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Concept
Aggersborg
Summary
Aggersborg is the largest of Denmark's former Viking ring fortress, and one of the largest archaeological sites in Denmark. It is located near Aggersund on the north side of the Limfjord. It consists of a circular rampart surrounded by a ditch. Four main roads arranged in a cross connects the fortress center with the rampart's outer ring. The roads were tunneled under the outer rampart, leaving the circular structure intact.
The location was originally the site of an Iron Age village which was removed during the 10th century to allow for the construction of the ring fortress. The fortress itself was likely constructed c. 980, and was later abandoned. Although the exact purpose of the fortress is unknown, the location is of significant strategic importance, as it overlooks a narrow strait of the Limfjord.
Many archaeological excavations have been conducted on the site, revealing its original structure and design. These excavations also uncovered a large number of artefacts from the Iron Age and Viking Age. The surface of the site as it exists today is a reconstruction.
Dating the structure has proven difficult, because it was the site of an Iron Age village before the construction of the ring fortress. Archaeological finds suggest that this village was settled during the late 8th century. It was destroyed during the 10th century, and the grounds were cleared for the construction of the fortress. The ring fortress itself is believed to have been constructed around 980 during the reign of king Harold Bluetooth and/or Sweyn Forkbeard. Five of the six ring fortresses in historical Denmark have been dated to this era. The exact purpose of the fortress remains uncertain. Some historians have argued that the fortress' primary function was as a barracks or training grounds in connection with Sweyn Forkbeard's armies, which conquered England in the early 1000s. This theory has been disproven by dendrochronological dating of the site.
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