Gjellestad: a newly discovered 'central place' in south-east Norway. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gustavsen, Lars; Gjesvold, Per Erik; Gundersen, Sigrid Mannsåker; Hinterleitner, Alois; Nau, Erich; Paasche, Knut
• Is Part Of: Antiquity. Volume 94:Number 378(2020)
• Page Start: 1520
• Page End: 1537
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Scandinavia, -- Iron Age, -- Viking Age, -- central places, -- ship burial, -- hall buildings; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Antiquities -- Periodicals; 930.05
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2020.39
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-598X

Abstract

Abstract: Abstract : The Late Nordic Iron Age (AD 550–1050) was characterised by significant change in political, military, judicial and religious structures across Scandinavia, most clearly manifested in the appearance of high-status 'central places' in the landscape. Recent ground-penetrating radar surveys at Gjellestad in Norway have revealed a site comprising several large burial mounds—one of which contains a ship burial—in addition to a possible cult house and a feasting hall. This combination of features suggests that Gjellestad was part of a hitherto unknown central place on the eastern shores of the Oslofjord. If correct, the authors' interpretations demonstrate that the layouts of these sites were formulaic, and that central places may be more common than previously thought.