Seats of power were among the most important pillars of dominion in the Middle Ages. They were in the centre of diplomatic exchange and confrontation, shaped the transfer of knowledge, and acted as control centres of the economy. Between these pillars of power like Nijmegen, Köln, Trier, Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Aachen or Ingelheim and the respective sites of the North, such as, most prominently, Hedeby, there was a circulation of persons, innovative ideas, and goods.

As regards the North, wooden magnates' farms have seen large-scale excavations in recent times. This is particularly the case for the late first millennium AD, foremost in Lejre and Tissø (Denmark), Uppåkra and Uppsala (Sweden), and Kaupang and Borg (Norway). It is only now, after those exvacations, that Northern and Central European research can be brought together for further discussion.