Från rörligt till rotat : En rumslig och jämförande analys av medeltidens gårdsbebyggelse i norra Västerbottens kustland

Sammanfattning

There is a lack of knowledge concerning medieval settlement in the northern coastal region of the county of Västerbotten in Sweden. Few archaeological investigations have been carried out on medieval settlements in the area. The written records primarily derive from the late 16 th century, when the Middle Ages had already ended. This Bachelor’s thesis examines the development of the sedentary medieval settlements in the coastal area between the river valley of Skellefteälven in the north and the river Rickleån in the south. The analysis concerns the spatial distribution of medieval villages, time of settlement, house morphology and economic base. The aim is to create better understanding of the character of settlement, its emergence and the subsistence strategy of settlement, and to examine the connection between villages, burial cairns and seasonal Bothnian hut foundations along the coast. A field study was conducted at the remains of a presumed medieval house on the outskirts of the village of Nedre Bäck in the northeastern part of the study area, in order to apply the results of the settlement analysis as well as to generate new knowledge about a medieval site in the study area. An interdisciplinary method was used to create a multiproxy analysis, using geographic, geological, archaeological and linguistic data. The results show that the medieval sedentary settlements in the study area were both coherent and incoherent. Building techniques and materials were similar, also in comparison with other parts of northern Sweden and the county of Stockholm. Houses vary in size as well as the organisation of buildings on the settlement sites. Animal husbandry seems to have been the most important subsistence strategy, complemented by cultivation of barley, which may have been a development of earlier economic strategies. Areas with fine-grained sediments appear to have been crucial for settlement, most likely due to the need for meadows and arable fields. Some parts of the study area were most likely settled already during the Late Iron Age, in bays along the coast. During the medieval period, settlement expanded inland. However, it cannot be excluded that land was first settled further away from the coast and that there was a movement towards the coast. So far there is a lack of evidence for such a development apart from Bronze and Iron Age cairns. There may be a connection between medieval villages and the seasonal Bothnian hut foundations found in great concentrations in some areas along the coast. But it has not been made entirely clear who used these huts. The result of the field study concerning the settlement remains in the village of Nedre Bäck suggests that it may be medieval. This is due to the morphology of the house remains, the layout of the yard, its location in the landscape, the absence of settlement on older maps after the Middle Ages and a local tradition of a named settler. However, material dating is needed for a definitive answer regarding the age of the settlement