Liselotte Öhrling

Lödöse is a small community situated a few miles north of Gothenburg in the west of Sweden.
During the Middle Ages it was one of the first and largest cities in Sweden, and today it is one of the richest medieval sites concerning archaeological finds. Most of them are common items from every day life, but after nearly a millennium in the muddy soil, they are not just common anymore. They tell the story of the people who lived before us. Runic messages with warnings, promises of friendship and love give life to the past. Names carved into tools tells us who once used and cherished the items a long time ago.

With over half a million artifacts, Lödöse Museum also holds one of the largest collections of organic materials from medieval Sweden. In this collection there are approximately 1700 registered textile fragments, which makes our medieval textile collection one of the largest in Northern Europe. The textiles date from 1050-1350 and range from coarse packing textile to the finest cloth and silk lining. Amongst these we have 93 pleated fragments dated to 1150-1250, a needle-bound mitten from the 12th century and many other treasures.

All of these finds together tells the story of the past. The story of Medieval life.

Liselotte Öhrling, MA degree in archaeology and museum teacher at Lödöse museum.
She has a great interest in textile history and handicraft, as well as wool and the animals providing it. Liselotte lives on a farm with her family and is lucky enough to have a small herd of domestic sheep (Gestrike). She loves them dearly