A team of archaeologists working on the Norwegian island of Klosteroy, known for hosting a rich cultural heritage, found what they believe was an ancient Viking market.
Using ground-penetrating radar, a team of experts from the Museum of Archeology of the city of Stavanger detected in September 2023 underground ditches that presumably attest to the ancient presence of houses, as well as three foundations of docks or boat sheds, which they led to suspicions that these are the remains of a market, Science Norway recently reported.
The conclusion has been supported by finds of coins and weights, commonly associated with trade. The discoveries took place in the protected cultural environment of Utstein Gard, now privately owned, with whose owners the experts work closely.
Trench houses, dug below the level of the earth’s surface, were built in various places in Europe but were especially common in Scandinavia.
«In ditches, we often find remains of a soil surface. There may also be post holes for the supporting structure as well as a chimney. That design makes them cool in summer and warm in winter. A common interpretation of these types of buildings is that they served as workshops associated with crafts,” explained Kristoffer Hillesland, archaeologist at the University of Stavanger Museum of Archaeology.
The researchers also found structures resembling burial mounds, cooking pits, layers of soil that may arise as a result of cultivation, and traces of settlement.
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