Discoveries made from Viking times by chance near Borg on Vestvågøy in Lofoten – NRK

About a mile as the crow flies from the Borg Viking Museum in Lofoten, archaeologists have made an exciting discovery.

Three longhouses appeared next to a small forest in Vestvågøy.

They probably date from the earliest Iron Age, says archaeologist Tor-Kristian Storvik.

– This is based on the fact that it is from this period that we find most of such. But it can also be the younger Iron Age or the Middle Ages, Storvik tells NRK.

It is probably an old farm that was abandoned at some point.

Don’t make such discoveries often

These farms were abandoned in roughly two periods: the Early Iron Age and around the Black Death.

– Longhouses are important elements on the estate and often had a barn and a living room. The most important outbuilding would be the boathouse.

– There were many farms in Vestvågøy during Viking times.. But not many of those discoveries have been made before.

The current cadastral system, that is, the real estate registry in Norway, is in fact roughly a continuation of the farms that existed since the Iron Age.

Laser shot

Archaeologists cannot determine with certainty what exactly the three houses by the forest on Vestvågøy were used for.

But probably related to agriculture; barn, smithy or warehouse.

That they have been found, can be attributed to modern technology.

Storvik talks about the LIDAR system. It has become an effective “weapon” for archaeologists.

– You shoot a laser from an airplane, to the ground. It is cooked at different densities, generally two to five points per square meter.

– Then just measure the marginal height differences on the ground. You get an accurate reading of the topography, explains the archaeologist.

Then you do a digital shading. And then a lot of strange things come up.

Appeared on the map

Exactly this finding was made in relation to a case of construction of nearby huts.

In connection with case processing, a verification of the surrounding area is usually carried out.

– They are very prominent on the map. You see it pretty immediately. Then splash. We also found some wells for cooking. It is fun!

– Is it being excavated?

– No, they’re fine where they are. They are now marked in the national database of protected cultural monuments automatically. We have also come out and find quality guaranteed.

Make more discoveries than before

It was also LIDAR that caused a ring tuna to be found in Bindal.

An ancient tuna farm until now completely unknown, between 200 and 800 years after Christ:

In 2009, several undiscovered burial mounds were found in the area where the Gokstad ship was once excavated.

Tor-Kristian Storvik has no doubt that this technology has meant a lot to archaeologists.

– We have made several discoveries in LIDAR, the few years that we have had the data available. We found burial mounds, chickadees and boathouses here and there, he confirms.