Possible cult ritual site of early Viking kings discovered

Overlooking a Viking palace found in 1986, the hall is 48 meters long and 7 meters across and the building had post holes over a meter deep, showing it must have been an impressive construction.Tom Christensen, the curator of Roskilde Museum stated that it is almost certainly a royal building of some sort but what is strange about the site is the fact that it is littered with pieces of golden jewellery, glass and bronze broaches, a large pile of cooking stones from primitive ovens and high quality glasses and ceramics which appear to have been deliberately smashed, possibly in some sort of ritual.

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Archaeologists have been digging at the site since 1986 looking for clues about Denmark’s first Viking kings.  According to the ancient texts, Lejre was the capital of the first Viking royal family, the Scylding dynasty ruled around 400 – 500 AD.  According to the legends, the first Viking king was called King Skjold, which means ‘shield’, so named because he first appeared from nowhere asleep in a boat lying on his shield.

The Scylding dynasty is known to have lasted at least a century and the oldest surviving record of their existence is from the 8h century epic poem ‘Beowulf’, which refers to their heroic and bloody exploits.  In ‘Beowulf’, the Scylding king Hrothgar is said to have resided at Lejre and Christensen believes they may have found the site of the hall from the poem.  The 13th century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus also identified the area as an ancient royal seat for Danish kings.

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When the dig began in 1986, the foundations of a huge longhouse were found which was twice as big as any other similar find in Denmark, leading archaeologists to believe it was a place of great importance.  Evidence of other constructions were also found there, including dams, windmills, a bronze foundry, workshops and an outlining fence.

Excavations continue and a museum is now situated nearby displaying the various finds of the site.  The museum website translated into English can be found here.