Circular Ditches: Graves or Huts?

A Short Presentation and Interpretation of a Complex Monument Typ.

Abstract

During the summer of 2001, a settlement complex at Lockarp, just east of Malmö, was investigated. Of particular interest were the remains of three circular ditches that were discovered adjoining an area, Fosie, where two remains of the same type were discovered during an investigation in 1997. These ditches were interpreted as remains of a rypically Danish grave form known as tuegrave.This article attempts to shed light on the problem of interpreting these features where neither mound nor burial was found during the excavation. A further problem is posed by the resemblance of the feature type to wall ditches associated with huts. By comparing the ditches from Lockarp and Fosie with remains interpreted as huts as well as with the Danish tuegrave and graves in Scania, we have attempted to show that the interpretation of these circular ditches is far from self-evident. It is our hope that this article will spark a debate around not merely about how we interpret a certain type of archaeological remain, but also how we can best work with the material which already exists.