Et fortidens grenseland – landskap, ferdsel og kulturminner i Løten og Elverum gjennom 10 000 år

Abstract

2.8 ABSTRACT: A PAST BORDERLAND – LANDSCAPES, COMMUNICATION ROUTES AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS OF LØTEN AND ELVERUM IN EASTERN NORWAY The rich soils in the central parts of the region of Hedmarken in the inland region of eastern Norway offer good farming conditions. Meanwhile the neighbouring valley of Østerdalen mainly consists of forested areas which are rich in wild game and iron ore. The Løten and Elverum municipalities form the border between the two regions, and in the article, the archaeological record from this frontier zone is compiled and compared in detail. By applying a longue durée perspective, the authors argue that the differences in natural conditions were essential for a long-lasting, mutual relationship between Hedmarken and Østerdalen. The areas were linked by the roads that were in use during the Iron Age (c. 500 BC–AD 1050), and that were probably established even earlier in prehistory. The farms By in Løten and Åker in the central part of Hedmarken were strategically positioned on lines of communication: both on the road system and on routes using waterways. Their localizations at nodal points for travel is crucial to an understanding of the development of By, and especially of Åker, as places of regional power.