En by bliver til: Stenlagsbelægninger og skel i 1000-tallets Roskilde

This report presents the results of a number of archeological test pits in the centre of Medieval Roskilde, excavated between 2010 and 2014. The excavations revealed that on top of the Viking Age top soil was a widespread layer of small stones, mostly flint, mixed with animal bones. The stone-and-bone layer was uncovered on the site of the medieval royal residence, in the street between the cathedral and the market street and in the market street itself. Since the excavation method was test pits, it is not possible unmistakably to conclude that the stone-and-bone layer was an all-inclusive covering of the streets, but there cannot be much doubt that they are widespread. Dendrochronology and ¹⁴C-samples consistently date the horizon of the stone-and-bone layer between the first half of the 11th century and the end of the 12th century. Combining the dates and the area where the layer is present suggest that this may be an initiative for the benefit of the public in the newly founded residential site of the king and the bishop, facilitating the commerce and the budding town. Along the street between the cathedral and the market street, more secluded parts of the same shallow ditch were registered. Most likely, this is a boundary between the public street and private plots. A wattle fence dated to 1040's by dendrochronology flanked the ditch.