Abstract
In the course of the Late Iron Age a centralisation took place of such elements as trade, handicrafts, religious observances and judicial practices within restricted areas and under the control of strong local leaders. This phenomenon is referred to as a central-place and from the archaeological point of view it is characterised as an area within which there occur a number of sites with an unprecedented and rich body of find material.
In parts of Sweden and Norway - and particularly in the central Swedish area - there occur groups of characteristic place-names which have on several occasions been interpreted as linguistic expressions of central-place complexes from the Late Iron Age. Such groups of names are not obvious in the Danish area.
The project Place-names as a source of information about the structure of society in the Late Iron Age is aimed at finding out whether reminiscences of groups of names pointing to a central-place can be observed within the Old Danish area. With starting-point in a graduated material of search words, a number of areas will be investigated where the name material will be studied. These areas will be selected on the basis of one particular name element, namely sal, which is presumed to denote a special building associated with high status environments in the Late Iron Age. Counter tests based on randomly selected geographical areas as well as central-place complexes whose existence has been demonstrated archaeologically will also be necessary. The aim of the project is to make a contribution to aspects of archaeological central-place research and to increase our knowledge of the employment of place-name material as a source of information about the structure of society in the Late Iron Age.| Original language | Danish |
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| Title of host publication | Nordiske navnes centralitet og regionalitet : Rapport fra NORNAs 35. symposium på Bornholm 4.-7. maj 2006 |
| Editors | Birgit Eggert, Bente Holmberg, Bent Jørgensen |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Place of Publication | Uppsala |
| Publisher | Norna-Foerlaget |
| Publication date | 2007 |
| Pages | 19-34 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-91-7276-081-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
| Series | NORNA-Rapporter |
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| Number | 82 |