Archbishop Rimbert mentions Birka in his ninth-century account, Vita Ansgarii, as
the place of the first Christian mission to the Svea kingdom (Odelman 1986 ). Extensive
archaeological excavations were initiated by Hjalmar Stolpe in the 1870 s, one in the
circle of scholars, including Oscar Montelius and Hans Hildebrand, employed by
the Museum of National Antiquities (SHM) in Stockholm. Stolpe excavated altogether
c. 4 , 500 m^2 of the Black Earth area (Hyenstrand 1992 ) and c. 1 , 100 graves (Arbman
1940 – 3 ; Arwidsson 1984 – 9 ).
The main settlement area was located in a depression adjacent to the water, with
several longhouse terraces situated on a slope above the town. Shoreline-bound plots
were separated by ditches and later also wooden fences in a fan-shaped pattern following
the bay’s natural shape. The often rebuilt buildings, primarily of wood with wood or
reed roofs, were situated with their gables facing the water (Birka Studies forthcoming).
In 1990 – 5 the Black Earth excavations uncovered part of the mid-eighth-century
shoreline, 6 m above present sea level, and the stone foundation of an early jetty from
Birka’s earliest settlement along with the remains of a bronzeworker’s workshop (Figure
8. 1. 3 ). This part of the earliest settlement was shore bound until the end of the 700 s.
Successive changes in land uplift in conjunction with the retreating shoreline exposed
new areas for settlement and necessitated the construction of new jetties at lower levels.
The workshop ceasing to exist shortly after the mid- 800 s, its plot was rebuilt after
several decades of abandonment. Situated opposite to this and adjacent to the lane
leading down to the later jetty, another plot yielded the remains of houses belonging to
Figure 8. 1. 3 The large stone jetty resting on Birka’s original shoreline, allowing for isostatic and
eustatistic changes, is situated at ca. 6 m a.s.l., showing that the town must have been established
prior to or at about 750 ad. (Photo © Björn Ambrosiani.)–– Björn Ambrosiani––