The Landscape of Archaeology - Högskolan i Kalmar

The Landscape of Archaeology
Charlotte Fabech & Ulf Näsman
Högskolan i Kalmar, Humanvetenskapliga institutionen

Relevant background
Ulf: Archaeology at Uppsala with long tradition of landscape
archaeology.
The Stockholm tradition of historic agrarian geography.
Charlotte: Archaeology at Aarhus with long tradition of
settlement archaeology.
Historic-economic geography at Lund
Result: The spatial studies of Swedish archaeology and historic
geography met the strong Danish settlement archaeology at
Aarhus in the 1980-90ies.

Research projects
1993-1998 Settlement and landscape.
1997-2001: the subproject Regionality in the cultural landscape
at the research centre Changing landscapes.
1998-2003: subproject The agrarian landscape: area use and
regional variation in the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages
in the project Agrar 2000, a part of the research programme
The agrarian landscape in Denmark.

Landskap and bygd
In old Nordic landskap means “the nature/character of nature” and became
later used to signify an administrative unit (provincia) with fixed
borders in the terrain.
In old Swedish bygd is an old self-grown unit of sites, which are
socially bound together and is surrounded by undefined
borderlands.
In Swedish landscape archaeology landskap is an analytical concept
in the present, while “Bygd” is the man-made, settled landscape of
a social unit in the past = Det bebyggda landskapet.
A special meaning in Swedish is: An old political-administrative unit,
e.g. “Öland är ett litet landskap”.

The archaeological chronology in Sweden
compared to the terminology in English and German archaeology.
Periods considered prehistoric are in Italics. Periods considered to be historic are bolded.
Note that the Late Iron Age in England ends at the Birth of Christ
but in Sweden the concept is used for the period c. 400-1100 AD.
Thus the periods of the yngre järnålder in Sweden correspond to the Early Middle Ages in England and to
Frühmittelalter in Germany.
500
f.Kr.
England Iron Age
Early - Late
Kr.f. 400/500
e.Kr.
Roman
period
Early Middle Ages/Dark
Ages
Germany Vorrömische Eisenzeit Römische Kaiserzeit Frühmittelalter
Völkerwanderungs-zeit
Merowingerzeit
Sweden Äldre järnålder Yngre järnålder
Förromersk järnålder Äldre Romersk järnålder
Yngre romersk järnålder
Folkvandringstid
Vendeltid
Vikingatid
1000/1100 1500
e.Kr.
High Medieval period
Late Medieval period
Hochmittelalter
Spätmittelalder
Tidigmedeltid
Högmedeltid
Senmedeltid
un 2002/7

Landscape archaeology
Landscape archaeology is the spatial study of human interaction with other humans
and with ”nature”.
The archaeological landscape is primarily a social scene and the subsistence
production is merely a backdrop.
The landscape is a scene on which historical events “took place” and thus
contributed to its mythical and mental dimensions.
In this way landscape archaeology differs from traditional settlement archaeology
(about dwelling sites and settlement pattern) and from agrarian history (about
agriculture).
It is not an understanding of the landscape in itself or the settlement in itself that is
the aim.
But it is the understanding of the people who made and lived in the landscape.
This means that all archaeological sources are used and that a cross-disciplinary
approach is used (collaboration with history, onomastics, relevant sciences,
etc.).

Settlements = Hoards ++ Graves xx Stray finds Churches
Red symbols are 4th-8th century.
From:Thrane, Henrik 1987. Das Gudme-Problem und die Gudme--Untersuchung.
Frühmittelalterliche Studien 21, 1987: 1-48 & Taf. 1-16.

Brink, Stefan 2004. Mytologiska rum och eskatologiska föreställningar i det vikingatida Norden.
In: Andrén, Anders et al. (ed.) Ordning mot kaos. (Vägar till Midgård 4): 291-316.

Landscape archaeology
Chronological perspective:
synchronic diachronic
evolutionary teleological
retrogressive
Spatial perspective:
global from satellite
superregional from aircraft
regional from helicopter
local from ladder

The famous Dejberg wagons were found
in a bog.
They date to the pre-Roman Iron Age.
An excavated hall in a settlement is
from the Migration period.
Viking Age settlement finds are made
as well. But the settlement is not excavated.
The standing church was built in
the High Middle Ages.
The manor was also high medieval
but has since been discontinued.
From:
Fabech, Charlotte 1997. Slöinge i perspektiv. In:
J. Callmer & E. Rosengren. (eds) "... gick Grendel
att söka det höga huset..." Arkeologiska källor till
aristokratiska miljöer i Skandinavien under
yngre järnalder. Halmstad: 145-160.

Sources of multidisciplinary landscape
studies
Scientific Historical Archaeological
Geography Texts Graves
Geology Maps Hoards
Botany Place names Settlements
Pedology Historic settlement
pattern
Stray finds
= Oral tradition Traces of infrastructure
Natural topography Historic topography Archaeological
topography

Lolland
One of the maps
produced by
Videnskabernes
Selskab ca 1800.
The percentage of forest
per parish based on the
maps of Videnskabernes
Selskab.
Falster
The maps of Videnskabernes selskab show the forests in
Denmark ca 1800 A.D.
The distribution corresponds well to the relation between
open land and forests in the Viking Age as illustrated by
pie charts of pollen analyses.
After Bent Aaby.

Map of bygder in SW Sweden (Halland and Västergötland)
based on the archaeological record and geography.
Dots are find spots of Migration period gold finds.
Stars are the famous gold neck-rings from Köinge, Möne
and Ålleberg.
From:
Fabech, Charlotte 1997. Slöinge i perspektiv. In:
J. Callmer & E. Rosengren. (eds) "... gick Grendel
att söka det höga huset..." Arkeologiska källor till
aristokratiska miljöer i Skandinavien under
yngre järnalder. Halmstad: 145-160.

Finnestorp
Rich finds and place names reveal
that Falbygden in the Migration
period was a central part of
Västergötland

Various landscapes in recent literature
Natural landscape Cultural landscape Agrarian landscape
Meaning landscape Bronze Age landscape Danish landscape
Halland landscape Manorial landscape Heath landscape
Historic landscape Ideological landscape Industrial landscape
Iron Age landscape Maritime landscape Landscape of power
Medieval landscape Mental landscape Commemorative
landscape
Modern landscape Nordic landscape Norwegian landscape
Cultivated landscape Invisible landscape Ornamental landscape
Political landscape Forested landscape Plain landscape
Social landscape Stone Age landscape Sacral landscape
Swedish landscape Traditional landscape Urban landscape

Spatial hierarchies in the social
Territory: Farm
Horizontal
Social
space:
Vertical
Social
space:
Political
space:
Gård
Family
Familj
Thrall
Träl
Head of
family
Familjeöverhuvud
landscape
Village
By
Family line
Ätt
Free
Fri
Village
community
Byråd
Settlement
area
Bygd
Clan
Klan
High-born
Högättad
Thing
Ting
Chiefdom
Hövdingadöme
Tribe
Stam
Princely
family
Furstesläkt
Tribal thing
Stamting
Kingdom
Kungadöme
Realm
Rike
Royal
family
Kungasläkt
Council of
the realm
Riksråd

From: Herschend, Frands 1994. Models of petty rulership: two early settlements in Iceland. Tor 26: 163-191.
Skalagrim was a chieftain, who was
expelled from Norway and settled in
Iceland in the 9th century.
His settlement in Iceland was an ideal
landnam reflecting a Scandinavian way of
thinking about settlement organisation.
Borg was the seat of Skalagrim.
Grim was his foremost shipmate, who
was given a site opposite Borg.
Olaf and Yngvar were important men
invited to settle near Skalagrim.
Six free shipmates were each granted a
farm near Borg.
Two secondary farms were established
further away.
Five production units belonged to Borg
(stockbreeding, salmon fishing, hunting,
iron production).