Uppåkra - Research on a Central Place. Recent Excavations and Results

Since it was identified in the 1930s, Uppakra has occupied a special position among Iron Age sites in southern Sweden. As a result of the investigations that have been going on since 1996, its position as a large and longlasting settlement has been further emphasized. Since it has been possible to establish by means of corings, metal detector surveys and small-scale excavations that the habitation site was extensive, an important question has been how the initial stage was structured and whether this and later stages were shaped by planned expansion or whether settlement grew and changed shape with no direct control. Since 1999 there have been major excavations, and an area in the centre of the site has been selected for continued excavations since it had great potential for the study of an elite area during long, continuous settlement. The 2001 excavation uncovered remains of several houses, one of which was particularly well preserved as a floor surface bounded by a wall trench. Finds inside the house, in the postholes and in the wall trench, including deposits of a beaker and a glass bowl of unusual shape, indicate that activities of a ceremonial character were carried on. The house probably dates to the 6th century, and there are observations suggesting that it has several predecessors. Lars Larsson, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Sandgatan 1, SE-223 50 Lund, e-mail: Lars.Larsson@ark.lu.se