Subproject:
C 05 Profit and Waste of Resources. The creation of ideological capital during the Viking Age and the High Middle Ages in Northern Europe

Project leadership:
Prof. Dr. Jörn Staecker

Staff:
Janina Dieckmann, Jörg Widmaier

Region:
Sweden

What is the significance of the many silver depots on Gotland? Why were the treasures sometimes buried and sometimes invested?

In the focus of the investigations of the subproject ‚Profit and Waste of Resources. The creation of ideological capital during the Viking Age and the High Middle Ages in Northern Europe’ is on the squander or investment in profit-oriented or ideological capital using the example of the medieval depot finds and church buildings of the Baltic Sea island of Gotland. In case of the treasure finds, the degree of fragmentation, quality of execution, iconographic significance and the possible origin of the objects from other economic areas are analyzed. The complementary study focuses on the investment volume for the construction, furnishing and decoration of the churches, both in the interior and on the exterior facade.

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