"From Sweden, hitchhiking, six students belonging to the Varnamo Institute arrived to Alicante to carry out archaeological research in Guardamar del Segura, under the direction of their compatriot, Miss Solveig Nordstrom." This is what the report from the Cifra agency published by La Vanguardia on July 6, 1960 said.
"These students," the text continued, "have established their camp on a farm near Guardamar; there they cook and take care of their own needs." But what was so special about that student adventure of some young Nordic people in the then exotic Spain to be highlighted on page 5 of a national newspaper, the same page that opened the arrival to Spain of the then Argentine president, Dr. Frondizi?
The answer was highlighted in the headline - "Important archaeological discovery in Guardamar del Segura" - and was explained in the body of the news: "So far, according to statements by Miss Solveig Nordstrom, they have found a wall, very well built, "which measures about fifty meters. Pieces of Greek, Iberian and Carthaginian ceramics have been found attached to the wall, probably coming from the second invasion of the Carthaginians."
In addition, the text continued, "other objects have also been found, such as a vessel, considered unique and whose archaeological value is exceptional, and a sandstone plaque, with two enormous front claws of a lion, probably these from a large Iberian sculpture. -Carthaginian".
With more space and greater propensity for topics, the local press did not let the story escape. The newspaper Información titled a full-page report "The 'Vikings' arrived in Guardamar: coming from Sweden, they hitchhiked." Christer Holmberg, Arn Svensson, Igmar Carlson, Clas Jarmen, Lars Hjoorth and Ake Myrrel had been Nordström's students at the Stockholm high school where she - who spoke 13 languages - taught Latin.
As is well known in Alicante, the archaeologist would go down in local history for an event that occurred at the entrance to the Roman ruins of Lucentum, near the popular beach of La Albufereta. Upon learning that the archaeological site was going to be razed by excavators, in the middle of the era of tourist development that populated the coast with apartment blocks, according to the lawyer Jaume Pomares, who was in charge of notifying the embassies and the foreign press , lay down in front of the excavators, blocking their path.
That gesture, and his extensive research work under the guidance of his teacher, José Lafuente Vidal, were recognized years later in a tribute ceremony at the inauguration of the park that today bears his name behind the site whose disappearance he prevented.
We must place ourselves in the context of Franco's Spain, where the presence of women was exceptional at the University, they could not work without the express permission of their husband, tourism was still incipient and Sweden was a remote country that very few Spaniards had ever visited. stepped on.
Hence, a group of students who slept in straw bags on a farm, in a town of barely 4,500 residents, a quarter as many as now, and spent hours digging under the harsh summer sun under the orders of a tall blonde woman, turned out to be a interesting novelty. Especially because, as she said years later, due to the lack of resources to buy a wheelbarrow, she and her Swedish students dedicated themselves to dancing and singing in bars to earn enough money.
It is no longer possible to speak with Solveig Nordström, who died three years ago, but her memory of those days is recorded in an interview published by the archeology magazine of the University of Alicante Dama: "they were Swedes," the archaeologist said of her students , "they had the habit of living a comfortable life and they had to live there in the countryside and of course, I didn't have the money to find them a hotel, but I found an old warehouse there so they could sleep."
But of course, he explained, "they couldn't sleep on the floor! I went to buy fabrics with which to sew mattresses, but since I didn't have enough money, the seller gave them to me, and I filled them with straw. Shortly after, they became sick and I started to be afraid. In particular, one had a red whole body and a lot of itching. We went to one of Don José Lafuente's sons, who was a doctor, and he told us: "It's a bug, you have bugs in your mattresses. "It's not a disease, it's bugs. You can't live like that!"
At the end of the summer, the young people returned to Sweden. They did not dedicate themselves to archaeology, but the experience of those days would remain in their memory while her teacher continued her work in Alicante. His "heroic" gesture before the excavators in Lucentum may have overshadowed his numerous works and publications, his studies on Iberian ceramics and his contribution to the knowledge of the ancient history and archeology of this territory that he adopted as his home, with works published such as The Carthaginians on the Alicante coast.
The journalist José Vidal, author of the report on "the Vikings" that we have mentioned, wrote about her: “She works tirelessly. During the excavations she grabs the pickaxe and the hours don't last. It turns out incredible. Her enthusiasm sustains her and her way of life. "She doesn't drink or smoke, eating only fruit and vegetables, milk and a variety of cheeses." In this ending year, 100 years have passed since the birth of this exceptional woman.
