Image Credit : Sara Langvik Derrick
Posted on 04/30/2026 9:15:22 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A structure long interpreted as the remains of an early medieval fortification is now being reclassified as a Viking Age boat grave, suggesting activity at the site several centuries prior to Oslo's conventional founding date.
The site lies beneath the medieval royal estate, historically linked to Harald Hardrada. He is often credited with establishing Oslo around 1048...
The dating itself also comes into question. A coin hoard found near the top of the mound had been used as key evidence. But closer examination shows the coins were placed into an already existing feature. That detail suggests the mound predates the deposit.
The shift in interpretation began with a large number of iron rivets uncovered during the 2023 dig. Archaeologists recovered 717 rivets and fragments from layers around the mound. These were not general-purpose fasteners but the kind used in clinker-built boats, a construction method common in the Viking Age.
When earlier finds from the 1960s are included -- many of which were never fully analyzed -- the total rises to more than 1,100 rivets...
Differences in size among them could indicate more than one boat, a pattern seen in other high-status Viking burials.
Radiocarbon dating places the mound in the late Viking Age, likely between the late 9th and early 10th centuries. No human remains have survived, but the lack of cremation traces points toward a burial in which the deceased was placed in a boat and covered by earth...
The mound appears to have been disturbed, first in the Viking period and later more extensively. By the 11th century, a wooden palisade stood on the spot. In the 13th century, a stone royal complex was built over it.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
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Maybe it was a boat factory...................
At first glance,I don’t buy the founding of Oslo reintrepration. The blurb even mentions that boat burials are sometimes placed on top of older burials. It stands to reason that a structure might be placed on or near high-status burials.
Since no earlier structures have apparently been found, the earliest known would apparently be the formal founding.
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