When archaeologists started their dig at Town Hall Square in Copenhagen 18 months ago, conventional wisdom said they were unlikely to find traces of 12th century life as the town had simply not stretched that far.

18 months later, views have changed. Skeletons, craftsmen’s refuse and traces of the herring trade have emerged that contradict what the history books tell us of the Danish capital.

“We are now going to have to rewrite the pre-Absalon history of Copenhagen. A very interesting set of discoveries,” says Copenhagen University History Ass. Prof. Carsten Jahnke.

The history books have all previously said that Archbishop Absalon founded Copenhagen in the second half of the 12th century. But the new discoveries mean his role should be played down.

“What our dig confirms is that Copenhagen was a real city before Absalon received it from King Valdemar,” City Hall Square dig leader Hanna Dahlström says.

“It wasn’t just a little village, but an important regional node in the Sound at the beginning of the 12th century,” Dahlström says.

The discovery of skeletal remains at H.C. Andersen’s Boulevard have been decisive. While archaeologists believed that they had found a smaller burial site belonging to a small farm outside the town, the discovery of 18 graves made them think again.

It is now believed that the graves were part of a larger 12th century graveyard within the town limits. Other discoveries under Town Hall Square confirm that there was a thriving town culture in the area.

“Copenhagen’s early history has been something of a mystery. We have recently had our theories and speculations that the town was important even before Absalon, but we have not had any proof. It’s great that we now have archaeological proof,” Jahnke says.

The question now remains that if Absalon didn’t found Copenhagen – then who did?

“Copenhagen was probably a Viking town. Why would Vikings otherwise have been here? It’s a good place to be in the middle of the Sound and a good place to berth,” Jahnke says.

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