Mikael Larsson
Mikael Larsson currently works at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Lund University where he specializes in archaeobotany. His work includes research, teaching and contract archaeology. Ph.D. in Archaeology at Lund University (2015), previous academic achievements are from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
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revealed from archeobotanical samples and its context evidence of malting in the process to make beer. Carbonized germinated
hulled barley grain (Hordeum vulgare) was recovered from the kiln structure itself and from the surrounding occupational
surface. Located somewhat from the central area of the site, where previous excavations have uncovered hall-buildings, a
ceremonial structure, and several smaller houses, the investigated kiln was situated in an area on the site that is absent of remains
to indicate a living quarter. Activities using kilns have instead primarily been linked to this area and archeological finds are
mainly of charred crops remains. In this paper, we argue that the germination of grain was deliberate and that the kiln was used to
stop the germination process by drying or roasting the grain. If the malting process for large-scale beer production was carried out
at a designated area of the site is discussed, as well as if this activity area was part of a structural organization observed elsewhere
on the settlement.
Iron Age regional centre of Uppåkra and surrounding sites
in southern Sweden has identified a variation in the size of
the grain found on these archaeological sites. Large, highquality
grain was found more frequently at Uppåkra when
compared to sites in the surrounding area, where smaller
grain was more frequent. The observed large grain found
at Uppåkra was, however, restricted to only a few house
contexts, including hall-buildings, while other contexts on
the site, such as areas dedicated to craft production, had
barley assemblages containing smaller grain, similar to
the size range found on the surrounding sites. The intrasite
variation between different contexts at Uppåkra points
to a degree of sorting for larger grain and that this variation
between grain assemblages was the result of selection
after the crop processing was completed. The distribution
of grain size at Uppåkra shows a pattern that indicates that
the high-quality barley grain was indented for specific individuals
or households. The different contexts at Uppåkra
have together produced a record spanning the first millennium
ad, representing almost the whole existence of the site.
The evidence for selection of larger grain can be seen in the
hall-buildings throughout most of the first millennium ad,
although less prominently during the Late Roman Iron Age (ad 200–400), while during the Migration Period (ad 400–
550) several houses on the main site Uppåkra had assemblages
of large grain size. The distribution of grain size at
the regional centre Uppåkra shows a pattern that indicates
that the handling of large high-quality barley grain was part
of a spatial organization, and such organization is similar to
other functions observed on the site. The long-term record
of grain size patterns across time shows that a structure for
handling grain was already in place during the early phase of
the settlement and that it remained for centuries. This study
indicates that the affluence otherwise seen at the regional
centre Uppåkra from an abundance of high-status objects,
could also include agricultural wealth, with extensive access
to high-quality grain.
Scandinavia has been based on analysis of the artefactual record. The starting point has
been artefacts held to be high-status objects deriving chiefly from funerary contexts and, to a lesser degree, from settlement sites.1 Although the existing evidence at Uppåkra, a highstatus settlement site in Scania province, Sweden, comes only from residential contexts, we will address the ongoing debate concerning Roman cultural imports with ecofactual evidence, to consider which aspects of Roman culture were introduced, which parts of Roman society were mediators, and the underlying social reasons for the introduction of the archaeobotanical remains into indigenous Iron Age society.
southern Sweden. These represent the earliest robust evidence so far for hemp retting in Scandinavia.
Finds of seeds, stems and pollen of C. sativa from a waterlogged context on a settlement dating to the
Roman Iron Age demonstrate that the plant was locally cultivated and processed during the 1st–2nd
centuries AD. An introductory phase in Scandinavia is proposed (c. AD 1–400) during which the
cultivation of hemp was apparently small scale and processing was probably carried out within
settlements. In the succeeding centuries, c. AD 400–550 (the Migration Period), remains of hemp are
mostly found in pollen records from lake sediments, and less frequently in the archaeological record. This
could indicate that the process of hemp retting relocated from settlements to lakes shores where activity
became larger in scale and more integrated with the prevailing agricultural system.
(flax) and Camelina sativa (gold of pleasure) were
found at Uppa°kra 2:25, a Roman Iron Age site in Ska°ne,
southern Sweden. The conglomerates showed no mixing
with each other, as they were almost pure flax and gold of
pleasure respectively. Together with other archaeobotanical
data from the site, they provide new evidence on the use,
processing and cultivation of these two plants in early Iron
Age in Scandinavia. Metric analyses were applied to flax
seeds from both conglomerates and other contexts at this
site, and compared to seed assemblages from other Roman
Iron Age sites in Europe. The comparison showed that the
flax cultivation at Uppa°kra 2:25 was intended for the production
of oil-rich seeds. The contextual relationship indicates
that both flax and gold of pleasure seeds were
processed in a similar way and used for oil. Furthermore, the
pure seed conglomerate of gold of pleasure suggests that this
plant was not a weed, but rather an intentionally grown crop
which was cultivated separately from flax.
Books by Mikael Larsson