Introduction: The town of Ystad has been dealt with previously in a report published by the project The Medieval Town. The report included a survey of the archaeological situation within the boundaries of the medieval town and an analysis of the topography, the street system and the development of the built-up area. It contained no detailed analysis of the factors behind the rise of the town. The intention was to save this part for an extended study of the hinterland.
Most of the Scanian towns which developed along the coast in the 13th century appear to have shared similar geographical and economical conditions and the existence of a borough in the surrounding countryside. It is possible that a study of the hinterland of one such town and the adjoining countryside can elucidate at least some general trends in the growth of several of these towns.
With regard to Scanian conditions generally, the Ystad region is comparatively well suited for a study of the hinterland as it comprises:
1. a geographically well delimited countryside (a central territory) within the larger region of south-Scania.
2. by Scanian standards a comparatively large number of recorded prehistoric monuments, including runic stones, which also indicate a delimited countryside in prehistoric times.
3. a rich material from archaeological excavations.
4. research in progress and a recently started (July 1st, 1982) interdepartemental research project at Lund University: "The Ystad Project - changes in the South Swedish cultural landscape during 6000 years".
The fact that the Ystad project will deal with the same geographical region as the present study of the hinterland, makes this a convenient opportunity to summarize the information which has been collected previously, on the one hand through the excavations carried out by the regional branch (UV-Syd) of the Central Board of National Antiquities (Riksantikvarieämbetet) and on the other through the surveys made in connection with the project The Medieval Town.
The aim of the present study of the hinterland is:
a) to present a detailed analysis of the factors behind the development of the town of Ystad.
b) to establish a base for the Ystad project and use this to present certain problems for continued research in the region.
The study of the hinterland is to a certain extent presented in a way which is similar to that of the reports on the towns, containing an introductory presentation of the background and a concluding analysis. The part inbetween, concerned with the collection of data, is left out here but several sources of information are presented in the analytical part, including a series of maps showing the known prehistoric remains from different periods (figs 21, 23, 24, 31, 35, 46).
As in the case of the town reports the presentation is concluded by giving a perspective on future research as well as other kinds of archaeological and historical activity in the Ystad region. [...]
Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet och Statens historiska museer , 1983. , p. 134