Where lies Ubsola - ancient Uppsala?

[Rev 0.4], 2003-09-04, Written by Wilmer
Thomas (work still in progress).

Summary

Ubsola or Upsalum, mythical
seat of the Svea kings of ancient Sweden, was also the name stated as the
main cult center of pagan (heathen) Asa-faith in ancient Scandinavia and
Sweden, generally translated into modern day language as Uppsala.

This article discusses whether the original site
of the Asa cult was really Gamla Uppsala in Uppland, Sweden (the
Svealand theory), or if Ubsola was located elsewhere.
Another important aspect is whether Ubsola can in fact be regarded a
heathen cult center, and if so, until what time.

As of today (2003-09-04), this author has not
drawn any definite conclusions regarding the localization of Ubsola. It is
not easily deducted if there is any bearing for the hypothesis that Ubsola
might have been located at different geographical locations in different
times of history.

But it seems clear that a lot of
taken-for-granted-facts may not actually stand up for a close encounter of
(re)evaluation. For instance, the findings of Henrik Janson 1998,
[Ref. 32], indicates that the religious cult of Uppland province in
the late 11th century was not heathen, but a Christian cult - a
Christian non roman-catholic Christian cult. This raises the question as
to whether Uppland has ever held the center of a heathen religious cult,
and if is has, up until what date.

It seems plausible that the Svealand theory
has been based over the years on assumptions that, individually, may not
hold. This, however, does not implicate that the theory at large is wrong.
It is quite clear, however, that the name 'Uppsala' is far from
uniqely associated with the modern city Uppsala or the ancient remains in
Gamla Uppsala, as found in the reference article Modern places aligned with named ancient
locations on Uppsala locations. In fact, the Uppland province
occurences lies to the northeastmost of the existing geographical
references to Uppsala.

The offical view however stands unchanged, at
least for the time being: Ubsola was located in Uppland.

Introduction

Ubsola, or Upsalum, was the
place referred to in Old Norse tales and sagas, and other contemporary
sources, to be the seat of the the Svea kings of ancient Sweden, the land
of sweonis. It is also the name stated as the main cult
center of pagan (heathen) Asa-faith in ancient Scandinavia and Sweden,
generally translated into modern day language as Uppsala.

This is were the supposed 'golden covered
heathen temple' described by Adam of Bremen ([Ref. 11],
[Ref. 12] and [Ref. 57]) should have been located. Upsalum is
also often referred to by amongst others Snorri Sturluson
([Ref. 50] and [Ref. 65]) and other saga "historical" works.

Furthermore, the relevance of referring to
Ubsola as a heathen cult center is a chief aspect to consider. This
is discussed by Henrik Janson 1998 in his dissertation Templum
Nobilissimum1 [Ref. 32], in
which he finds it likely that the place Ubsola referred by Adam of Bremen
in the 11th century is rather a Christian faith center opposing the
roman-catholic church represented by Hamburg-Bremen.

The common belief today amongst most scholars
is that the origin of the tribe of Sveas as well as the ancient pagan
(heathen) Asa cult- and temple sites were located in Gamla Uppsala, (Old
Uppsala), in the county of Uppland, Sweden. If not there, some scholar
promotes East Aros, todays city of Uppsala, to resemble the cult center.

An opposing belief however states that the
original site for the pagan Asa-temple was not located here, but in the
province of Västergötland, in western Sweden. This belief commonly refers
to a number of mostly non-scholatic writers under the term Västgötaskolan.

To differ between these to major
interpretation views, this author uses the term Svealand theory,
respectively Götaland theory.

Purpose:

This article will discuss the issue of
localization of Ubsola in ancient Sweden, the mythical seat of the Sveas.
It discloses some interesting points raised in a debate about whether the
original site of the Asa cult was really Gamla Uppsala in Uppland, Sweden
(the
Svealand theory), or if Ubsola was located elsewhere (e.g. in
Västergötland, according to the Götaland theory).

Question:

If Ubsola is the term for a
cult center - where is the original Ubsola to be found?

When was Ubsola last
used for a heathen blot, and where?

Hypothesis:

The heathen cult center
Ubsola is defined in ancient sources as a place of cult rather than a
geographical location. Thus, the references made are located in different
places at different time, in different sources.

When Adam of Bremen
references Ubsola in the mid 11th century, the province of Uppland is
already Christian - but not by Hamburg-Bremen.

Ruling paradigm and opposing beliefs

The generally held explanation of ancient
Sweden bears upon the defintion of Sueones, translated
as Sveas, to have been situated around the lake Mälaren, and
origination of the tribe Sveas within the province of Uppland.

An opposing belief instead states that some -
widely spread - hypothesis can be stated in favour of depicting the
ancient history of Sweden into the province of Västergötland.

These two theories2, named by this author as the
Svealand and the Götaland theories, are discussed in
this chapter. The focus of this article will be the localization of the
place Ubsola / Upsalir. In the article [Ref. 2] Sueones / Svìar
- Ancient tribe or collective reference?. a discussion is held
regarding the interpretations of the name Sueones and its meaning.

From this antagonism we can depict one
important question that need to be clearly answered:

May the origin of the
people named Sueones have had an origin with greater, or different,
geographical localization than to the province of Uppland and the region
of lake Mälaren?

The answer to this question will either
broaden the possibility to interpret the ancient sources references of the
people, or land, named after the Sueones - if found positive, or, if found
negative, undermine the foundations of the second belief.

The Svealand theory

Whereas there exist several places in Sweden
bearing the name Uppsala, the mythic place for the old
swedish pagan (heathen) Asa-cult is mostly believed to have been located
in Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), just outside the modern city
of Uppsala. This belief may be referred to as the Svealand theory.

Within the forespokers of this theory, a debate is
held as to whether the heathen temple was located in Gamla Uppsala, or
in Uppsala.

Main arguments for placing Ubsola in Uppland

Generally, the placement of Ubsola
in Gamla Uppsala is based upon the following facts:

Table 8:

1

Gamla Uppsala holds several mounds, of
which the most famous, the three great mounds known as the kings mounds are visible from far away. These are said to
be the mounds of three famous mythological kings, Ane (Aun), his son Egil
- also known as Ongentheow and sometimes Angantyr - (father of Ottar and
Ale), Adils (Ottars son), living sometimes around 450 - 550 AD.

2

It is an indisputable fact that the county of Uppland holds several findings from around the 7th
century, with a striking predominance for the 10th and 11th century AD
that may be taken as an indication for that a kingdom was ruled from
here.No other province or region in Sweden can present a mass of
findings of ancient remains as does the province of Uppland.

3

An often named place in the myths and sagas is Fyrisvallarna, supposedly a vast field near the temple
site of Uppsala - and the river passing the modern city Uppsala is in fact called Fyrisån (the Fyris
river).

4

In Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, the
Ynglinga saga being part of the history of ancient
Norwegian kings, the place Ubsola (Upsalum) is said to be
located by the lake Lagen/Logen (Löginn), which Snorri means should be the
lake Mälaren, dividing Uppland and Södermanland and hosting the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, at its eastern shores. The
ancestor of the Ynglinga family is said to be Frey,
the God that came to Scandinavia together with Oden.
When Oden found the place to be, he named that country (or place, castle,
town...) Sigtuna. In the days of Snorri, this town existed (and is
archeologically proven to have existed around 1000 AD) to the north of
Mälaren.

5

The same location, named Upsalum is pointed
out by Adam of Bremen, who was a magister in Hamburg-Bremen that
wrote the history of this large archbishop domain of northern Europe,
which included Scandinavia until Lund was given an arch bishop seat
in the 12th century.

6

Adam of Bremen also relates the missonary
Ansgar who is said to have visited the trade town Birka, located not far from Upsalum.

7

There are as of today very little archeological
findings to support the idea that Västergötland
should hold the original site of Ubsola.

The Götaland theory

An intense opposing interest from mostly
non-scholars have long tried to present indications, and evidence, for
placing the ancient Ubsola not in Uppland, but in the county of Västergötland. This theory might, with correspondence to
the above used headline, be called the Götaland
theory. Historically, stemming from the 19th century, these
theories have been referred to as 'Västgötaskolan', the school of Västergötland orgins
for ancient Sweden.

The original advocateours for the Götaland theory
or Västgötaskolan are willing to seek evidence for Västergötland, and
the
Väner lake region in particular, to be the origin of both the
different people called Sveas, Danes and Goths/Geats/Götar, and
furthermore the location of all ancient myths, including Odin's Sithun
(Sigtuna), Valhall, the ashtree Yggdrasil etc. and myths of e.g. Helge
Hundingsbane and Sigurd Fafnersbane.

Opposing notes of interest for not placing Ubsola
in Uppland

Several interesting notes have been raised against
the common theory of Svealand being the ancient home of Sveas and the Asa
cult, e.g. the following:

Table 9:
Arguments against placing Ubsola in Uppland

1

When the first really determined bishop of old
Sweden, bishop Egino of Dalby (county of Skåne, Scania (Scandza, Scandia), located just outside Lund) sets out to destroy the pagan monuments in the 11th
century, he goes to Skara (county of Västergötland (Western Gotaland), and crushes the
sculptures of Frey, Oden and Thor. Furthermore, the first Swedish bishop
seat was placed in Skara1, not in Gamla Uppsala or
Uppsala. [Note 14]

2

In some ancient sources (TacitusGermania), the tribe or country of Suiones, Sveoner or Sveas, are said to be living side by side with
a different people, the Sitones, who is ruled and governed by
women.Jordanes in his The origin and deeds of the Goths
calls these two tribes suehans (the Sveas) and suetidi. In Uppland, an ancient rune stone have been
found (U 395), stating the name, or place, sithon.[Note 15]

3

The content of the kings mounds have not shown any
remains that indicates the burial of great kings. On the contrary, the
content of the two outer mounds that have been investigated instead
indicates the burial of very prominent women2. It is shown that the mounds
does stem from the period around 500 A.D., but there is actually no
evidence found from ancient remains in Gamla Uppsala that verifies the
theory of this place being the actual Ubsola mentioned in the old
documents(!).

4

The same type of burial customs, the big mounds
containing ashes in an urn, is not known in other parts of south and
middle Sweden prior to the big mounds in Gamla
Uppsala, but there are in fact the same type of mounds found
further to the north, securely dated to the 3rd century A.D. Similar
mounds are also dated to 200-300 A.D. in western Norway. This might
indicate that the customs of big mounds had come from the north of Sweden
to the south, rather than the opposite as could be expected for an
expanding tribe of Sveas in Uppland. In fact, the burial
customs could well indicate that they are the remains of the Sitones, perhaps stemming from the bronze age since the
burial customs corresponds with those of the urn field culture
in Europe during the younger bronze age and pre-roman iron age.

5

There is a certain group of women mentioned in
ancient sources of Sweden, called diser, who were
believed to be female witches or the like spiritual beings (most likely
thought to be human, though). They were part of the ancient world, and
were able to interact in human activities, such as battles, but also when
children were born. In Uppsala (Östra Aros), a square has been called
Distingstorget, the square of thing for Diser.
There is also an ancient ceremoni called Disablot, when
sacrifacies were made at the beginning of winter. There are said to be
different kind of 'diser', basically from different parts of the
old country, and possibly these female spritualists were representing
another, perhaps older, mythological or religious belief. They are also
known to have existed in other parts of the German hemisphere [Note 16].

6

No remains at all have been found that indicates
that there was actually a pagan temple located in Gamla Uppsala.

Rather, some supposed pole holes found at the
place of the old church in Gamla Uppsala (believed to be the place of the
pagan golden temple) has most certainly been used as poles for holding the
set when building the old church - there are absolutely no remains of
timber found in the holes, and they seem to have been filled up immediatly
after the church was built. The numbers and placements of these holes
neither supports the theory of t hem being actual pole holes to build a
large house - they are too few, a nd inconsistently located.

7

Also, an 8 m deep well believed to be the ancient
holy well of Urd, and Mimer, found on a ledge facing the kings
mounds, was during the 1940s proved to be covered with oak tree that were
cut down in the 1650s AD3. The well
was plugged in during the 1860s, and amazingly - if it actually was the spring of Urd - it was not filled up and
destroyed when the bishops during the 1000s and 1100s raided the country
hunting for pagan cult objects [Note ].

8

Another interesting fact is that the river Fyris
changed its name during the 17th century, and was former called Salaån4[Note 18]

9

If you were to take Snorri's
Ynglinga saga literally, when Odin and his people, the Asas,
moved from Fyn and travelled to the new won land somewhere north of here -
where is it most likely that they ended up?In Uppland, going first
south, east and then north - around the Scandinavian peninsula?Or in
Västergötland/Bohuslän, Sweden, or Norway (Oslofjorden)?Is
it possible that there can be traces of immigrating tribes in western
Sweden or southern Norway, dated around 50 BC to 200 AD?

10

When Odin came to the kingdom of Gylfe, he got the land by help of Gefjon,
who 'ploughed the land westwards into the sea, leaving a whole in the
land that became a sea', and that this land became Själland, said to
be the increase of Denmark. Furthermore, the myth says that 'bays of
Själland lies like capes in the sea'. Even today, any professional
would find it hard to fit Själland of Denmark into Mälaren of
Sweden.With the lake Vänern, bordering Västergötland, on the other
hand, is not at all hard to see the similarites of Själland as being
'taken from the land' of Sweden.(Naturally, the inclination
here is not that the land was actually taken from Sweden to form Själland
- but rather that the land the invaders/immigrants accomplished was
exchanged for Själland)How can any bit of land from Mälaren be drawn
westwards into the sea - crossing the whole landmasses of Sweden - and
become Själland?According to Jordanes, the Danes expanded - or where forced -
southwards, in turn forcing the Heruliis (a
German tribe, thought to be located at Själland around the first century
A.D.) to emigrate southwards.

11

Written in english, the name Logen/Lagen for the
great sea in Snorri's sagas is very easily deducted to be just that,
not a name of a special lake, but the only real notion needed; it is the lake - the greatest of them all, Vänern. Is
it possible that Snorre got the name Mälaren to mean Logen due to the fact
that Sigtuna, and Birka, was located here...?

12

In the recapitulation of Adam of
Bremen (who, accidentally, never visited Sweden
himself), the pagan temple is said to be placed 'in front of a
large, horse shoe shaped hill', forming what is best described as a
large theater scene, with the temple being set as the stage for the public
to attend the ceremonies. He, however, did not actually state that the
temple was located in Uppland.There is absolutely no such physical surroundings near Gamla
Uppsala!

13

Adam of Bremen also described the trade
center Birka, as the town where the first bishop Ansgar during the 9th century was supposed to have come
to declare Christianity among the heathen people of the
north.According to Adam of Bremen, the trade town was placed with a
harbor to the north, facing the Baltic Sea. The width of the bay
was supposed to be 100 stadies (1 stadie = 160 m), and across the bay
there were hinders layed down to hinder surprise attacks of large pirat
fleets from the north.During the second visit of Ansgar to Birka, he
is allowed to build a church there. So, the Ansgarian Birka should be able
to present remains of an ancient church, to be dated around 860 AD.

He seem to have had several sources, but the places
referred to in these sources must not nescessarily have been the same. One
theory states that the epithet Birka in fact should define a
general market location, rather than being the name of a specific town.
There are several known trade centers in ancient Sweden.

The trade town at Björkön is not
nescessarily the one referred to by Adam of Bremen. The
above criterias do not really match for Birka at Björkön in Mälaren. The main thing in favour
is the nearby located Sigtuna and Gamla Uppsala.

One possible alternate location is Köpingsvik in the county of Öland in the Baltic Sea, that not only have several remains from the
9th and 11th century, (including a church from the 9th century) but
actually lies 'in a bay to the north into the Baltic Sea'. There
are even findings of stone barriers across the strait (Kalmar strait), to
the north of the old trade town.

14

Uppsala was former called Östra Aros (East
Aros) and this place is in fact historically known from sources older than
the ones that identify Gamla Uppsala. Thus, it is not nescessary
so that the Gamla Uppsala of today was identified by the ancient Ubsola
during the first millenium AD, although the place may have existed in the
days of Snorri.

2The western
mound contained an urn with burned ashes from two humans, and some melted
golden jewelry, apparently worn by the deseased at the time of cremation.
There are no clear evidence of weaponry or the like to suggest a powerful
ruler that matches the otherwise given picture of warfare Sveas.

3Interestingly
enough, this complies with the time of the famous Olof Rudbeck, who
in 1678 presented the most "convincing" evidence for
Scandinavia, and Uppland, being in fact the lost Atlantis, thus having
Scandinavia harboring the whole ancestory of mankind... To say the least,
he was eager to present the proud country of Sweden as well as he ever
could, to the rest of the world.

Discussion on the Götaland theory

It is quite clear that the name 'Uppsala'
is far from uniqely associated with the modern city Uppsala or the ancient
remains in Gamla Uppsala, as found in the background article Modern places aligned with named
ancient locations on Ubsola locations in todays Sweden.

From 700 AD and mainly 800 - 900 AD the town of
Birka at Björkön in the lake Mälaren was surrounded by a
strong settlement of (pre-)viking era Sveas. The big question is whether
they originated in Uppland, or if they originated in the oldest
agricultural areas in Sweden, the Väner area in Västergötland.

Never the less, it remains a fact that very
little evidence exists for Uppsala, Uppland to be the actual location for
the original site of Asa faith ceremonies (the place named Ubsola), prior
to the second millennium AD.

Note 14

Why go to Västergötland if the ancient temple
was located in Uppsala, Uppland?

Why would the first bishop seat in old Sweden
be located anywhere but in, or near, Ubsola?

Note 15

The most part is unreadable, but the
conclusion might mean something like "he brought to sithons";
... hna firthi til sihtunum, to the people, just as well as naming a place
Sigtuna.

Note 16

Possibly these were the true ancestors of
Uppland, later being included or engulfed by the expanding Sweas?

Note 17

Is it possible that, along time, the theory of
Uppsala being located in Uppland has become so monumental that any other
alternatives no longer can be sought?

Note 18

The name Fyrisvallarna is not at all known to
be located near the city of Uppsala prior to this!

When was Ubsola a heathen cult center?

Over the centuries, historians have based much
of their foundations for interpreting the sources upon the recollection of
Adam of Bremen about the heathen cult center called Ubsola. This chapter
will discuss the circumstances for which there are actaul sources to rely
upon, and on how these sources should be interpreted.

Two important contributions to this discussion
are given by Henrik Janson, [Ref. 32], who claims that the people of
the province of Uppland should be considered to be Christian in the days
of Adam, when Adam gives his famous recapitulation of the heathen cult
ceremonies, and Søren Nancke-Krogh, [Ref. 43], who states that their
were Christian people in the ancient North already when the viking area
began in the late 8th century.

Janson builds upon a thorough investigation of
available documentation from the church of Hamburg-Bremen and the pope,
whilst Nancke-Krogh discusses the appearance of Christian stone picture
inscriptions.

Religious cults in ancient Sweden

Were the people of the province of Uppland
already Christian?

It is an apparent fact that the science of religion have been overlooked in the scholaric
interpretations of the heathen cult temple in Ubsola. As Janson puts it,
the modern day rejection in Adams work of an actual temple building in the ancient Ubsola - authors comment; which
not nescessarily always were located in Gamla Uppsala - has not lead to
any questioning regarding whether there was any heathen cult at all
during the mid 11th century3.

Religious cults in Götaland

When discussing the religious cults of
Mälardalen and Uppland, also the religious cults in other parts of ancient
Sweden must be referenced.

Ingemar Nordgren 1999, in his dissertation
[Ref. 45], Goterkällan, finds the alignments between
different references as götar, gutar, geater etc. and not least Goths to
reflect not a people or tribe of people, but a specific religious cult. That is, those referred to as e.g. Götar
in ancient Nordic sources first of all should be interpreted as the people
following that religious cult.

Just as the different interpretations of
Sueones and the like makes a confusing whole, there are not so much clear
references to a land or tribe of Götar prior to the early middleages, when
a coherent state can be identified in ancient Sweden. The interpretation
by Nordgren very well fits the hypothesis of Sueones resembling the
collective reference of people and tribes in ancient Sweden, out of which
some were followers of the religious cult held within the name of Götar.

Conclusions

As of today (2003-09-04), this author has not
drawn any definate conclusions regarding the localization of Ubsola. It is
not easily deducted if there is any bearing for the hypothesis that Ubsola
might have been located at different geographical locations in different
times of history.

But it seems clear that a lot of
taken-for-granted-facts may not actually stand up for a close encounter of
(re)evaluation. It seems plausible that the Svealand theory has been based
over the years on assumptions that, individually, may not hold. This,
however, does not implicate that the theory at large is wrong.

It is quite clear, however, that the name
'Uppsala' is far from uniqely associated with the modern city
Uppsala or the ancient remains in Gamla Uppsala, as found in the reference
article [Ref. 8] Modern places
aligned with named ancient locations on Uppsala locations. In
fact, the Uppland province occurences lies to the northeastmost of the
existing geographical references to Uppsala.

Offical view on the location of Ubsola, ancient
Uppsala

Not much attention have been paid from the
scholars as to whether there could be any bearing in the reflections made
and the arguments raised by the Götaland theory. There are as of today
very little archeological findings to support the idea that Västergötland
should hold the original site of Ubsola.

As of today, the offical view stands unchanged:
Ubsola was located in Uppland.