The Asine Collection
Between 1922 and 1930, a Swedish expedition, led by A.W. Persson and O. Frödin, excavated the settlement of Asine in the Peloponnese. Excavations began in the spring of 1922 and continued in the autumn of the same year. During the autumn, the Swedish Crown Prince, later to be King Gustaf VI Adolf, participated in the excavations. In addition to the two dig seasons in 1922, there were also excavations during the springs of 1924, 1926 and 1930.
The earlier excavations in Asine focused on the city's acropolis and its northwest slope, the so-called lower city. During four months of 1926, several thousand square meters of the lower town were cleared, with up to 50 people paticipating in the work. It is the material from this excavation that is preserved today in the Asine Collection at Gustavianum.
The Collection is the result of an exchange between Sweden and Greece and includes ceramics from early Helladic to Hellenistic and Roman times, clay bricks, animal and human bone material, shells, and glass and metal objects. Gustavianum cares for the largest and most complete group of finds from the excavations at Asine, making the Asine Collection unique.
The Asine collection is part of a project where Uppsala University collaborates with the Swedish institutes in Athens, Rome and Istanbul to create a research platform for digitized archaeological collections and archives. The platform is called Mötesplats Medelhavet and was financed by funds from the Riksbank's Jubilee Fund.
Chamber grave 1 under excavation. Gustaf Adolf, unknown woman, Axel W. Persson and Axel Hallin. Photo: Asine collection, Gustavianum.
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View of Asine's castle rock. Photo: Asine collection, Gustavianum.
Necklace of glass and stone beads. ca. 1400–1300 BC. Finds from chamber tomb 1 at Asine.
Geometric skyphos (deep drinking goblet) with bird decoration. ca. 750 BC. Find from Asine.
Fragment of a black-figure kylix. ca. 550 BC. Find from Asine.
Want to know more about the collection?
As a private individual, you can access the objects in our collections in various ways. Look out for our events, visit the Gustavianum's various exhibitions or search for the objects on the digital platform Alvin. If you have specific questions, you can contact our antiquarians for each collection.