Liminal urbanity: Wars, connections and material culture in early modern Helsingborg

Abstract: In the 1600s, Helsingborg was a small market town with great importance as a transport and trade connection between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Caught in the middle between two empires, Denmark and Sweden, the lives of Helsingborg residents were affected by wars, plagues and political disturbances. This thesis investigates the status of Helsingborg as a contested periphery town in relation to Helsingör on the other side of Öresund and in a wider southern Scandinavian context. Analysis of archaeological finds from six post-medieval sites in town centre, with primary focus on ceramics, examines how the material culture reflects urban consumption patterns, global trade connections and political changes. The results of the study demonstrate that Helsingborg in the 1600s was closely connected by trade and personal relationships to Helsingör.