30 March 2023 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

Banner
Related Post

Evidence of Rare Romano-Celtic Temple Near Lancaster Castle -may be only the second of its type –

10 March 2023

10 March 2023

A study exercise for students from Lancaster University has uncovered a Romano-Celtic temple, only the second of its type in...

The impressive Statue of young Hercules unearthed in Philippi, Northern Greece

24 September 2022

24 September 2022

A larger-than-life youthful Hercules statue dating to the 2nd century A.D. have been found in the ancient city of Philippi...

Archaeological settlements dating back 3000 years found in Qurayat, Oman

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

Archaeological research in Oman’s Qurayat Province has revealed numerous archaeological and historical settlements, some dating back more than 3,000 years...

An ancient Roman road has been discovered in the Venice Lagoon

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

Researchers discovered a Roman road submerged in the Venice Lagoon. The finding suggests that substantial communities may have existed in...

40 Skeletons in Giant Jars Found in the Corsica Necropolis

16 May 2021

16 May 2021

Archaeologists working on the French island of Corsica discovered around 40 ancient graves where persons were buried inside gigantic jars...

New discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins demonstrate ancient China’s creative ability

9 September 2021

9 September 2021

Chinese archaeologists revealed fresh important finds at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Thursday, from pits...

3,200-Year-Old Temple Mural of Spider God in Peru

25 March 2021

25 March 2021

Archaeologists in northern Peru have discovered a 3200-year-old mural. The mural was painted on the side of an ancient adobe...

New AI Tool ‘Fragmentarium’ Brings Ancient Babylonian Texts Together

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

An artificial intelligence (AI) bot was developed by linguists at the Institute for Assyriology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany...

Byzantine monk chained with iron rings unearthed near Jerusalem

4 January 2023

4 January 2023

A skeleton chained with iron rings was discovered at Khirbat el-Masani, about four kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, along the ancient...

A Special structure Contemporary to Göbeklitepe found at Gre Fılla Höyük in Eastern Turkey

4 August 2022

4 August 2022

Pit-bottomed structures dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period were found at Gre Fılla Höyük (Gre Fılla Mound) in the province...

A farmer discovered artifacts of the Unetice culture in his field

19 August 2021

19 August 2021

A farmer in Sulęcin county in Poland’s Lubusz province discovered a rare treasure while trying to clear stones from his...

Ancient Mesopotamians bred horse-like hybrids

17 January 2022

17 January 2022

New research finds that Mesopotamians were utilizing hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to drive their war wagons 4,300...

Zeugma of the Black Sea to be will Restore

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hadrianaupolis Antique City is located 3 km west of Eskiyapar district of Karabük. This ancient city has been known as...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

12,000-Year-Old rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age

13 March 2022

13 March 2022

South America was filled with ice age animals more than 12,000 years ago, including car-sized ground sloths, elephantine herbivores, and...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *