8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ruins of the 700-year-old wharf, possibly used by royalty, found in Oslo

An excavation by NIKU archaeologists in Oslo’s seaside neighborhood of Bjørvika has uncovered the remains of a long section of a medieval wharf believed to have been built by a medieval king of Norway.

Under the dense clay of the Oslofjord seabed, more than 26 feet of the pier’s foundations have persisted in excellent condition.

Archaeologists knew from preliminary surveys that something was buried at a port in Oslo, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) said in a Thursday, March 2, news release. The ruins of a medieval wharf were discovered when excavations got underway.

The wharf consisted of massive logs lashed together to form bulwarks. The logs were dotted with impressions of barnacles and mussels, signs of having once been exposed to the sea. Over time, the structures built on top of the foundations pressed them deeper into the clay, where they remained even after the surface structures were lost.

The pier was most likely built in the early 14th century and has since sunk into the clay seabed under its own weight, according to the release.

Archaeologists believe this wharf was probably the king’s, based on its location and estimated age. Another nearby dock is known to have been used by royalty from the 11th to 13th centuries, according to the release.

A close-up photo of the accumulated layers of clay. Photo: Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research
A close-up photo of the accumulated layers of clay. Photo: Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research

A small mystery is that archaeologists unearthed layers of food waste, fish bones, dung, and peat in the clay around the massive logs. Archaeologists don’t know how these materials ended up around the pier.

“This is very mysterious,” says Håvard Hegdal, archaeologist and project manager from NIKU, “How has this come into what has been a closed construction? There has been a floor above us, and probably a building, and it shouldn’t be possible to throw food scraps and other things down here.”

“There was also a lot of dirt from a boat inside these layers. And it shouldn’t have come in here in any case. So ‘King’s wharf’ may have had a reasonably short lifespan, and that is quite strange.”

Researchers will cut a portion of the wood off the pier and send it to a lab to be more specifically dated dendrochronologically, the release said.

The most likely candidate to build the wharf was Haakon V (reigned 1299–1319). Oslo overtook Bergen to become the capital of Norway during his reign, and Haakon had the Akershus Fortress built to protect the city and serve as a royal residence. The pier’s foundations were discovered right next to the ruins of the royal palace that stood before Akershus Fortress.

The remains of the wharf have been scanned to create a 3D model. And excavations are ongoing.

NIKU

Cover Photo: Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research

Related Articles

“Non-returning” Aboriginal boomerangs were discovered in Cooper Creek dried-up riverbed

22 November 2021

22 November 2021

The drying waters of the Cooper Creek river have revealed extremely rare 4 boomerangs that have been partially buried. The...

10,000-year-old rock art discovered in the Indian village of Medikonda

3 July 2021

3 July 2021

Rock art containing tiger, human and animal figures was found at the Jogulamba Gadwal site in Telangana, India. The New...

A New Late Ancient Necropolis Discovered on Hvar Island

10 June 2021

10 June 2021

The protective investigation in the garden of the Radoevi Palace in the town of Hvar on the Croatian island of...

350,000-Year-Old Human Settlement have been Discovered on the Arabian Peninsula

17 May 2021

17 May 2021

One of the world’s oldest Acheulean sites was found in the northern region of Hail in Saudi Arabia. Al Nasim...

The oldest grave in northern Germany 10,500 years old

14 October 2022

14 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known human remains in northern Germany in a 10,500-year-old cremation grave in Lüchow, Schleswig-Holstein. The...

Archaeologists Unearthed a Rare Hoard of Hasmonean Coins in Jordan Valley

31 December 2024

31 December 2024

A team of archaeologists from the University of Haifa discovered a rare hoard of approximately 160 coins during an excavation...

4,000-year-old settlement found during Balasore town India

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

A 4,000-year-old settlement and ancient artifacts have been discovered in the Balasore district, India. The Odisha Institute for Maritime and...

Roman era total of 46 early settler burials discovered in Germany

17 September 2023

17 September 2023

Students from Goethe University Frankfurt, in collaboration with the Hesse archeology department at the Darmstadt branch of the State Monument...

Golden Tongues and Nails discovered on mummies from the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt

18 December 2024

18 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered tombs decorated with colorful inscriptions and ritual scenes, as well as unusual mummies and unique funerary objects,...

Ancient Three Fortresses: Layered Defense on Egypt’s Eastern Border at Tell Abu Saifi

11 May 2025

11 May 2025

Archaeological excavations at the strategically significant Tell Abu Saifi site in North Sinai have unearthed compelling evidence of Egypt’s long-standing...

Restoration of the Duomo of Florence has revealed original polychrome paint

1 December 2022

1 December 2022

During the restoration of the Porta dei Cornacchini and the marble cladding of the northern side of Florence’s Duomo, extensive...

New Research Links Climate Crisis to the Fall of the Roman Empire

11 April 2025

11 April 2025

A study led by scientists at the University of Southampton, in collaboration with Queen’s University Canada and the Chinese Academy...

Jiroft: The Mysterious Rival of Mesopotamia and the Dawn of an Ancient Civilization

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in southeast Iran are reshaping our understanding of early civilizations, particularly the Jiroft Civilization, which thrived around...

Roman Empire’s Emerald Mines May Have mined by Nomads as Early as the 4th Century

4 March 2022

4 March 2022

New research by archaeologists from the  Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of Warsaw suggests that Roman Empire emerald...

The researchers may have cracked the mystery of da Vinci’s DNA

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

A recent study of Leonardo da Vinci’s family tree indicates that the renowned Renaissance artist, inventor, and anatomist had 14...