The 1703 Skrehall Landslide: A Historical Archaeological Perspective on Disasterscapes

Abstract

This article is a case study of the Skrehall landslide, which occurred on 15 September 1703 at the border between the Swedish parishes of Fors and Rommele. It was a disaster with locally far-reaching consequences for the Westrogothian agrarian communities it impacted, damaging farmland and destroying a country road, which had to be relocated. Archaeological fieldwork was carried out at the site in May 2021, which led to the discovery of surviving remains from the original road; it should be treated as a cultural heritage site. The study further discusses how difficult it can be to capture and understand small-scale, localised disasters in the past, and the concept of the 'disasterscape' is proposed as a useful terminology in studying such events, with particular utility within the field of historical archaeology.