Birger Nerman (6 October 1888 – 22 August 1971) was a Swedish archaeologist, historian and philologist who specialized in the history and culture of Iron Age Sweden.

In subsequent years, he conducted excavations at Grobiņa and other places, with the aim of investigating relations between Sweden and the eastern Baltic in the Iron Age.

[2] Nerman became a student in philology at Uppsala University in 1907, where he gained his doctorate in 1913 with a dissertation entitled Svärges hedna litteratur (Sweden's Pagan Literature), which was concerned with the Ynglingatal.

This criticism encouraged Nerman to focus more on archaeology rather than philology, although he throughout his remaining career would continue to advocate cooperation between the two disciplines.

By combining philological and archaeological evidence, Nerman sought to gain further insight into the history and culture of Iron Age Sweden.

[1] Combined with his duties at the university, Nerman wrote a number of works on Swedish history intended for a popular audience.

In En utvandring från Gotland och öns införlivande med Sveaväldet (1923) and Det svenska rikets uppkomst (1925), he argued that the Swedes had a powerful state and engaged in extensive colonizing ventures in the eastern Baltic as early as the Vendel Period.

[1] The results of the excavations were published in Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und dem Ostbaltikum in der jüngeren Eisenzeit (1929).

[1] Scandinavian burials examined by Nerman at Grobiņa have been dated to as early as 650 AD, and thus predate the Viking Age.

[1] Nerman was active in organizations working towards the preservation of Sweden's national heritage, serving as the secretary (1929–1939) and chairman (1939–1969) of the Swedish Antiquarian Society [sv].