Äskhults by är idag ett kulturreservat och sedan 1990-talet har omfattande restaureringar gjorts, både i markerna och med byggnaderna. Ett mål för arbete i Äskhult är att återskapa landskapet så som det såg ut före skiftesreformerna. Därför har man använt skifteskartan från 1825 som utgångspunkt i restaureringsarbetet. Syftet med denna uppsats är att dra slutsatser kring hur hägnaderna såg ut under 1700-talet i denna trakten och därmed även bidra till arbetet med kulturreservatet. För att svara på frågor om hur hägnaderna såg ut före skiftesreformerna i norra Halland och varför vissa hägnadstyper förekom har Hallands landsbeskrifning från 1729 och geometriska avmätningar av Johan Söderlingh studerats. Källmaterialet indikerar att den dominerande hägnadstypen är av sten oavsett tillgången till material. Det förekommer dock trähägnader i området och då är det främst i form av ris. Det går att dra paralleller mellan trähägnadernas utbredning och förekomsten av skog i området. Skogsområdena ligger mot gränsen till Västergötland. En annan aspekt som kan ha påverkat förekomst och utformning av hägnader och som troligen inte syns i källmaterialet är tillfälliga hägnader. Tillfälliga hägnader kunde användas bland annat vid ljungbränning, efterbete eller tillfälliga kålgårdar. Därför borde det även funnits tillfälliga hägnader omkring Äskhult. Slutsatsen är dock att stenhägnader troligen var dominerande i området kring Äskhult.

<p>Following paper deals with the questions about prehistorian and medieval settlements in the Mälar Valley and their relations to the historically known hamlets or single farmsteads from the 17^th- and 18^th-century cadastral maps. Models over settlement development through the period A.D 200 to 1700 done by geographers Ulf Sporrong and Dan Carlsson are tested and compared to the knowledge won by recent archaeological excavations. Is there a connection between the older settlements linked together by dry-stone walls and the late Iron Age settlements? Does the picture differ from the one presented for the Gotland region? How well are the general theories about different settlement development depending on basic natural conditions as for the potentials for cultivation and topography, corresponding to the physical remains?  Are there other factors involved when the settlement structure takes its form?</p><p>The methods that are used here constitutes mainly of a comparison between different locations in the Mälar Valley that has got a well known prehistory thanks to extensive archaeological excavations. Cadastral maps, soilmaps, topography maps and maps over ancient monuments are intertwined to the same map and analyzed through works in Geographical information systems.</p><p>The results of this study reveal an interesting suspicion in the continuity-question through the Iron Age. Certain settlements seem to be more stable than what was earlier assumed in the general models. This occurrence of continuous use of sites must also be seen in a spatial context and not only a pattern formed by randomly chosen locations. The research has shown that it may be connected to the local political power in the Iron Age community. Related to this are also the different settlement forms where more than one unit occurs on a site. Concerning the different natural landscapes both disparities and similarities are found when it comes to the development that precedes the given situation on the cadastral maps. The conclusion is that the recent archaeological excavations definitely have shown us a more complex situation than what was once outlined in the early years of landscape archaeology.</p>

Following paper deals with the questions about prehistorian and medieval settlements in the Mälar Valley and their relations to the historically known hamlets or single farmsteads from the 17th- and 18th-century cadastral maps. Models over settlement development through the period A.D 200 to 1700 done by geographers Ulf Sporrong and Dan Carlsson are tested and compared to the knowledge won by recent archaeological excavations. Is there a connection between the older settlements linked together by dry-stone walls and the late Iron Age settlements? Does the picture differ from the one presented for the Gotland region? How well are the general theories about different settlement development depending on basic natural conditions as for the potentials for cultivation and topography, corresponding to the physical remains?  Are there other factors involved when the settlement structure takes its form? The methods that are used here constitutes mainly of a comparison between different locations in the Mälar Valley that has got a well known prehistory thanks to extensive archaeological excavations. Cadastral maps, soilmaps, topography maps and maps over ancient monuments are intertwined to the same map and analyzed through works in Geographical information systems. The results of this study reveal an interesting suspicion in the continuity-question through the Iron Age. Certain settlements seem to be more stable than what was earlier assumed in the general models. This occurrence of continuous use of sites must also be seen in a spatial context and not only a pattern formed by randomly chosen locations. The research has shown that it may be connected to the local political power in the Iron Age community. Related to this are also the different settlement forms where more than one unit occurs on a site. Concerning the different natural landscapes both disparities and similarities are found when it comes to the development that precedes the given situation on the cadastral maps. The conclusion is that the recent archaeological excavations definitely have shown us a more complex situation than what was once outlined in the early years of landscape archaeology.