{"id":27918,"date":"2026-04-29T11:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.niku.no\/?p=27918"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:21:16","slug":"new-discoveries-show-that-oslos-royal-manor-was-built-over-a-viking-age-boat-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.niku.no\/en\/2026\/04\/new-discoveries-show-that-oslos-royal-manor-was-built-over-a-viking-age-boat-grave\/","title":{"rendered":"New discoveries show that Oslo\u2019s royal manor was built over a Viking Age boat grave"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\r\n\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\tViking age Oslo<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\tIllustration of how the burial mound and the surrounding farms may have looked in the 10th century. The routes of communication and clusters of buildings between the Alna River, the Oslofjord, and the ridge at the far end of the plain would later form the backbone of the medieval city of Oslo. Illustration: Sara Langvik Derrick, NIKU.\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t

New discoveries show that Oslo\u2019s royal manor was built over a Viking Age boat grave<\/h1>\r\n\t\t
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Archaeology<\/a> —<\/span> Arkeologi<\/a> —<\/span> Oslo<\/a> —<\/span> Research<\/a><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t
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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.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t

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Published

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When archaeologists began excavating near the ruins of the royal estate in Oslo\u2019s Old Town in 2023, they were not prepared for any major surprises. The area was already well known from previous investigations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Two<\/a>
Surprising discovery<\/span>During the excavations at the royal manor in 2023, 717 nails and nail fragments were found. Photo: NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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However, something emerged from the soil that would lead to a new interpretation of Oslo\u2019s origins: several hundred complete and fragmented clinker nails.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In a new publication<\/a>, Michael Derrick <\/a>and Knut Paasche<\/a> from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) challenge the traditional narrative of Oslo\u2019s foundation by demonstrating that the area functioned as a strategic centre of power long before 1048.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A fortress beneath the royal estate?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The story begins in the early 1960s. when archaeologist Oluf Olsen unearthed the remains of a circular earthen mound and surrounding ditch beneath the remains of the 13th<\/sup>-century royal manor. Inside the mound archaeologists found a small coin hoard dating to the mid\u201111th century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
The medieval royal manor<\/span>From Oluf Olsen\u2019s excavation of the royal manor in the 1960s. The white building on the right side of the image is Saxeg\u00e5rden, and the brick building on the left is Lokomotivverkstedet. Photo from the Directorate for Cultural Heritage\u2019s archive.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Map<\/a>
The royal manor<\/span>is located next to St Mary\u2019s Church on the plain below the Ekeberg escarpment, marked as number 2 on the map. Map: NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The coins were immediately seized upon as evidence for Harald Hardr\u00e5des establishment of the town, which the sagas tell us occurred around 1048. As a result the mound and ditch were interpreted as being the remains of a motte\u2011and\u2011bailey castle, an early medieval fortification consisting of an earthen mound and a palisade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The mound itself was never scientifically dated, and the documentation from the 1960s was fragmentary. Nevertheless, the fortress interpretation remained accepted for decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Something about this interpretation did not add up<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In 2023, excavations close to the area excavated by Olsen unearthed new archaeological evidence which begun to undermine the motte and bailey theory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Excavations revealed traces of settlement activity dating to the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries, long before Harald Hardrada ruled. The discovery of these early deposits provided the possibility that the mound and ditch were perhaps older than the medieval town itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIf you examine the construction itself, you find a great deal that does not fit the motte-and-bailey -theory,\u201d says Michael Derrick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Derrick, an archaeologist and researcher at NIKU, took part in excavations at the royal manor in 2023. During the post\u2011excavation phase, he had the opportunity to examine both the new finds and the archival material from the 1960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The more he investigated, the more anomalies he found.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Michael Derrick<\/span>After the 2023 excavation, Derrick returned to the documentation from the 1960s. There, he found several more rivets and some things that did not quite add up. Photo: NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Map<\/a>
Motte or not?<\/span>The yellow markings show finds of clinker rivets from the excavations in the 1960s, and the grey ones from 2023. The black triangle marks the coin find. Map: Michael Derrick, NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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\u201cThe ditch is shallow, only about half a meter deep, and the mound is small compared to known motte and bailey sites in Europe. There are no known examples of such structures in 11th\u2011century Scandinavia; motte\u2011and\u2011bailey castles appear in Denmark only much later, during the 12th and 13th centuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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One detail in particular pointed towards an alternative explanation: the coins that dated the mound to the mid\u201111th century were found in a small pit dug down into the top of the mound. In other words, the partially destroyed mound must have existed before the coins were deposited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This detail is crucial. The coin hoard has been the strongest evidence that Harald Hardrada actually founded the city in 1048, and that this was his fortress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The final nail in the coffin for the fortress theory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The decisive shift occurred during the most recent excavations at the royal estate, when 91 intact clinker nails and hundreds of fragments were recovered from layers associated with a medieval palisade<\/a>, as well as from the mound material itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Many of them could be identified as clinker nails used to fasten overlapping planks in clinker\u2011built boats or ships<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
Surprised the archaeologists<\/span>X-ray image of a selection of clinker nails found during the excavation at the royal manor in 2023. Photo\/plate: NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/a>
Large clinker nails<\/span>Some of the few preserved clinker nails from Oluf Olsen\u2019s excavation in the 1960s. Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo (CC BY-SA 4.0).<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Photo<\/a>
The Gokstad ship<\/span>Clinker construction was common during the Viking Age. The Gokstad ship is a good example of this type of construction. Photo from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5).<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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When Derrick returned to Oluf Olsen\u2019s field diaries from the 1960s, new and surprising information emerged. Olsen, too, had found extremely large numbers of nails, but only a few were collected and analysed. In his notes, he describes \u201clarge quantities\u201d and \u201cclusters\u201d of nails that were later discarded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIn total, more than 1,100 nails and nail fragments were recovered from the mound, many of which were clinker nails.,\u201d Derrick explains. \u201cSuch quantities found in such a confined area are very difficult to explain in any other way than as the remains of a vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The nails show no signs of damage caused by extraction, as would be expected during repair or dismantling of boats. The area also lacks the metal waste typically found on ship and boat building sites. In addition, archaeological evidence shows that nails were not used in the construction of wooden buildings and streets in medieval Oslo with wooden pegs being preferred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Everything points in one direction: the nails derive from a boat, or possibly several boats, that once lay within the mound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A boat grave by the fjord<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The mound measured approximately 25 metres in diameter, large enough to contain a sizable rowing boat or a small ship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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As Derrick is not a specialist in maritime archaeology, he brought the clinker nails to Knut Paasche, an expert on Viking ships and head of the Digital Archaeology Department<\/a> at NIKU.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In recent years, the department has identified several Viking Age boats and ships using ground-penetrating radar, including the Gjellestad <\/a>ship in Halden municipality, the Ed\u00f8y <\/a>ship on Sm\u00f8la, and a boat at \u00d8yasletta in Kvinesdal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Paasche reviewed the nails and was able to determine that they represent at least one vessel:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe variation in rivet sizes may indicate that there was more than one vessel within the mound, as is the case at other Viking Age graves such as Gokstad and Avaldsnes,\u201d says Paasche.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Black<\/a>
Knut Paasche<\/span>has written his PhD dissertation on the Tune ship and is an expert on Viking Age boats and ships. He is head of NIKU\u2019s Department of Digital Archaeology, which in recent years has identified several such vessels using ground-penetrating radar. Photo: NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Digital<\/a>
Digital reconstruction of the Ed\u00f8y ship<\/span>The Ed\u00f8y ship was detected using ground-penetrating radar on Sm\u00f8la in M\u00f8re og Romsdal in 2019, one year after the discovery of the Gjellestad ship. Illustration: Dag-\u00d8yvind Engtr\u00f8 Solem. Model: Knut Paasche and Michael Klein.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Radiocarbon dating of material from the destroyed mound places it in the late Viking Age, probably towards the end of the 9th<\/sup> or the beginning of the 10th century. There were no traces of a grave, however, the absence of burnt bones and burnt nails may indicate an inhumation burial, in which the deceased was laid to rest in a boat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe location also makes sense. In the Viking Age, the area lay close to the shoreline. A burial mound lying on a promontory, facing the fjord would have been highly visible to passing traffic and functioned as a clear statement of power, belonging and control over the landscape and communication routes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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From burial mound to centre of power<\/strong> and a new perspective on Oslo\u2019s origins<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Over time, the mound was gradually destroyed. First partially during the Viking Age, and later more systematically when the area was developed in the medieval period. In the 11th century, a wooden palisade was erected over the remains, and in the 13th century the stone royal manor was built on the same site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Derrick says the archaeological evidence points to a pattern well known in Scandinavia:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cNew powerholders reuse old monuments, consciously or unconsciously, and assign them new functions. The coins deposited in the mound during the 11th century may have marked a transition from grave and memorial to defence and trade.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Illustration<\/a>
Before Oslo<\/span>The illustration shows the location of the boat grave on the plain between the Alna River and the Oslofjord during the Viking Age. The farms represent traces of actual settlement, and the routes are those that later became the thoroughfares and streets (allmenninger and streter) of the medieval city. Illustration: Sara Langvik Derrick, NIKU.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The new interpretation challenges more than just the understanding of a single mound. It questions the very narrative of how Oslo came into being.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cEvidence indicates that the town founded by Harald Hardrada in the mid\u201111th century was established on a site which already had a well\u2011developed settlement founded by local elites who utilised the land and sea and practiced their rituals,\u201d Derrick concludes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The clinker nails found beneath the royal manor remind us that Oslo\u2019s history does not begin with Harald Hardrada but stretches much further back in time. Before Oslo became Oslo, the plain beneath the Ekeberg ridge was marked by a mound that we now know contained a boat. In its own time, this monument communicated ownership and continuity of power to everyone sailing into the fjord. Perhaps that is why Harald Hardrada chose this very spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When archaeologists began excavating near the ruins of the royal estate in Oslo\u2019s Old Town in 2023, they were not prepared for any major surprises. The area was already well known from previous investigations. However, something emerged from the soil that would lead to a new interpretation of Oslo\u2019s origins: several hundred complete and fragmented… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-extended.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,1533,228,189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archaeology","category-arkeologiske-undersokelser-en","category-oslo-arkeologiske-undersokelser-en","category-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew discoveries show that Oslo\u2019s royal manor was built over a Viking Age boat grave — Norsk institutt for kulturminneforskning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hundreds of boat rivets discovered during excavations in 2023 may be the remains of a Viking Age boat grave beneath Oslo's royal manor.\" \/>\n<meta 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