Changing Perspectives: On the Visual Properties of an Iron Age Mound

This paper presents a reassessment of mound visibility through the analysis of Halvdanshaugen, a substantial Iron Age mound in Norway. In line with conventional views, the mound's visibility covers a considerable swath of the surrounding terrain, although views are limited by topographic features from certain directions and specific parts of the landscape. A refined viewshed analysis, incorporating vegetation as a visual barrier, however, suggests that the mound's visual impact extends no more than a few hundred meters from its base. This sees the mound placed in an enclosed setting which alters the mound’s visual characteristics, emphasizing details of both the mound and activities nearby. In contrast to traditional interpretations that emphasize landscape-wide symbolism, this study advocates for a more reflective perspective, and calls for a multi-sensory understanding of the fluid relationship between mound and landscape. It rejects the idea of universal placement rules and proposes more contextual interpretations that acknowledge the diversity observed in mound construction and use.