The horizontal stratigraphy of a medieval hamlet - Mankby in Espoo, Finland

Abstract

The medieval hamlet Mankby in Espoo, Southern Finland, excavated from 2007–2013, has revealed a landscape that reflects the complex development of the region – from the initial Swedish colonization to the emergence of an established medieval village, a village that was abruptly dissolved in 1556, when the freeholding peasants were forced to leave their land to the royal demesne that the Swedish king Gustavus Vasa founded on this spot. This study explores this landscape change, and the different layers in the landscape through analyse of historical maps combined with data from archaeological field work. The land use in the area gives a quite stable impression from the end of the middle ages to the enlightenment, even though a drastic change in the experienced landscape appeared when the demesne took over the land. In contrast, the medieval hamlet period from the 13th to the mid-16th century show shifts in the land use and movements within the toftland that reflects the dynamics of the medieval period and shifts in agricultural technique.

The medieval hamlet Mankby in Espoo, Southern Finland, excavated from 2007–2013, has revealed a landscape that reflects the complex development of the region – from the initial Swedish colonization to the emergence of an established medieval village, a village that was abruptly dissolved in 1556, when the freeholding peasants were forced to leave their land to the royal demesne that the Swedish king Gustavus Vasa founded on this spot. This study explores this landscape change, and the different layers in the landscape through analyse of historical maps combined with data from archaeological field work. The land use in the area gives a quite stable impression from the end of the middle ages to the enlightenment, even though a drastic change in the experienced landscape appeared when the demesne took over the land. In contrast, the medieval hamlet period from the 13th to the mid-16th century show shifts in the land use and movements within the toftland that reflects the dynamics of the medieval period and shifts in agricultural technique.