Shieling or Something Else?

Iron Age and Medieval Forest Settlement and Land Use at Gammelvallen in Ängersjö, Central Sweden

Authors

  • Marie Emanuelsson Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Ulla Bergquist The Cultural Heritage Unit, County Administration of Västmanland
  • Ulf Segerström Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Eva Svensson Institute of Archaeology, Lund University
  • Henrik von Stedingk Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Abstract

The Gammelvallen site in Ängersjö parish, Hälsingland, was studied by a combination of archaeological and palaeoecological methods in order to examine a preliminary interpretation of the site as a medieval shieling. The archaeological investigation indicates that it was a settlement used seasonally. Pollen analysis, loss-on-ignition and radiocarbon dating of a local peat stratigraphy suggest that the site has been used since the beginning of the Late Iron Age, initially for forest grazing, and during the Middle Ages, for cultivation of cereals as well. These results, taken together with archaeological and palaeoecological studies of Ängersjö village, suggest that Gammelvallen was introduced as a shieling in an integrated farm shieling system at the beginning of Late Iron Age, thus supporting the original interpretation but putting the time of the establishment of Gammelvallen back about 500 years. This paper advocates the strength of interdisciplinary methodology for studies of forest settlement history.

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Published

2001-01-01

Issue

Vol. 6 (2000)

Section

Articles