Aggersborg

Aggersborg
The Viking-Age settlement and fortress

Edited by

Else Roesdahl, Søren M. Sindbæk, Anne Pedersen & David M. Wilson

Translated by David M. Wilson

National Museum of Denmark

Jutland Archaeological Society

Aggersborg
The Viking-Age settlement and fortress

© Authors, editors and Jutland Archaeological Society 2014

ISBN 978-87-88415-87-2
ISSN 0107-2854
Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 82

Layout and cover: Ea Rasmussen

Graphics: Lars Foged Thomsen
Printed by Narayana Press
Paper: BVS matt 130 g

Published by
Jutland Archaeological Society
Moesgaard
DK-8270 Højbjerg

in association with
The National Museum of Denmark
Frederiksholms Kanal 12
DK-1220 København K

Distributed by
Aarhus University Press
Langelandsgade 177
DK-8200 Aarhus N

Published with financial support of:

The Aarhus University Research Foundation
The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes
The Bikuben Foundation
The Carlsberg Foundation
Queen Margrethe II’s Archaeological Foundation
The Farumgaard Foundation
Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1. Introduction Else Roesdahl and Søren M. Sindbæk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2. Aggersborg’s location and history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.1 Situation Else Roesdahl 17
Landscape and local topography 17. Sailing, harbourage and ‘watch-and-ward’ 22. The Limfjord as a
sailing route 25. A sailing connection northwards 26. Crossing-places 28. Roads 29.

2.2 Viking-Age finds from the Limfjord region Anne Pedersen 31

2.3 Aggersborg through history Else Roesdahl 38

Settlement after the fortress 38. A royal manor at Ørbæk? 38. Knut the Holy’s royal manor c. 1086 39.
Burial-ground and church 39. Royal manors and castles c. 1200-1579 41. The manor of Aggersborggård
after 1579 43.

2.4 The place-name Aggersborg Gordon Albøge and Peder Gammeltoft 45

2.5 History of the Aggersborg project Else Roesdahl 46

Before the excavations 46. The excavations 1945-52 – until C.G. Schultz’s death in 1958 46. Overall
plans and articles in the 1960s 46. Organization of the Aggersborg material – new interpretations
– 1970s-1990s 47. Conclusion 50.

3. Terminology and general plans. Excavation. Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3.1 Terminology and general plans Else Roesdahl and Søren M. Sindbæk 53
Topography and system of measurement 53. Documentation 53. The earlier rural settlement 54.
The fortress 54. General plans 57.

3.2 The excavations: strategy and process Søren M. Sindbæk 64

The fortress emerges, 1945-6 64. The plan of the fortress becomes clear, 1947-9 65. The surroundings
and the rural settlement, 1949-51 68. The western gateway, fortress houses and the large house D from
the early settlement, 1949-50 72. The courtyard plan established, 1951-2 73. Later investigations,
1954-2012 75. The future 77.

3.3 Documentation and registration Søren M. Sindbæk and Else Roesdahl 78

The documentation of the excavation 78. Surveys and plans 78. Finds 79.
4. The Viking-Age settlement Søren M. Sindbæk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.1 The subsoil and the culture-layer 83

4.2 Post-built buildings 87

House A 88. House C 91. House D 94. House F 100. House GS 101. Other buildings (B, E, GN,
L, H, K, XA, XB, XC, XD) 103. Other post-built structures 107. The construction of the post-built
buildings 108. Measurement systems 109. The internal arrangement of the post-built houses 110.

4.3 Sunken-featured buildings 113

Their excavation 113. The form of the sunken-featured buildings 114. The fill of the sunken-featured
buildings – deposits, culture-layers, traces of burning 119. Sacrificial pits? 123. The distribution of the
sunken-featured buildings 123. Dating of the sunken-featured buildings 124. The function of the
sunken-featured buildings 126.

4.4 Ditches, drains, tracks, plot-systems and ‘the manor bank’ 129

4.5 The development and structure of the settlement 133

The establishment of the settlement 133. The oldest settlement (to c. 850) 133. The settlement
c. 850-975 135. Rural settlement and fortress – and after the fortress 136.

5. The fortress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

5.1 Introduction Søren M. Sindbæk 139

5.2 The wooden construction of the rampart Søren M. Sindbæk 141

The excavation of the rampart 141. The timber framework 141. Inner face of the rampart 144.
The mid-rampart posts and the tie-beams 144. The face of the rampart 145. The construction of the
timber framework 150.

5.3 The make-up of the rampart Søren M. Sindbæk 151

The early excavations 151. The excavation in 1990 and the body of the rampart 151. Traces of burning 154.

5.4 The four gateways Søren M. Sindbæk 155

Investigations of the gateways 155. The west gateway 155. The north gateway 157. The east gateway 158.
The south gateway 160. The structure of the gateways 160.

5.5 Berm and ditch Søren M. Sindbæk 161

The berm 161. The ditch 161. The fill of the ditch 162.

5.6 The street system Søren M. Sindbæk 165

The axial streets, parallel streets and central structure 165. The ring-street 166.

5.7 The buildings of the fortress Søren M. Sindbæk 167

The excavation of the buildings 167. Details of the fortress buildings 168. Measurements of the houses 171.
The houses’ timbers 172. The building of the houses – summary 172. Other buildings 175. Drainage 177.

5.8 Finds of objects and the function of the fortress Søren M. Sindbæk 178

5.9 The units of measurement and the materials used in building the fortress Søren M. Sindbæk 180
The units of measurement 180. The use of resources 181.
 5.10 Aggersborg and other fortresses Søren M. Sindbæk 184
The Trelleborg-type fortresses and related sites in southern Scandinavia 184. Trelleborg’s phases 189.
The circular fortresses’ relationships and relative chronology 191. The fortress houses, Viking-Age building
types and relative chronology 193. European fortresses of the Viking Age and their precursors 197.

5.11 The dating of Aggersborg Else Roesdahl and Søren M. Sindbæk 203
Methods of dating 203. The finds and the relation of the fortress to the earlier and later settlements 203.
The fortress structures and the period of its occupation 204. Trelleborg, Fyrkat, Nonnebakken
– and Aggersborg 205. Other major Danish structures of the second half of the tenth century 207.
The period of use of the fortresses 207.

6. The finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

6.1 Introduction Anne Pedersen and Else Roesdahl 209

6.2 Remains of building materials and larger objects Andres Dobat, Else Roesdahl 211

6.3 Pottery Hans Jørgen Madsen and Søren M. Sindbæk 214

6.4 Soapstone vessels and whetstones Heid Gjøstein Resi with contribution by Helge Askvik 235

6.5 Domestic equipment Andres Dobat, Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl, Søren M. Sindbæk 254

 6.6 Small objects and personal equipment 262

Hans Jørgen Madsen, Unn Pedersen, Else Roesdahl, Søren M. Sindbæk

 6.7 Dress accessories and personal ornaments of metal. Amulets 279

Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl, James Graham-Campbell

6.8 Beads, amber and glass Ulf Näsman 290

6.9 Coins Jens Christian Moesgaard and Jørgen Steen Jensen 298

6.10 Weapons Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl 302

6.11 Riding and skating Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl 306

6.12 Agricultural and fishing tools Else Roesdahl 313

6.13 Textile equipment, textile impressions Sarah Croix, Else Roesdahl, Lise Bender Jørgensen 317

6.14 Tools Else Roesdahl 330

6.15 Raw material, rough-outs, waste Andres Dobat, Unn Pedersen, Heid G. Resi, Else Roesdahl 337

6.16 Objects of unknown use Andres Dobat, Unn Pedersen, Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl 346

6.17 Prehistoric objects Hans Jørgen Madsen, Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl 352

 6.18 O
 bjects from the medieval and later periods 354
Jørgen Steen Jensen, Hans Jørgen Madsen, Anne Pedersen, Else Roesdahl

6.19 Summary Anne Pedersen 361

6.20 Supplementary information concerning finds and illustrations Else Roesdahl and Sarah Croix 365
7. Zoological finds Tove Hatting and Knud Rosenlund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Undomesticated animals 373. Domesticated birds and mammals 374.

8. The purpose of the fortress Else Roesdahl and Søren M. Sindbæk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
8.1 Interpretation of the Trelleborg-type fortresses – a survey 383

8.2 Characteristics of the fortresses 387

Location 387. Design 390. Activities 391. Common features and differences 391.

8.3 The context of the fortresses 393

Major Danish building projects 393. Political and military background 397. Culture and royal power
– a time of change 401. Why build fortresses? 404.

8.4 The purpose of the Trelleborg group of fortresses 407

8.5 Why Aggersborg? 410

8.6 Conclusion 413

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Appendix 1. Stray finds and metal-detector finds (until 2008) from the Aggersborg region 415
Anne Pedersen, Andres Dobat, Bjarne Henning Nielsen and Per Mandrup Christensen

Appendix 2. Coins from the floor of Aggersborg church 1976. A summary Jørgen Steen Jensen 418

Appendix 3. Primary archival sources Søren M. Sindbæk 419

Concordance of the original and revised excavation area numbers

Appendix 4. Surveying, measuring and digitisation Søren M. Sindbæk and Peter Jensen 421

Appendix 5. Botanical finds from Aggersborg – summary and comments Anne Pedersen and Else Roesdahl 423

Appendix 6. Dendrochronological dating of wood samples from Fyrkat Kjeld Christensen 425

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Objects of the Viking Age found at Aggersborg 473. Place-names and personal names 475.

Folding plates
Plate 1. Aggersborg. Plan of site. 1:1250.
Plate 2. Aggersborg. Plan of the main excavated areas. 1:500.
Plate 3. Aggersborg. Plan of the fortress. 1:500.
Preface
Aggersborg is one of Denmark’s most interesting and impor-
tant ancient monuments. Here was the world’s largest Viking
fortress, overlying a site where for many generations there had
been a remarkable Viking-Age rural settlement. In this book
are presented the results of many years’ work on the material
uncovered by the National Museum of Denmark’s extensive
excavations at Aggersborg (1945-52). The publication of the
three best-known of the late tenth-century circular fortresses
is thus finally completed.
Several generations of archaeologists have contributed to
these results. Most importantly, C.G. Schultz, who directed the
original excavations, identified the fortress and also recognised
the importance of the earlier Viking-Age settlement. ­Later,
Olaf Olsen organised the collation of the excavation plans in
order to provide an accurate record of the site, and arranged
funding for the registration of the finds, so that Aggersborg
could be better understood in academic terms. Finally, the
editors of this book (who also span some generations) worked
through the material and wrote the book together with nine-
teen colleagues from six countries.
We extend our warmest thanks to our collaborators for their
patience – extending in some cases over many years – in waiting
for the appearance of their contributions (the dates of deliv-
ery of their original manuscripts are recorded in the relevant
footnotes). We must also thank many who have through the
years helped by word and deed, particularly Olaf Olsen for his
never failing interest, and Holger Schmidt. Others are named
elsewhere in the book. We remember the architect, Mogens
Brahde, who revised and secured the final system of survey and
provided the first overall plan of the site, and Svend Sønder-
gaard, whose dedication and extraordinary understanding of
the features revealed during the excavations secured the quality
of much of the documentation. We are also very grateful to
Peter Jensen for digitising the excavation plans, Mette Iversen
for commenting on the Danish text and for editing the bibliog-
raphy, Eva Wilson, who helped with the first English draft, and
James Graham-Campbell who copy-edited the final version. A
large number of people generously waived copyright fees for
photographs. We are deeply grateful to the Jutland Archaeo-
logical Society and the Moesgård Graphics Department and
Photo/Media Department for invaluable collaboration.
The fortresses of Trelleborg and Fyrkat were published
with substantial English summaries. In view, however, of the
considerable cumulative knowledge and diverse interpreta-
Else Roesdahl Søren M. Sindbæk Anne Pedersen David M. Wilson
Aarhus University Aarhus University National Museum of Denmark Centre for Manx Studies
tions of them since these reports were published, and because
of the widespread interest in these circular fortresses, it was
decided that a full translation of most of the Danish report
on the third fortress should be published in English.
This book is, then, a translation of most of the text of
the Danish edition of the Aggersborg report. One section,
chapter 2.2 (a detailed account of Viking-Age finds from the
Limfjord region), has been greatly condensed. Other sections
(chapters 2.4, 2.5, 3.2, 3.3, 7 and Appendices 1-4 and 6) have
been summarised to various degrees, either because parts of
them are of mostly Danish interest, or because they can be
used only in consultation with the archive of the National
Museum of Denmark.
Terminology may sometimes confuse, particularly the
Danish use of the term ‘Early Middle Ages’, which is applied
to the 150 years after the Viking Age (which ends in the mid-
eleventh century). In other languages, however – English and
German for example – it is often used for the post-Roman
Period up to the end of the Viking Age. Place-names are only
anglicised when they are in common daily use – the Baltic
Sea, Jutland, etc. Names like ‘Sjælland’ are retained – in this
case because the anglicised ‘Zeeland’ can be confused with
the Dutch province of the same name. The Danish ‘Hedeby’
is preferred to ‘Haithabu’; but ‘Schleswig’, rather than ‘Sles-
vig’, has been used. Readers will enjoy sorting out the ration-
ale behind the choice of some other spellings!
Many institutions and foundations have over the years sup-
ported the project. Especially we would thank the National
Museum of Denmark, where the finds are deposited, and
Aarhus University, where much of the work took place;
Vesthimmerlands Museum in Aars helped with recent sup-
plementary investigations of the site. The main excavations
were supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, the Arbejds- and
Socialministeriet and Samarbejdsudvalget vedrørende inter-
nationalt Hjælpearbejde. Our work has been supported by
funding from the National Museum of Denmark, the Danish
Research Council for the Humanities and Aarhus University
Research Foundation; the completion of this work was made
possible by a timely grant from the Danish Research Council
for Culture and Communication in 2006.
The publication of both the Danish and English editions
of this book was made possible by generous grants from the
six foundations listed on the colophon page. To all of these
we extend our warmest thanks.
Fig.1.1. The hinterland of Aggersborg from the south. In the foreground are the Limfjord, the islet of Borreholm (which breaks the line
of the fjord) and the ford to Aggersborg. The partially reconstructed line of the rampart of the fortress lies between the manor-house and
farm-buildings of Aggersborggård and the medieval church. To the north can be seen the Skagerrak. Photo: Lis Helles Olesen, 14.4.2010.
For a reconstruction of the fortress see fig.5.39.