Wikander, basing his argument on the constantly increasing archaeological evidence for ancient watermills, makes a case for the breakthrough of watermilling occurring much earlier than previously thought, possibly already in the first century A.D. The wide distribution of watermill sites indicates that this labour-saving technology was adopted throughout the empire and must have had a significant impact on the late Roman economy. The relative lack of ancient written evidence compared to the medieval period is rather due to the general urban focus of ancient authors, while the watermill was primarily a rural phenomenon. Wikander's studies of ancient architectural terracottas are focused around the development of tiled roofs in Archaic Etruria. By detailed publications of the entire tile material from some of the most important sites, he has been able to present a general systematization of the early typological development in the area, together with a description of its basic technological prerequisites. He is also working on the publication of parts of the monumental zone at Acquarossa. Wikander's prosopographical studies of senators and equites aim at a better understanding of the connections – economic and other – between the two leading classes of the Roman Republic. His basic hypothesis is that these contacts, often confirmed by marriage alliances, were far closer than generally acknowledged. Together with his late wife Charlotte, Wikander has put in order the notes and documents concerning Etruscan inscriptions assembled by Olof August Danielsson during his preparations for the Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum between 1886 and 1933. One substantial result of this work has been the publication of addenda and corrigenda to CIE II,1,4.
Selected publications
Caius Hostilius Mancinus and the Foedus Numantium, Opuscula Romana, Vol. 11, 1976, pp. 85–104
Vattenmöllor och möllare i det romerska riket, Lund 1980
Architectural Terracottas from San Giovenale, Opuscula Romana, Vol. 13, 1981, pp. 69–89
Two Etruscan Thymiataria in the Vom Beskow Collection, Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin, Vol. 18, 1983, pp. 45–67
Exploitation of Water-power or Technological Stagnation? A Reappraisal of the Productive Forces in the Roman Empire, Scripta Minora Regiae Societatis Humaniorum Litterarum Lundensis, No. 3, 1983–1984,
Senators and Equites I–VIII, Opuscula Romana, Vols. 15–26, 1985–2001
Acquarossa VI, The Roof-tiles. Part 1: Catalogue and Architectural Context; Part 2: Typology and Technical Features, Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Rom, 4º, 38.6,1–2, Stockholm 1986, 1993,
Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Leiden: Brill, 2000, pp. ix–xi, 371–410, 607–630, 649–660, 703–741,
Etruscan Inscriptions from the Collections of Olof August Danielsson, Medelhavsmuseet Memoir, Vol. 10, Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 2003,
