In some cases, "town" is an alternate name for "city" or "village" (especially a larger village). Sometimes, the word "town" is short for "township". In general, today towns can be differentiated from townships, villages, or hamlets on the basis of their economic character, in that most of a town's population will tend to derive their living from manufacturing industry, commerce, and public service rather than primary industry such as agriculture or related activities.
A place's population size is not a reliable determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, as in India at least until recent times, a large village might contain several times as many people as a small town. In the United Kingdom, there are historical cities that are far smaller than the larger towns.
Som ovan gällande Town är definitonen kring stad - köping - by glidande. Möjligen kan man applicera central administration, råd etc och tomtindelning. Staden som fenomen till motsats by är merkantil. Dvs produktion och köpskap som dominerande syfte. Det närmaste vi har är Birka, Hedeby, Sigtuna och många fler utmed östersjön. Uppåkra liksom Uppsala verkar mer vara centrerad kring kult och härskare. Sannolikt borde vi fundera kring vem som huserade i Uppåkra, bör ha varit någon med stor makt. Kanske Skånekung?