Mora Stones: site of royal inauguration, assembly and cult

The project involves an archeological landscape study of the assembly and royal inauguration site at Mora äng in Uppland, north of Stockholm. Mora is mentioned as a royal inauguration site from the late 13th century to the 15th century in various sources, as well as in carved stones at the site. The earliest reference is found in Erikskrönikan (Eric’s Chronicle, which recounts that Magnus Ladulås was elected king here in 1275.

Assembly sites were always located at key places in the landscape, often where several major roads and waterways met, so that the place could be easily reached by people throughout the surrounding area. Mora äng displays typical assembly site features, and is located next to the river Långhundraleden, now called Fyrisån, an important water route linking the interior of Uppland with the Baltic Sea. Mora was presumabl a suitable location for an assembly for the three folkland units that later came to form the province of Uppland, i.e. Tiundaland, Attundaland and Fjärdrundaland, since it was situated on the boundary between Tiundaland and Attundaland. This site was also the most suitable for attendees from Fjädrundaland, since they could travel along the Örsundaån river to the northern part of Lake Mälaren and then on to Mora via Fyrisån and Långhundraleden.

Assemblies and royal inaugurations involved many rituals, which can be traced both in archeological and in written evidence. According to Eric’s Chronicle, the newly elected king was to be lifted up on a stone at Mora. In the 17th century stated that the king’s stone was surrounded by twelve other stones. According to the medieval provincial laws the people of Svealand could dethrone their king, something which as is also mentioned in Icelandic sagas. The Saga of Olav the Holy mentions that five kings had been drowned at Múlathing [Mora Assembly].

Studies of assembly sites have revealed they were often surrounded by stones or posts, interpreted as a form of viband, which was the holy demarcation of assembly sites mentioned in medieval texts. The topography of the site, together with watercourses and wetlands and monuments were used to create ’a symbolic island’, where special laws and regulations applied. A reconstruction of older shorelines at Mora äng suggests that during the Vendel period (c. AD 550-750) and/or the Viking Age (c. 750-1050), it was a small island surrounded by water or marshland. This is further evidenced by place names: Mora means “wetland”, and the adjacent meadow is called Blötan (“wet field”). In 1904 a long and narrow elevation was examined, and found to be constructed of gravel and stone with some evidence of post holes. A clearer picture developed following recent geophysical investigations, which revealed that the construction was at least 145m long. It has been interpreted as the remains of a substantial road embankment or jetty, which led from a landing place on the river to an old road and the higher ground that was the focus of the assembly site. Here there was a large mound, known as Juthögen. Rituals surrounding royal inaugurations can be traced far back in time and often seem to have centered on mounds of this kind.

The project team will carry out detailed map studies, two small-scale archeological investigations, and archeological environmental analyses to enable a reconstruction of the earlier landscape. The first excavation will focus on “the pier”, i.e. the potential linear monument and he second one on the small “island” where the Juthögen mound was located.