The Road Through the Hundred of Dal
The road from Vadstena to Alvastra coincided with the old pilgrim´s way to Trondheim. The courts of the Dal and Lysing hundreds, which the kings probably visited on their Royal Route, were located at Hästholmen in the early Middle Ages. Hästholmen was an important place, with a town charter. Earlier though, there were a number of minor court sites – for example Nässja and Örberga, according to rather uncertain sources. The excellent harbour on the Nässja peninsula, the grand ship tumulus and the square “stone altar” in the grave-field, the Ullevi and Njärdevi cult sites in the vicinity, all features indicate a concentration of power in the neighbourhood. Possibly this was a centre for the whole Vättern area.
Sepulchral chalice, found in Örberga church. 12th century.The churches in the Dal hundred – the oldest in Sweden north of Skåne – were not located in the largest villages. This suggests that they were built as private churches for solitary manors, for example at Rogslösa or at former meeting places like Nässja.
A typical feature in the ancient Scandinavian religion (which can be traced in place-names in Östergötland) is that cult sites for Ull and Njord are in close proximity to each other, forming a common ritual centre. These gods belong to an older “clan of gods” called VANER, who may have been worshipped as far back as the Bronze Age. They were earth and sun deities, farmers´ gods for growth and fertility in animals and humans.
A sepulchral chalice from the 12th century, has been found in a tomb in the choir of Örberga church. This find points to a grave for a bishop. Close to the church, there is a medieval building called the Bishop´s House. The western part of the church, including two spiral staircases in the side towers, is similar to Husaby church in Västergötland and a number of churches in Germany, but is unique in Östergötland. A dendrochronological study has revealed that the church was built in 1116, which makes Örberga one of the oldest churches in Sweden.
Close to Rogslösa is Borghamn, “the port at the hillfort”, which has supplied limestone for churches and sepulchral cists in the neighbourhood since the 10th century, and fish for convents and manors almost as long. The hillfort on the northern edge of Mount Omberg is called “Queen Ommas fortress”.
The Royal Route probably went below Omberg, but it seems that the mountain was intensely cultivated in the Iron Age. At Alvastra, the main road through the region met the pilgrim´s way to Trondheim.