938, although her study was based upon only around 5% of the 4800 textile fragments preserved from the site. The collection represents a usual variety of different types of textiles showing high quality textiles manufactured by different techniques like [[Tabby weave|tabby]] and [[twill]]. Mostly made from [[wool]] and [[flax]], the quality of the textiles studied by Geijer ranged from very coarse to fine fabrics with high thread counts that required complicated techniques to create. The variety of materials and techniques to make the [[Tablet weaving|tablet woven textiles]] led Geijer to theorize that some of the textiles were imported. Geijer also found remains of the three-end twill textile that has not been found anywhere else in Northern Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Geijer|first=Agnes|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5871922|title=A History of Textile Art|date=1979|publisher=Pasold Research Fund in association with Sotheby Parke Bernet|isbn=0-85667-055-3|location=London|pages=71|oclc=5871922}}</ref> Geijer theorized that some of the fragments came from the East, possibly [[China]], due the use of gold and silver wire as well as silk.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Geijer|first=Agnes|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5871922|title=A History of Textile Art|date=1979|publisher=Pasold Research Fund in association with Sotheby Parke Bernet|isbn=0-85667-055-3|location=London|pages=220–221|oclc=5871922}}</ref>

Ownership of Björkö is today mainly in private hands and is used for farming and management also benefits biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schönbeck|first1=Mattias|title=Sweden's First Restoration of an Ancient Monument - the burial ground Hemlanden on Birka|journal=Internet Archaeology|date=2023|issue=62|doi=10.11141/ia.62.4|doi-access=free|url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue62/4/index.html}}</ref>

The archaeological remains are located in the north part of Björkö and span an area of about 7 [[hectare]]s (17 [[acre]]s). The remains are both burial-sites and buildings, and in the south part of this area, there is also a [[hill fort]] called "Borgen" ("The Fortress").<ref>[[Carl L. Thunberg|Thunberg, Carl L.]], ''Särkland och dess källmaterial'', Göteborgs universitet, 2011, pp. 71–77.</ref> The construction technique of the buildings is still unknown, but the main material was [[wood]]. An adjacent island holds the remains of [[Hovgården]], an estate that housed the King's retinue during visits.

Approximately 700 people lived at Birka when it was at its largest, and about 3,000 graves have been found.<ref>[[Björn Ambrosiani|Ambrosiani, Björn]], Birka, in: Pulsiano, Phillip (ed.), Medieval Scandinavia. An Encyclopedia, Garland Publishing, New York / London 1993, 43</ref> Its administrative center was supposedly located outside of the settlement itself, on the nearby island of [[Adelsö]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Scandinavia, Issue 1|last=Helle|first=Knut|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2003}}</ref>

The most recent large excavation was undertaken between 1990 and 1995 in a region of [[dark earth]], believed to be the site of the main settlement.

===Shipyard===

On 15 June 2022, it was announced that archaeologists from Stockholm University's Archaeological Research Laboratory had found a Viking Age shipyard in Lake Mälaren. It was the first time a site like the shipyard had been found.

"The site found consisted of a stone-lined depression in the Viking Age shore zone with a wooden boat slip at the bottom. The finds at the site consist of large quantities of both unused and used boat rivets, whetstones made from slate and woodworking tools."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unique Viking shipyard discovered at Birka |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220615211314.htm |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616151907/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220615211314.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>