Strøby Toftegård: Halls, Hierarchies and Social Dynamics in Late Iron Age and Viking Age Denmark presents and considers the archaeological material from the site of Strøby Toftegård in the eastern part of Zealand, Denmark, where comprehensive excavations took place between 1994 and 2013. The book seeks to qualify the interpretation of Farm 1 as the residence of a magnate from c. AD 650 to c. AD 1000 and of the whole settlement consisting of at least nine farm units as a magnate settlement. This is done by means of a detailed survey and analysis of buildings and features, structures, various groups of objects, and a discussion of the landscape, the social context and the creation of social hierarchies that the site fitted into while it was in use.
Detailed analyses of pits, wells, a latrine, bone material, macrofossils, pollen, the sherds of glass vessels, sherds of windowpanes, beads, jewelry, tools and pottery all substantiate that Farm 1 was something extraordinary. Its inhabitants appear to have had better access to resources, been in charge of certain activities, had access to knowledge that was not available to everyone and, finally, to have been part of larger social and political networks. It is likewise argued that the rest of the settlement was home to the magnate's retinue in the form of, inter alia, mounted warriors. Strøby Toftegård's placement within the hierarchy of power in relation to the other known magnate localities is also discussed. The argument here is that there were close connections between Strøby Toftegård and the royal seat in Lejre, although the material simultaneously indicates that Strøby Toftegård was not quite on the same political level as Lejre.
The interpretation of Strøby Toftegård is considered in relation to the surrounding landscape, place names and other archaeological evidence from excavations and metal-detector surveys. The last chapter is a concluding discussion of those elements within the archaeological material that justify interpreting the settlement at Strøby Toftegård as a magnate settlement, what such an interpretation entails and what questions it raises for future treatment of the archaeological material.
AUTHORS: Anna Severine Beck is a researcher and curator at Museum Southeast Denmark. She was head of the excavations at Strøby Toftegård from 2011 to 2013 and her PhD had a point of departure considering elements of architecture and house biographies of the magnate settlement.
Maja Kildetoft Schultz is an archaeologist and curator at Museum Southeast Denmark. Her research focuses on Viking Age and early medieval settlement archaeology, Viking Age ring fortresses and landscape archaeology.
Jens Ulriksen is Head of the Centre for Viking Age Studies and Head of Research at Museum Southeast Denmark. He completed his PhD on 1st millennium AD landing sites in Denmark in 1997. His research covers a multitude of facets of the Germanic Iron Age, Viking Age, and early medieval Scandinavia.
312 colour plans, drawings, photos, 34 b/w
Edited by:
Anna Severine Beck,
Maja Kildetoft Schultz,
Jens Ulriksen
Imprint: Casemate Publishers
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 280mm,
Width: 216mm,
ISBN: 9798888571491
Pages: 424
Publication Date: 31 December 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Anna Severine Beck, Maja Kildetoft Schultz & Jens Ulriksen 1. Introduction to Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd ÔÇô History, methods and overview Anna Severine Beck, Maja Kildetoft Schultz & Svend ├àge Tornbjerg 2. The settlement at Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd. Structure, dating and development Anna Severine Beck and Maja Kildetoft Schultz 3. Living in, with and around the longhouses at Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd. A biographical approach to longhouses in the Late Iron and Viking Age Anna Severine Beck 4. Pits, wells and the culture layer at Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Maja Kildetoft Schultz 5. Analysis of macrofossils and pollen from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Peter Steen Henriksen & Morten Fischer Mortensen 6. The animal bones from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd ÔÇô feasting and everyday life. Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen 7. Metal finds from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd ÔÇô networks, cult and everyday life Maria Panum Baastrup 8. Minor finds and everyday items from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Maja Kildetoft Schultz 9. The Arabic coins from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Birgitta H├Ñrdh 10. Glass beads and semiprecious stones from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Torben Sode 11. Glass vessels from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Torben Sode 12. Window glass from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Torben Sode 13. Analysis on glass sherds, glass beads and glass slag from Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Bernard Gratuze 14. Landscape and localities in Stevns during the Late Iron Maja Kildetoft Schultz 15. Place names of settlements and fields around Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd Sofie Laurine Albris 16. Ideology and organisation in the landscape of Stevns in the first millennium ÔÇô in light of a comparative discussion of place names and archaeology Sofie Laurine Albris 17. Managing time. Expressing social memory in settlements from the Iron Age and Viking Age Anna Severine Beck 18. Str├©by Tofteg├Ñrd ÔÇô a magnate settlement. Discussion and conclusion Anna Severine Beck, Maja Kildetoft Schultz & Jens Ulriksen List of authors
Anna Severine Beck is a researcher and curator at Museum Southeast Denmark. She was head of the excavations at Str by Tofteg rd from 2011 to 2013 and her PhD had a point of departure considering elements of architecture and house biographies of the magnate settlement. Maja Kildetoft Schultz is an archaeologist and curator at Museum Southeast Denmark. Her research focuses on Viking Age and early medieval settlement archaeology, Viking Age ring fortresses and landscape archaeology. Jens Ulriksen is Head of the Centre for Viking Age Studies and Head of Research at Museum Southeast Denmark. He completed his PhD on 1st millennium AD landing sites in Denmark in 1997. His research covers a multitude of facets of the Germanic Iron Age, Viking Age, and early medieval Scandinavia.
