Archeological Dig at Island Hamlet : Danish Finds May Be Link to Vikings

Archeologists have unearthed artifacts in a Danish hamlet that may be connected to the royal dynasty celebrated in Viking sagas and the Old English epic “Beowulf.”

The scientific team, led by Tom Christensen of the Roskilde Museum, uncovered evidence of the biggest, and possibly the oldest, Viking long houses ever found. One was a hall 165 feet long and 34 feet wide, dating from the 9th to 11th centuries.

The digs began last spring at the Zealand island village of Lejre, five miles south of Roskilde and 20 miles west of Copenhagen. Previously excavated burial mounds and monuments from the Viking age dot the surrounding landscape.

“There are at least two princely halls with associated smithies, stalls and other outbuildings in Lejre,” Christensen said.

Seafaring Norsemen

The Vikings were seafaring Norsemen who plundered the coasts of Europe 1,000 years ago, building trading and farming settlements in conquered areas.

Christensen said the archeologists found a 9th- to 10th-Century buckle in Borre design and a bronze stud decoration for a sword or sheath from the Jelling period. Borre and Jelling are names for two of the oldest Viking ornamental styles.

These and other finds, he said, raised the possibility that remains of the royal seat of the legendary Scylding Dynasty may someday be found in Lejre.

“We’re being careful not to read too much into our findings, but the written sources linking Lejre with the Scyldings perhaps should be reviewed,” Christensen said.

‘Beowulf’ Reference

The oldest known reference to the Scyldings is in the 8th-Century Anglo-Saxon epic poem “Beowulf,” often called the first major work of English literature.

Set in the period of the Germanic migrations in the 4th to 7th centuries, the poem places the Scylding King Hrothgar’s hall, Heorot, in central Zealand.

Saxo Grammaticus, a 13th-Century chronicler who compiled a history of both legendary and historical Danish kings, also identified Lejre as an ancient royal seat.

Many modern “Beowulf” scholars identify Heorot with Lejre.

Christensen, however, stressed that it is still impossible to firmly link any figure in history or legend with the excavations in Lejre.

Royal Residence

“I’m convinced that a royal residence dating from the time of the sagas will be uncovered,” he said. “But that will be up to a future generation of archeologists, for much lies buried and inaccessible beneath existing farmhouses.”

He said the long house where some ornaments were found had a floor area of 1,800 square feet and was roughly 33 feet high, making the boat-shaped wooden structure about twice the size of any other found so far.

The dimensions of the building were calculated from the evidence of hundreds of holes in the ground for the huge oak beams that supported the walls and roof.

No physical remains were found of the dwelling, which in typical Viking fashion would have housed a royal chieftain, his family and thanes, Christensen said.