Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating has, since its inception, become an integral part of disciplines such as geology and archaeology, underpinning many key findings made by researchers in the past seven decades. As ¹⁴C dating develops, the need arises to revisit older findings and legacy data which may well contain laboratory errors or post-analysis misinterpretations. In this paper we examine one such finding from Sweden, namely the 1958 ¹⁴C dating of the great Jordfallet (“the Earthfall”) landslide, which was published in the very first volume of Radiocarbon in 1959. We further trace how the results of this ¹⁴C dating were misunderstood in a time prior to modern radiocarbon calibration, and the impact which this mistake has had throughout academic publications, state reports and local heritage literature through the course of over sixty years. Because of this flawed interpretation the credible date of 1249 AD given to the landslide by historical sources has been overlooked. Instead, a series of dates from the mid-12th and early 13th centuries have been attributed to the landslide event based on erroneous radiocarbon analysis, a mistake which has substantial implications for the understanding of both regional and international history in medieval Scandinavia.

This article is a case study of the Skrehall landslide, which occurred on 15 September 1703 at the border between the Swedish parishes of Fors and Rommele. It was a disaster with locally far-reaching consequences for the Westrogothian agrarian communities it impacted, damaging farmland and destroying a country road, which had to be relocated. Archaeological fieldwork was carried out at the site in May 2021, which led to the discovery of surviving remains from the original road; it should be treated as a cultural heritage site. The study further discusses how difficult it can be to capture and understand small-scale, localised disasters in the past, and the concept of the ‘disasterscape’ is proposed as a useful terminology in studying such events, with particular utility within the field of historical archaeology.

Landslides are one of the few types of natural hazards that have affected Sweden regularly in the recent past. We can expect that this geological phenomenon will only increase in frequency in the near future given the ongoing processes of anthropogenic climate change, and this likelihood motivates some historical retrospection. This paper explores how landslides have impacted archaeological sites in Västra Götaland, the country’s most landslide-prone region, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, and how, in turn, archaeologists have had to respond to these disasters. The 1957 Göta, 1973 Fröland, 1977 Tuve and 2006 Småröd landslides are highlighted in particular, as is the landslide-impacted site Hjälpesten. Connections are made to other different but related archaeologies of hazard and disaster, providing insights into the impact that climate change has had and will have on the discipline. While the paper showcases a set of local case studies, it is further argued that its findings have relevance for other areas as well, calling for the attention of the cultural heritage sector.