Settlement and landscape around Uppåkra, Scania: 500 BC–AD 1050 : An analytical synthesis

This dissertation discusses various issues relating to Iron Age settlements in the area around the central place of Uppåkra. Most of the sites have been excavated by contract archaeology. The discussion begins with a presentation of the material from the houses in the settlements, detailing the different construction types and discussing the functions and chronological aspects of the houses. The discussion then moves on to farmsteads in the area, considering their size, composition, structure, and long-term changes. Early Pre-Roman Iron Age farmsteads often consist of just one small building and have a short lifespan. From the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age/Early Roman Iron Age onwards, farms became more varied in size and number of houses. Finally, the settlements are analysed at village level. This analysis reveals that the Iron Age villages around Uppåkra are unregulated, with irregularly scattered farms placed at various distances from each other. This structure resembles that of Ölandic Iron Age villages. The villages consist of farms of various sizes. There always seems to be one larger farm in the villages, except in the early parts of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Viking Age. The settlement pattern of the Uppåkra area is then analysed. Change over the long term is analysed in terms of mobility/stationarity, continuity/discontinuity, and dispersion/concentration. The dissertation then proceeds to study the area's building intensity. It is suggested that the results reflect the area's demographics and productivity over the long term. The final section discusses the economic base of Uppåkra. Firstly, agrarian production in the area is examined. Secondly, the other types of production and their relationship with agrarian production are investigated. Thirdly, the economic relationships between the settlements in the surrounding landscape are examined. The building intensity in the area increased sharply in the centuries before the Common Era, resulting in denser settlement landscapes. This coincides with Uppåkra's emergence as a major site. Building intensity peaks during the Migration Period, but a sharp and distinct downturn is visible around AD 540. The steady decline in the number of known settlements in the area during the Late Iron Age is probably illusory. This reflects the prolonged relocation of farmsteads to the locations where the historical villages would later become permanent, as shown on 18th- and 19th-century cadastral maps.From the point of view of the settlement record in the surroundings, the downfall of Uppåkra does not appear to have had internal causes. However, the slow process of restructuring the settlements during the Late Iron Age, especially compared to those of their southern neighbours, suggests that the leaders at Uppåkra were slow to adapt to a changing world.Overall, this study reveals a rich and densely populated area around Uppåkra from the Early Roman Iron Age onwards. It was a central district. The emergence and rise of Uppåkra is considered to be related to the expansion of settlements in the surrounding area. The surrounding area was populous and wealthy, making Uppåkra a wealthy and important place that benefited the local elite and the people. Uppåkra and its surroundings were interdependent