1996 ). In some of the graves typical Scandinavian ritual traits like folded weapons and
stone-settings were recorded (Androshchuk 2004 a: 112 – 13 fig. 4 ). The place of the
Wiskiauten settlement is uncertain. But it seems that it was situated in the wet meadow
terrain. For example, such a topography is characteristic of another site in the
Baltic area, Janow Pomorski, which yielded a large number of Scandinavian objects
( Jagodzin ́ski and Kasprzycka 1991 : 706 ). Jewellery and weapons characteristic of
Gotland, central Sweden and Denmark were found in different graves at Wiskiauten
(Mühlen 1975 ; Androshchuk 2004 a with parallels). A unique find is a hoard which
contained silver bracelets of the so-called Hiberno-Norse type from the ninth–tenth
centuries discovered at Kivitten (Mühlen 1975 : Taf. 50 : 1 – 6 ). From the territory of
the modern Kaliningrad area there are forty-two swords from the Viking Age, which
conform to eleven main sword types common in Scandinavia. There are three inter-
pretations of the character of the settlement at Wiskiauten. According to one of them
it was a Swedish colony/garrison that also had trade functions (Nerman 1936 : 79 ).
According to another interpretation the settlement was originally Gotlandic and then
a Danish colony (Mühlen 1975 ). A third point of view considers Wiskiauten as a
‘polyethnic trade centre’ (Kulakow 2000 , 2003 ). None of the interpretations seems to be
convincing since they only treat the Scandinavian finds from the burials. Objects of local
Figure 38. 2 a, b Silver strap-end found in Kaliningrad. (Photo: Constantine Skvortsov.)(a)(b)–– chapter 38 : The Vikings in the east––