So, southwest Skåne looked like the Iron Age

By excavating old wells in Skåne, pollen has been found that shows what the vegetation looked like in the older Iron Age, ie about 2,000 years ago.

- When pollen gets into a well and sinks to the bottom, it is well preserved because the environment is humid and oxygen-free. When we analyze pollen we can see from what species it comes and can then see what land it was during that time and what has been cultivated, says Per Lagerås of the Archaeologists at the State Historical Museums.

The analysis now shows that southwestern Skåne during the older Iron Age (500 BC - 400 AD) consisted of ten percent of arable land which gradually increased until the Middle Ages. After a temporary decline in the 1300s in connection with the death of poets, the proportion of arable land continued to increase to around 40 per cent in the 19th century.

- We believe that the increase happened because of the increase in population. We can also see that during certain periods it became less arable land. Which can be interpreted as a crisis in the population, possibly the plague or climate impact, says Per Lagerås.

According to Per Lagerås, the open landscape in southwestern Skåne dates back to the beginning of the Iron Age, when 80 percent consisted of pasture land and 10 percent of fields. Remaining land had tree vegetation, like tree groves.

Although this landscape has been open for 2000 years, the share of arable land has grown at the expense of pasture.

- You have always had both animals and cultivation but with arable land you can produce more food per area. It was a way to meet growing population that they were moving to more and more arable land, he says.