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Viking Fortress Yields New Discoveries

Monday, July 3, 2017

Borgring Ring Fortress Ceramics BluetoothVORDINGBORG, DENMARK—Archaeologists working at Borgring, a Viking ring fortress on the island of Zealand in Denmark, have uncovered evidence that challenges conventional wisdom about the site's lifespan and purpose, according to a report by ScienceNordic. One of five famous ringed fortifications in Denmark, Borgring was likely built around A.D. 980 by the Viking King Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, who, perhaps under pressure from the Holy Roman Empire, agreed to be baptized in the year 965, and is credited with the Christanization of the Danes. While many scholars have traditionally understood Borgring as a single-purpose structure meant to project Bluetooth's power or cement the spread of Christrianity, recently uncovered ceramic sherds at the site dating to the eleventh century suggest that the fortress continued as a settlement for hundreds of years. To read more about Harald Bluetooth, go to "Bluetooth's Fortress." 

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