“Myr-byn” echoes through the ages. This is Mörby gamla tomt. The name itself whispers of its origins: “the settlement by the mire or wetland”. We stand on land steeped in history.
Mörby’s story stretches back to at least the youngest Iron Age. A continuous settlement took root here. The old sea inlet receded. This left behind the marshy ground that gave Mörby its evocative name.
Once, a Viking-era burial ground lay south of the present Danderyd hospital’s main entrance. It covered a considerable area. It contained around twenty stone settings. Grave goods discovered here dated back to the late Viking Age. Sadly during the hospital’s expansion this ancient burial ground was removed. Only a mound and a small stone setting remain. They stand on a small hill behind the hospital. They are silent witnesses to a forgotten past.
The 1700s Mörby farm once stood where buses now queue. It was recognized as a building of historical significance in 1944. A bitter dispute arose before its demolition. The main building tragically burned down. If the excavation work happened today archaeologists would oversee the dig. Mörby gård may have stood on the same ground since the Viking Age. Habitation layers could be as old as the burial ground.
Mörby in Vallentuna offers a glimpse into its past. Mörby is located in the central part of Vallentuna parish just south of Ekeby. It is north of Björkby, Väsby and Rickeby. The land stretches far east to west. The village buildings are in the east. Most of the fields are also in the eastern part. The outland was in the west. Gullbroängen meadow was farthest west.
The Mörby village site is just over 20 meters above sea level. The fields around the village site are between 10 and 25 meters above sea level. The outland reaches heights around 35 meters above sea level. The landscape is lower in the west less than 25 meters above sea level.
Three known burial grounds lie within Mörby’s boundaries. The largest is Hammarbacken. It lies just north of the old village site. It contains sixty ancient remains. There are fifty-three round, two square, and one rectangular stone settings. Three mounds and one trefoil mark this field. The burial ground is at the same height as the village site around 20 meters above sea level. Another burial ground lies just over 150 meters west of the village site. It contains six ancient remains. There are two cairns and four round stone settings. The third burial ground lies to the southeast. It now divides into three parts. It features thirty-two round stone settings, five mounds, one cairn and one trefoil.
In the northeastern part of the lands, near the border with Ekeby to the north is a system of stone strings. South of the village site, directly east of a school building is a stone string. It connects to a cairn. Between the stone string and the southeastern burial ground are several settlement remains. There used to be a burial ground. Between the stone string system and the Hammarbacken burial ground are several ancient remains. There is also a rock carving in the northeastern part of the lands. More ancient remains lie in the western part of the lands. There is a croft site at Gröndal. There is also a late carving and fossil arable land.
In historical times Mörby comprised a village with two farms. In 1635 Mörby and the neighboring farm Rickeby were mapped. Mörby consisted of a large tax farm. It was assessed at 10 öresland and a crown farm of 5 1/2 öresland together just under 2 markland.
So here at Mörby gamla tomt we remember those long gone. Their stories whisper on the wind.