Gamla Uppsala – structural development of a centre in Middle Sweden

Abstract

Gamla Uppsala – structural development of a centre in Middle Sweden

This article is a result of settlement investigations in Gamla (»Old«) Uppsala, which have been carried out regularly over the past 20 years. The material can be divided into two chronological and spatial groups. In the peripheral parts of the historical village several large settlements, mainly dated to the Early Iron Age, have been investigated. In the central area quite many excavations have been made of Late Iron Age and medieval remains. But these are usually small and scattered. By compiling a large number of large and small excavations, accumulated over the years, we may gain a coherent view of Gamla Uppsala’s settlement development from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. The establishment of monumental edifices – such as the Uppsala Mounds, great halls on artificial terraces and the cathedral from the 12th century – can progressively be related to changes in the settlement structure. Moreover, traces of metal craft increase continuously, and seem to be present over vast areas. More and more, Gamla Uppsala emerges as a place of cult, as a central farmstead with royal connections and as a large village. Gamla Uppsala can now be characterized as something resembling a proto-urban site in the Viking Age. However, interestingly enough, the site is located in a completely different geographical environment to early coastal towns such as Birka and Sigtuna. What can be said for certain is that the Late Iron Age society in Gamla Uppsala is something entirely different from the large peasant village
we meet in late medieval and post-reformation phases.