Towards the making of a town: Exploring the role of social encounters in the development of urbanity

What makes the town a town is partly the diversity of activities taking place there – and with that comes a diversity of social roles among the people in the town. Trade, craft, clerical institutions and fortifications may be important functional and iconic trademarks of towns, but in some ways, that is just to set the scene for town life. What happens in the many encounters and relations between people living in the town, or visiting the town, I believe is a central aspect of urban life and something which deserves more attention. These ideas are key components in my PhD-project, which is a part of the Urban Encounters project. My project deals with exploring the early urban development of Copenhagen, c. 1050-1300, with the material from recent year’s excavation at Rådhuspladsen as the main focus. By analyzing the material traces of daily practices related to the people active in this area, I want to find out what activities, people and networks have been important for the early development of the town, from its very first steps. On a more general level, and with Copenhagen as a case study, I want to explore what can be said about urbanity by studying the social dimensions of town life.
In this paper, I will give a brief outline of the ideas and material for my project, and present some thoughts about how we can use the material we find in the ground to say something about the social and mental aspects of urban life.