Unique Viking find on the west coast of Norway
EARLIER FIND: At Kaupang in Vestfold county, lie the remains of Sciringes heal - Norway's first town. The University of Oslo, Institute for Archaeology, Conservation and Historical Studies (IAKH) has organised the large excavations that ran over three years, from 2000 till 2002. Illustration: Flemming Bau.
Norwegian archaeologists have discovered a well preserved Kaupang (Viking trading post) in Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane county on the west coast of Norway.
Archaeologist Asle Bruen Olsen, who has been in charge of the excavation, says to NRK TV that the find is more important, older, and larger than those earlier found in other parts of Norway.
More than 30 house foundations and remnants of extensive craft production have been discovered. The items found have been unusually well preserved due to the dry climate in this region.
Due to the excellent conditions Olsen and her crew expect to find about 150 thousand animal bones. This is ten times more than what archaeologists have earlier have discovered combined. This unique find will be very important in research of the early Viking age.
NRK TV also reports that a major highway is planned for the area. This is a project they are now trying to stop.
The Viking era marks the termination of the prehistoric period in Norway. No written sources of knowledge exist, so what is known about this period is largely based on archaeological finds.
Source: Norway Post / NRK
