Mysterious ruins found hidden in courtyard of 500-year-old castle in Norway. See them

Aspen Pflughoeft
·2 min read
21

On a small island off the coast of Norway sat the ruins of a 500-year-old castle. The castle’s history was well-known and most of the structure had been extensively studied, but the courtyard hid a secret — until now.

Steinvikholm castle was built on Steinvikholmen island in the 1520s as a stronghold for a Catholic archbishop, according to the Large Norwegian Encyclopedia. The complex has a central courtyard surrounded by four wings and two round towers on opposite sides.

The central courtyard was the only part of the castle that archaeologists had not completely explored, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research said in a Jan. 24 news release.

In a corner of the yard, the ground had collapsed, prompting speculation about a hidden structure, the manager of the regional antiquities association, Merethe Skjelfjord Kristiansen, said in the release.

Intrigued, archaeologists decided to scan the courtyard with ground penetrating radars to see if there was anything buried there.

There was.

An archaeologists scans the courtyard with a ground penetrating radar.
An archaeologists scans the courtyard with a ground penetrating radar.

The radar scans identified the ruins of a structure buried just over 2 feet down, the release said. The fragmented structure was rectangular and measured about 26 feet by about 23 feet.

The ruins don’t connect to the surrounding castle or align with it, the institute said. Instead, the ruins probably belong to a separate building and are most likely older than the castle.

A pair of photos show the radar scans of the courtyard and the brown outline of the structure.

Archaeologists don’t know the exact age of the buried ruins or what purpose the structure served, the institute said.

The secret structure might be a hidden cellar or a temporary workshop used during the castle’s construction and then destroyed, archaeologists said.

The castle courtyard as seen in the radar scans (top) and with the outline of the buried ruins marked in brown (bottom).
The castle courtyard as seen in the radar scans (top) and with the outline of the buried ruins marked in brown (bottom).

Radar scans of the area outside the castle revealed traces of an old road and a well, the institute said.

A YouTube video shared by Ståle Kotte shows the Steinvikholm castle from above.

Steinvikholmen island is about 240 miles north of Oslo.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and the article from the Large Norwegian Encyclopedia.

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