Archaeological excavations were consequently carried out, and Schefferus wrote Sweden’s first archaeological dissertation, a work that discussed a bronze sword found in Scania and three gold bracteates. In spite of this work, most of the academy’s interests were focused on literary sources and, in particular, on Icelandic ones. During the late seventeenth century, patriotism and Gothicism reached the height of their popularity. Gothicism identified the Goths with the hyperborés, an ancient mythological people, a theory that was supported by some evidence from Icelandic material. Olof Rudbeck, in his monumental work Atlantican (1679–1702), claimed that Sweden was the lost civilization of Atlantis. Although the work was received with enthusiasm outside of Sweden, it soon lost its standing and was criticized by Schefferus and Hadorph, who had little sympathy for such speculation. Perhaps the most interesting critique of Atlantican was by the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646– 1716), who was one of the forerunners of the scientific revolution. Leibniz’s critique was ironic and was an indication that new scientific viewpoints were developing in Europe.

Various bills to protect ancient monuments were issued in 1666 and renewed in 1669, 1676, and 1684, and they laid the groundwork for more organized antiquarian research. Priests and public officials were ordered to participate in field surveys and to send the results of any pillaging of monuments to the Antiquities Committee, and ancient monuments were more closely linked to royal power. During the 1600s, there was still no organized research that focused on the material culture and artifacts associated with ancient monuments. Artifacts were collected and documented but then compared to literary sources. It was unthinkable to view them as something outside the literary historical field.

The 1700s

In 1718, King Karl XII died, and Sweden’s period as a great power came to an end. During the following years, known as “the period of liberty,” parliamentary power took shape. An unsuccessful war against russia (1741–1743), bureaucracy, and a disorganized monetary system caused many problems for Sweden during this period. Later, after a successful reorganization of the monetary system, closer ties with England, and the establishment of ties with Russia, the first Swedish law concerning freedom of the press was instigated.

During this period, antiquarian research was still faulty and descriptive, its results were mainly compilations, and any conclusions it drew were speculative and lacked cohesion. Historians continued to interpret Sweden’s earliest times. Jacob Wilde (1679–1755) was one of Sweden’s first modern historians, and he often dealt with problems with source material. Wilde demolished Johannes Magnus’s list of regents and criticized Olof Rudbeck’s fantasies. Wilde’s work dealt with three historical periods—ancient times, the Middle Ages, and modern times—and his divisions were later accepted by several historiographers. The ancient period was divided into two ages: a “dark age,” knowledge of which must be sought among classical authors, and a “mythological age,” ca. 120 b.c.–ca. a.d. 1150. Within the latter age, three phases were identified: the cairn age, the cremation age, and the mound age. It was a historical division, based on Icelandic sagas and not on archaeological material. There was no comprehension of a prehistory that demanded an independent chronology. Wilde was followed by Olof von Dalin (1708– 1763), Anders af Botin (1724–1790), and Sven Lagerbring (1707–1787).

The doctor and antiquarian Kilian Stobaeus (1690–1742) and the philosopher Andreas Rydelius (1671–1738) taught Dalin in Lund. Stobaeus occupied Lund University’s first chair of natural science in 1728 but exchanged it for a professorship in history in 1732. The great philosopher Carolus Linnaeus was one of his many pupils. Stobaeus taught natural science, history, numismatics, and antiquarian research. He donated his significant collection of artifacts and natural objects, known as Museum Stobaeanum, to Lund University in 1735.

Dalin began a state administrative career in Stockholm in 1727 and at the same time, together with Johan Ihre (1707–1780), competed for the position of state historiographer. Although