THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW TOWN IN NO MAN‘S LAND: A CASE STUDY OF ENKÖPING IN CENTRAL SWEDEN
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 02/12/2020

The town Enköping was founded during the late 11th century in a place that lack previous indication of having central place function or the place of high ranking settlements. The distribution of large burial mounds, early churches, place name indicating centrality and the concentration of prehistoric cemeteries indicate that the town was founded on a new place in the social landscape, in a place between several magnate farms and on the border between two administrative districts. At the time of the foundation of Enköping the Swedish Crown had a weak position with regional limited power and it is not likely that the town was founded by the King. Later, during the 12th century, the town was an important place for the church in the province of Uppland. However, the church establishment seems to have been preceded by the laying of regulated urban settlement with long, narrow plots related to a market street. We suggest, as an alternative, that the earliest urbanization in Enköping was the result of a need for a marketplace for the local aristocracy. We also want to emphasize the importance of identifying several periods and processes of urbanization in the Middle Ages, thus not seeing urbanization as a linear process. Early urbanization may differ from recent developments with different groups that driving change. The starting point of this study is a recent conducted and extensive archaeological excavation in the medieval town of Enköping. We want to investigate, on a micro level, how these remains can provide a perspective on the earliest urbanization. Who were the people that moved into the first households? How and when does an urban identity emerge? What type of interactions did the people of Enköping have with the rest of Sweden and Europe in the oldest phases of the town?


Author(s): Lagerstedt, Anna - Gustafsson, Stefan (Arkeologikonsult)