The town of Sigtuna was established, according to dendrochronological dates from the bottom of the trenches of the large-scale excavation in the Trädgårdsmästaren block, c. AD 970-985, and most probably around 980. It has been argued that Sigtuna was founded on ‘virgin land’. This expression usually refers to sites that do not have a previous settlement history, and thus were placed on marginal land or in the outlands. But was this untouched, unsettled land? And if not, are there any traces of an earlier history? This article addresses this question and expands upon it.