CHAPTER EIGHT ( 8 )

SIGTUNA

Jonas Ros

S

igtuna was founded c. 980 , by the time when the town of Birka ceased to have urban
functions, and Sigtuna took over Birka’s role of being a port for long-distance trade.
Sigtuna also had other functions: it was a centre for craft production, and a market for
domestic trade for the town and the hinterland. There was also a mint in the town. King
Erik the Victorious probably founded Sigtuna. By founding the town, the king could
attach chieftains to him in a new way: he could grant plots in the town to them and he
could also grant lordship over hundreds and ship-sokes. Chieftains could then have had
jurisdiction over such districts, and could control and man warships. Sigtuna was a
centre for the Crown and a meeting-place for the elite.
The oldest mention of the name Sigtuna is on coins struck in the town. On the
coins, there are short forms of the name, for example Siht, Stnete and Situn (Malmer 1989 :
63 ff.). Sigtuna is also mentioned in the skaldic poetry from the eleventh century.
Chieftains who later became kings are said to have visited the town. The name Sigtuna is
also mentioned in a runic inscription from the town of Sigtuna. The inscription records
that: ‘Sven... carved the stone... who transferred her to Sihtunum’ (i.e. Sigtuna)
(U 395 ). There are different interpretations of the place name Sigtuna. According to one,
the model for the name is the Celtic word Segodunon meaning strong fortification.
According to another, it is a compound of the word sig ‘trickling water’ and tuna, whose
meaning is obscure (Wahlberg 2003 : 271 f.). The Tuna-places were some kind of central
places during the Iron Age.

TOWN PLAN AND EXCAVATIONS

Sigtuna has an S-shaped main street, Stora gatan, running east–west parallel to the
shore at the south of the urban area. The oldest map of Sigtuna dates from 1636
(Figure 8. 8. 1 ). The streets and the blocks have similarities with the present town plan.
The main street had its origin from the very beginning of the town. There were plots on
each side of the street. Alongside the street there were shops and the street functioned as
a market. A model for the town plan has been looked for in England (Schück 1926 : 129 ;
Floderus 1941 : 65 ); it has similarities with the contemporary towns Bergen and
Trondheim.