by contacts towards the east (Ambrosiani 2001 , 2002 ). This is simultaneous with the
appearance of the Rus’ and the earliest Scandinavian settlement in western Russia and
the Ukraine ( Jansson 1997 ), which were used in establishing direct contact with Byzan-
tium and the eastern Caliphate.
Quantities of silks and silver were thus spread, and Scandinavia created its own
weight-based economic system grounded in an Arabian weight standard, apparently
though with locally manufactured instruments for weighing (Ambrosiani 2001 ; Gustin
2004 ; Sperber 2004 ). Many phenomena associated with this appear at Birka early in this
development, which implies Birka’s leading position in Northern Europe.
SUMMARYBirka can be characterised as a complex early urban society with a diverse mix of
local and supra-regional backgrounds: its economy based on trade and handicraft and as
part of a contact network spanning the whole of northern Europe first turned towards
the south-west and later towards the east. Through this, Birka’s society bound together
local and outside worlds, which it influenced and was influenced by the changes therein.
Today Birka’s rich finds are an important key to greater insight into Viking Age
chronology and this northern European network of contacts and, therefore, also impor-
tant to west European archaeology.
BIBLIOGRAPHYAmbrosiani, B. ( 1992 ) ‘What is Birka?’, in B. Ambrosiani and H. Clarke (eds) ( 1992 ).
——( 1997 a) ‘Birka – stad i nätverk’, in Amico Amici, Festskrift till Gad Rausing den 19 maj 1997 ,
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——( 1997 b) ‘Birka – part of a network’, in G. de Boe and F. Verhaeghe (eds) Exchange and Trade
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archeologisch patrimonium.
——( 1997 c) ‘Metallförsörjning i Birka’, in A. Åkerlund, S. Bergh, J. Nordbladh and
J. Taffinder (eds) Till Gunborg. Arkeologiska samtal (Stockholm Archaeological Reports 33 ),
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——( 1998 a) ‘Ireland and Scandinavia in the early Viking Age: an archaeological response’, in
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——( 1998 b) ‘Birka och omlandet’, in P. Bratt (ed.) Forntid i ny dager, Stockholm: Raster Förlag
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——( 2001 ) ‘Eastern connections at Birka’, Viking Heritage Magazine, 2001 ( 3 ): 3 – 7.
——( 2002 ) ‘Osten und Westen im Ostseehandel zur Wikingerzeit’, in K. Brandt, M. Müller-
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tions and future plans (Birka Studies 1 ), Stockholm: Birka Project, Raä and Statens historiska
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Ambrosiani, B. and Erikson, B.G. ( 1991 – 6 ) Birka vikingastaden, 5 vols, Höganäs and Stockholm:
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Andersson, E. ( 2003 ) Tools for Textile Production from Birka and Hedeby (Birka Studies 8 ), Stock-
holm: Birka Project and Raä.
–– chapter 8 ( 1 ): Birka––