Symposium: Visby 1361 Revisited
- Date
- 8 November 2025, 10:00–15:00
- Location
- Campus Gotland, Sävesalen, Gotlands museum, Strandgatan 14
- Type
- Conference
- Organiser
- Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation
- Contact person
- Patrick Randolph-Quinney
Welcome to a one-day symposium on new research on the Battle of Visby and the mass graves from Korsbetningen.
Gotlands Museum will host a one-day symposium which will highlight some of the new research being undertaken on the Danish invasion of 1361, the Battles of Mästerby & Visby, and the victims of armed conflict buried at Korsbetningen. We will discuss new insights into the history of the battle and events leading up to it, and breathe life back into the bodies of the victims. We will talk about how we can reconstruct who was buried at Korsbetningen, how they died, and why the bodies were buried in mass graves – with many victims still dressed in their armour.
Free admission. Limited seating (100 places). No advance registration—first come, first served. The event is open to all.
SCHEDULE
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome and introductions – Pat Randolph-Quinney, Associate Professor at Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation
Session 1 (talks in Swedish)
10:15 – 10:30 Historical context of the Danish invasion. Mikael Norrby, Communications Division (Uppsala University)
10:30 – 10:45 The Battle of Mästerby. Maria Lingström, Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology
10:45 – 11:00 The great Ringmur of Visby. Christoph Kilger, Associate Professor at Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation (Uppsala University)
11:00 – 11:15 Q&A panel discussion
COFFEE BREAK
Session 2 (talks in English)
11:45 – 12:00 The grim reality of medieval warfare. Tony Pollard, Professor (University of Glasgow)
12:00 – 12:15 The bioarchaeology of battle trauma. Jo Buckberry, Associate Professor (University of Bradford)
12:15 – 12:30 Treatment and burial of the dead. Pat Randolph-Quinney, Associate Professor at Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation (Uppsala University)
12:30– 12:45 Q&A panel discussion
LUNCH
Session 3 (talks in Swedish)
13:30 – 13:45 Who was buried at Korsbetningen? What ancient DNA can tell us. Anders Götherström, professor at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies (Stockholm University)
14:00 – 14:15 Crossbows or clubs? The experimental archaeology of 1361 battle trauma. Ronja Bågling, archaeologist
14:15 – 14:30 Remaking the weapons of mass destruction. Peter Johnsson (Swordsmith)
14:30 – 14:45 What next for 1361? Thomas Njeiman, PhD student at the Department of History (Stockholm University)
14:45 – 15:00 Q&A panel discussion
The Visby 1361 research project has been supported by DBW Stiftelsen.
