The purpose of this paper was to identify the elements and the alloys that five objects found in Birka consist of and to examine whether there are any significant differences between the presumably imported and domestic objects. The material was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) which was equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) in order to identify the elements that are present and the alloys that the objects are made of. Then the SEM results were compared with the results of previous analyzes that have been performed on finds from Birka in order to investigate how the objects differ in elemental composition and to find out if there are any significant differences between them. The results showed that the objects? content of the elements analyzed varies as the copper alloys the objects are made of.

De ovala och djurformade skålfibulorna utgör ett komplext och svårtolkat material. Målsättningen med detta arbete har likväl varit att utifrån spännenas utformning och kontext, i och utanför Uppåkra, försöka förstå vilka funktioner de kan tänkas ha fyllt under yngre järnålder. De härstammar från den senare delen av vendeltiden, ca 700-770 e. Kr. och har anförts som föregångare till vikingatidens spännbucklor.