ABSTRACT
What was the role of central places in Viking-Age Scandinavia? This chapter discusses this question by examining the central places in a historical perspective. They often have a remarkable site continuity with roots in the Roman Iron Age, or slightly earlier, where certain buildings were superimposed – i.e. erected on the same spot – for generations. This speaks in favour of the idea that several of the functions/structures that were there in the early history of the central places were still important in the Viking Age. Therefore, to fully encompass the role of central places it is important to shed light upon both the early group established in the Early Iron Age and the late group that arise in the beginning of the Late Iron Age, in the late sixth to seventh centuries. In this chapter the Roman influences are underlined, and it is argued that these could be the root of the martial functions of the central places.
