Research

Here you can find information about our research activities and collections. Researchers, students, and other interested parties are welcome to contact us with any questions.

Research and development

The Swedish History Museum is part of the government agency National Historical Museums, and all our research is coordinated by its central Department of Collections and Research.

To the agency's website

Two researchers working at the museum. — Photo: Katarina Nimmervoll, The Swedish History Museum/SHM

The collections

The Swedish History Museum’s collections include around 10 million objects and 111 tons of osteological material.

About the collections

Objects in the museum's collections. — Photo: Ola Myrin, The Swedish History Museum/SHM, CC-BY 4.0.

Collection visits

Would you like to study objects or visit our collections? You are welcome to contact our Collections and Research Department.

Email: samlingar@historiska.se

Museum staff opening a display case to examine an object. — Photo: Amina Dahlab, The Swedish History Museum/SHM

Loans from the collections

The National Historical Museums manage a significant number of loans from the collections to exhibitions in Sweden and around the world.

Loans policy at the agency's website

Helgöbuddhan in a box. — Photo: Katarina Nimmervoll, The Swedish History Museum/SHM

I found an artefact or object, who should I contact?

We do not perform valuations of historical artefacts. Nor do we issue certificates of authenticity. If you have found an old artefact or want to donate an item to the museum collections, you can contact our Department of Collections and Research.

Contact details at the agency's website

Research portal: Birka (Swedish)

Explore Viking Age Birka on Björkö and Hovgården on Adelsö. On the Birka Portal, you’ll find collected information for researchers and history enthusiasts. The portal is in Swedish.

Research portal: Alvastra pile dwelling (English)

Between 2015 and 2019, the archaeological material from the Alvastra pile dwelling was digitised. The result is a digital resource containing documentation from the excavations. The portal is in English.