Burial mounds as settlement indicators : archaeological and palynological investigations at Sangis, northern Sweden

Grave mounds established during the 1st millennium AD in northern Sweden are common in central Norrland, up to northern Ångermanland. There are, however, two grave mounds located 350 km further north, close to the villages of Sangis and Espinära, that stand out as anomalies. These mounds rise questions regarding who established them and why? We hypothesised that they were established close to sedentary settlements, just as the ones found further south. To identify old settlement remains and traces of ancient land use, an archaeological excavation was performed of the sand ridge where the Sangis grave mound is located, and a palynological study was conducted to identify local vegetation changes. The results show that no sedentary settlement accompanied the mound. The area had, however, two phases of land use; as an occasionally visited site from calAD 600 to 800 when the grave mound and possibly a cooking pit was established, and; from calAD 1070 when human impact on the ridge restarted, probably associated to permanent settlements nearby