Hundreds of boat nails discovered during excavations in 2023 have given archaeologists reason to fundamentally rethink the founding and early history of Oslo. What for decades has been interpreted as a medieval fortress beneath the royal estate, may instead be the remains of a Viking Age boat grave, constructed around a hundred years before the city was formally founded.
Menstruation is mysterious, stigmatised, and rarely mentioned in historical sources. To understand how women handled this bloody challenge in the Middle Ages, we need to look at archaeological material. Archaeologist Sunniva Wilberg Halvorsen has studied sanitary products from a medieval latrine in Tønsberg.
An unknown medieval structure has emerged just meters from Selja Monastery. The find may shed new light on life and activity on the island during the monastic period.
In the summer of 2023, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) pinpointed the location of the long-lost medieval town of Hamarkaupangen using grond penetrating radar (GPR). During an ongoing excavation carried out by NIKU and Anno Museum, archaeologists have finally found physical remains of buildings, confirming the geophysical data.
Analyses of the skeleton retrieved from the well at Sverresborg in Trondheim in 2016 shed new light on a dramatic story from King Sverre’s saga. Now, researchers know how old the man was, what he looked like, and where in Norway he was from.
Call for papers for the conference Linking Places in the Emerging Viking Age in Oslo October 17-18th. The submission deadline is 31st May.
Save the date for the conference Linking Places in the Emerging Viking Age on the 17. and 18. October 2024! More information to come early next year.
The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and AutoAgri are launching a revolutionary self-driving ground penetrating radar (GPR) for archaeological survey. The technology promises increased efficiency, climate friendly solutions, and accurate mapping of hitherto undiscovered cultural heritage.
When archaeologists from The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research conducted a last-minute excavation in Medieval Trondheim last year due to a broken sewer pipe, a surprise find was made. A soapstone gaming piece bearing a runic inscription.
This summer, archaeologists from Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage (NIKU) have carried out several surveys using ground penetrating radar in Iceland. Preliminary results show that the investigations have already been very successful.
In the last week before Christmas two runic inscriptions were unearthed during excavations in Oslo’s old town. One inscription is carved on bone and this is the first bone with runes found in Oslo in more than forty years. The second is carved on wood and contains a religious text in both Norse and Latin.
A small carved figure was recently unearthed during excavation the medieval town of Oslo. The figure depicts a person in robes and crown with a falcon perched on his arm. But is it a king or a queen?
