The 1970s are characterized by a very marked expansion of urban archaeology. A large number of archaeological finds were collected and are now stored in museums all over the country.When the project The Medieval town started in 1976 the intention was to devote comparatively large space in the reports of the respective towns to the treatment of this material. This has, however, not been realized. The main reason why the archaeolocigal finds have not been dealt with to the extent which was originally planned, is their inaccessability. The finds from large urban excavations which are important for future research have often not been worked through and published. This makes it very difficult to make full use of the material. We should, however, like to draw attention to the fact that there exists today an archaeological material of finds which as regards quantity, quality, and geographical distribution could materially increase our knowledge of the medieval towns in Sweden.
In 1980 an attempt was made by the proiect The Medieval Town to see to which extent limited work on single categories of objects could contribute towards an answer to specific questions. The selection of object categories and methods was made on the basis of questions concerning the early urbanization of Central Sweden. The wide distribution of the archaeological finds made possible comparisons to elicit similarities and differences between towns and excavated sites. The present study of finds should also be seen as an attempt to discover methods for dealing summarily with finds in such a way that on the basis of the questions posed, tendencies would emerge that could motivate further studies.
The finds included in this study have come from most of the large archaeological excavations which took place in Central Sweden in the 1970s, altogether 15 in number. The following seven towns are represented: Enköping, Lödöse, Nyköping, Söderköping, Uppsala, Visby, and Örebro. The three categories of finds which have been chosen as best suited for this study are medieval pottery, combs, and shoes.
The find study comprises a total number of 12 200 potsherds, 113 classified combs, and 965 classified shoes. In order to make it possible to deal with the material, the respective objects were classified according to rather rough criteria. Then followed a listing of the objects related to class and strata, 1, 2, 3 etc where the lowest figure represents the bottom layer. In additions to the tables the material is also accounted for in histograms where the reciprocal relations between the three different find categories are more clearly shown. A preliminary dating has also been included.
The prerequisite condition for this mode of work is that all the finds are related to specific strata. To present a tabular account of the finds is a method which corresponds completely with the aim of the find study which is largely based on comparative studies between different materials and towns. Detailed studies have also in certain cases been made of the different find categories.
Emphasis is laid on a comparison between finds from sites with a well documented 12th century archaeological material, that is places like Lödöse, Söderköping, Visby, and to some extent Nyköping. What finds have been collected from the different places during thes pre-urban stage? Is it possible to obtain information from the finds as regards the function of the place and the stage of development it had reached in the 12th century?
A large part of the find report deals with archaeological material from the transition period between the 12th and the 13th centuries. In Lödöse, Söderköping, and Visby it has been possible to establish for this period the occurrence of a change, that is an expansion of the settlement. What are the reasons for this expansion? How is this change reflected in the finds from the respective towns?
The work carried out within the project on the Central Swedish towns has confirmed the importance of the 13th century with regard to the foundation of towns. For this reason the study has been concentrated on the ways in which the finds can throw more light on different aspects of the urbanizing process, its prerequisite conditions, completion, and possible regional differences. Apart from elucidating these questions the material can be used to outline the development of the settlement in the respektive towns. In the course of the work it became evident that it is of vital importance to make the archaeological finds from Central Sweden accessible. It is of importance for continued archaeological work and for research concerning the rise and development of the towns.
The introductory chapter (Chapter 1) which deals with background (1.1), aim (1.2), extent (1.3), and method (1.4) is followed by a short presentation of the towns represented. This is done in order to make it possible to see the different investigations in their context. The brief descriptions of the towns include first of all the earliest written reference, the importance and function of the town etc and are based on the ref>orts on the respective town. Each description is accompanied by a modern town plan where all archaeological observations and extant medieval buildings have been marked. The investigation dealt with in the report on the finds have been marked in green.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 contain an account ot the three find categories: pottery (Chapter 3), combs (Chapter 4), and shoes (Chapter 5). Each town and investigation is presented in succession. The different materials are accounted for in tabular form as well as in illustrations accompanied by comments. The chapter on pottery begins with a presentation of the classification system used. By and large it follows Dagmar Selling's ABC-system, first published in Wikingerzeitliche und frühmittelalterliche Keramik in Sweden, 1955. Al coresponds to so called early western European black pottery. All to Vendish pottery, Bl to so called late black pottery, Bll to white-and red-fired earthenware, C to stoneware. From these main groups have been chosen sub-groups important for this study and the pottery has been divided into 15 classes in all. To the tables belong histograms from which the relationship between the different classes of pottery emerges more easily. A sparse hatching has been used where the sherds are 1 - 9 in number and a closer one for 10 - 19 sherds. The black colour stands for twenty of more potsherds. As well as a classification of the material, certain detailed studies have been made. With regard to A-and Bl-pottery all the different shapes of rims and decorations are recorded and in the case of large finds stratigraphically. Detailed studies have also been made of the decoration of Bll: 1-pottery, This means that all variations of ornaments are illustrated. Combs and shoes are accounted for in the same way, that is both in numerical tables and histograms, There are only differences in the hatching of the staples. As regards combs sparse hatching means 1 comb, 2 - 4 combs have been more closely hatched, and numbers exceeding four are marked in black. In the case of shoes sparse hatching stands for 1 - 4 shoes, closer hatching for 5 - 9, and black any exceeding number of shoes. For both these find categories all existing variations in shape are illustrated. At the end of each chapter the material from Lödöse is dealt with. Combs and shoes from here have been classified according to the principles used elsewhere in this study. The classification used in the present study has, however, not been followed when dealing with pottery, as the Lödöse material has been previously catalogued according to another but similar system. The system used for classifying the Lödöse pottery is presented in figure 39. To the system belongs a "key" which facilitates a comparison between the two systems.
Chapter 6 contains an analysis. By way of introduction chapters 3, 4, and 5, dealing respectively with pottery, combs, and shoes, are summarized. Apart from the descriptive introduction, the analysis is largely devoted to comparative datting. Chapters 6.3 and 6.4 compare the periods when different types of pottery, combs, and shoes occur in the different towns. This is done on the one hand for the Central Swedish region represented by Enköping, Nyköping, Söderköping, Uppsala, and Urebro, and on the other for material from Eastern and Western Sweden. Western Sweden is represented by Lödöse and Oslo, Eastern Sweden by Söderköping and Visby. The discussion concerning the dating is carried out on the basis of diagrams which show within which periods the different classes of obiects occur in the respective towns (figures 85 - 90).
The aim in the study of the finds has been to try and see to which extent archaeological finds can be used to elucidate an historical process, in this case the early urbanization of Central Sweden. In chapter 6.5 an attempt is made to summarize the prerequisite conditions for the growth of the regional centres and in chapter 6.6 we discuss how the completion of urbanization can be studied in more detail by means of the archaeological finds.
In the work on the finds other aspects on the material have come to light. Differences mainly as regards pottery have led to a discussion about coastal versus inland towns and whether the towns had different contacts. The internal structure of the towns is dealt with in two chapters. In chapter 6.8 general topographicahl conditions are discussed with an emphasis on the development of the settlement in two towns, Söderköping and Uppsala. Chapters 6.9 deals with the crafts which had important functions in the medieval towns. The medieval crafts are best represented in the material from Lödöse but an attempt is made to compare it with corresponding conditions in Söderköping.
The concluding chapter 6.10 presents views on future work where the necessity for work on the archaeological finds is emphasised.