Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600

In this article, we will examine the socio-economic and military landscape of the Early Iron Age (AD 1–600) in the historical county of Vingulmark, which consisted of the area from Eiker in the west to Bohuslän in the east. Our starting point is hillforts, which are usually interpreted as places of...

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Main Authors: Marie Ødegaard, Arild L. Teigen
Format: Article
Language:Norwegian Bokmål
Published: Norsk arkeologisk selskap 2024-11-01
Series:Viking
Online Access:https://journals.uio.no/viking/article/view/11909
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author Marie Ødegaard
Arild L. Teigen
author_facet Marie Ødegaard
Arild L. Teigen
author_sort Marie Ødegaard
collection DOAJ
description In this article, we will examine the socio-economic and military landscape of the Early Iron Age (AD 1–600) in the historical county of Vingulmark, which consisted of the area from Eiker in the west to Bohuslän in the east. Our starting point is hillforts, which are usually interpreted as places of refuge for people in rural areas in times of unrest. In Norway, around 450 hillforts are known, mainly dated to the period AD 200–550. Vingulmark contains 109 of them, thus almost a quarter of the known hillforts. We discuss why there are so many hillforts in Vingulsmark, and the relation between hillforts and central farms / places in Vingulmark. Are the hillforts the result of community solutions in farming communities or was the construction of the hillforts controlled by elites from one or more centres, under threats of coercion? We will assess the hillforts in relation to socio-economic relations, settlement expansion, central farms and central places in a landscape perspective with the application of anarchist theories and collective action theory. Keywords: hillforts, conflict, socio-economic and military organization, communities, leadership
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institution OA Journals
issn 0332-608X
2535-2660
language Norwegian Bokmål
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Norsk arkeologisk selskap
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spelling doaj-art-7584100f91aa470cb20ddbb2ef9004762025-08-20T02:14:34ZnobNorsk arkeologisk selskapViking0332-608X2535-26602024-11-018810.5617/viking.11909Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600Marie Ødegaard0Arild L. Teigen1Museum of Archaeology, University of StavangerØstfold county councilIn this article, we will examine the socio-economic and military landscape of the Early Iron Age (AD 1–600) in the historical county of Vingulmark, which consisted of the area from Eiker in the west to Bohuslän in the east. Our starting point is hillforts, which are usually interpreted as places of refuge for people in rural areas in times of unrest. In Norway, around 450 hillforts are known, mainly dated to the period AD 200–550. Vingulmark contains 109 of them, thus almost a quarter of the known hillforts. We discuss why there are so many hillforts in Vingulsmark, and the relation between hillforts and central farms / places in Vingulmark. Are the hillforts the result of community solutions in farming communities or was the construction of the hillforts controlled by elites from one or more centres, under threats of coercion? We will assess the hillforts in relation to socio-economic relations, settlement expansion, central farms and central places in a landscape perspective with the application of anarchist theories and collective action theory. Keywords: hillforts, conflict, socio-economic and military organization, communities, leadership https://journals.uio.no/viking/article/view/11909
spellingShingle Marie Ødegaard
Arild L. Teigen
Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
Viking
title Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
title_full Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
title_fullStr Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
title_full_unstemmed Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
title_short Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600
title_sort hillforts built by collective action or coercive leadership socio economic and military organization in eastern norway ad 1 600
url https://journals.uio.no/viking/article/view/11909
work_keys_str_mv AT marieødegaard hillfortsbuiltbycollectiveactionorcoerciveleadershipsocioeconomicandmilitaryorganizationineasternnorwayad1600
AT arildlteigen hillfortsbuiltbycollectiveactionorcoerciveleadershipsocioeconomicandmilitaryorganizationineasternnorwayad1600