Götaland theory

The Götaland theory (or "Westrogothian School", Swedish Västgötaskolan) is a local patriotic view which challenges established history and archaeology, and claims that the foundation of Sweden occurred not (as traditionally assumed) in Eastern Sweden, but in the province of Westrogothia (Västergötland). The adherents of this idea use wide-ranging methods from controversial ones such as dowsing and asking mediums to contact the dead, to less controversial ones such as etymology, but also claim that the established academic material consists of lies and forgeries. Although well known in Sweden and fervently preached by its adherents, it has never been accepted by scholars.

The Götaland theory was the only notable result of the Nazi infiltration of Swedish archaeology during 1933–1945. Carl-Otto Fast, founder of the Westrogothian School ("Västgötaskolan"), was a notorious Nazi who collaborated with SS Ahnenerbe, Richard Walther Darré and eugenicists from Hadamar in Germany. The idea that the cradle of the Germanic culture and society was located in Västergötland, became an indisputable dogma in Nazi Germany. Archaeologist Magnus Alkarp, who has studied classified and semi-classified documents from the post-war era, has showed that the Westrogothian School (among other regional, right-wing separatists movements in Scandinavia) was an important part of the Operation Gladio.

Several times, laymen have unsuccessfully tried to prove what they consider important aspects of the Götaland theory. The barrow at Skalunda was thus claimed to be the burial site of the hero Beowulf known from the Beowulf epic; by applying the dowsing technique with a pendulum, they established that the barrow was indeed the burial site of this Geatish hero. Later, professional archaeologists drilled into the barrow to extract a sample for C14 dating. The barrow was from around 700 A.D., about 150 years too late for being a candidate for Beowulf's burial site.

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