Archaeologists uncover Harald Bluetooth’s royal palaceThursday, 24 June 2010 11:56 BJS Culture
[ The ancient Jellinge complex is considered the hub of the Danish kingdom. (Photo: Claus Fisker, Scanpix)]
In what they describe as a ‘sensational’ discovery, archaeologists from Århus find the remains of 10th century king’s royal residence
After speculating for centuries about its location, the royal residence of Harald Bluetooth has finally been discovered close to the ancient Jelling complex with its famous runic stones in southern Jutland.
The remains of the ancient wooden buildings were uncovered in the north-eastern corner of the Jelling complex which consists of royal burial mounds, standing stones in the form of a ship and runic stones.
Harald ruled Denmark between 940 and 985 AD and is reputed to have conquered Norway and converted the country to Christianity. The Bluetooth interface developed by Ericsson for wireless connections – with a logo consisting of the runic letters H and B – is named after him.
Mads Dengsø Jessen, the archaeologist from Århus University who led the dig said four buildings from Harald’s time had been discovered at the site. The buildings are characteristic of those built at round fortresses known as Trelleborg.
‘This tells us that we have uncovered a large complex, and the strict geometrical construction is a typical example of Harald’s work,’ Jessen said.
Archaeologists have yet to identify the remains of Harald’s royal hall, but Jessen believes they can be found under the existing Jelling Church, where the remains of a large wooden building were discovered on a previous dig.
Archaeologists had speculated that the wooden building was a church but because of its location in relation to the newly uncovered longhouses, Dengsø Jessen thinks that it is almost certainly Harald Bluetooth’s royal hall.
Jelling is revered as the cradle of the Danish kingdom, and the larger of the two runic stones which is often described as the baptismal certificate of the Danish nation directly refers to Harald Bluetooth and his conversion of the country to Christianity.
The second Jelling stone includes the first written reference to Denmark in the country.
http://www.cphpost.dk/culture/culture/122-culture/49329-archaeologists-uncover-harald-bluetooths-royal-palace.html
