Indicators for territorial dominion in the North? Interdisciplinary basic research on the early kingdom in Scandinavia: Exemplified by sites with the name of Huseby

• Applicant: Dr. Thorsten Lemm
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: from 2015 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 269833740

The primary aim of the project application is basic research that is meant to lay foundations for future intensified work on the Scandinavian Huseby topic. Although research has been dealing with places by this name in Scandinavia for more than 100 years, the basic research needed to answer more general questions is still missing. Early research has already interpreted Huseby sites as secondary royal farms or manors but so far only some regions of Sweden and Norway have seen studies concerning the positions and surroundings of such places. Due to the name´s uneven distribution over Scandinavia, the sporadic mentions in written sources and the significant archaeological and historical records at some such sites, the Husebyer have been regarded as elements of Late Viking/early medieval royal administration. However, the question has recently arisen of whether there was a consistent Huseby system in each of the three Scandinavian kingdoms; therefore, the need of a more differentiated approach has been emphasized. By gathering information about the positions and surroundings of all Husebyer and by undertaking context analyses on this basis, the present project intends to lay the much needed foundations for future Huseby research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants