The Bjørvika neighborhood was a central part of medieval Oslo centuries ago. The port was located in this area of the city, the nerve center of trade routes across the North Sea. Since the 1990s archaeologists have been uncovering part of this old pier, until recently finding the main site.
“This is the find we were most eager for,” says Håvard Hegdal, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), in a video posted on YouTube. "We have found what is known as the Muelle del Rey," he says.
The remains they have found are exceptional. Eight meters of fully intact wooden foundations. “It's crazy,” Hegdal adds in the recording. “The logs are twice as thick as any we have found before,” says the Norwegian archaeologist.
The pier is located in a straight line from the fjord to what in the 12th and 13th centuries was the Kungsgård of Oslo, an estate that belonged to the Scandinavian monarchs. The remains found were deep beneath a light layer of blue clay that originated from a landslide in the late 14th or early 15th century on the nearby Alna River.
In medieval times, Oslo had several piers that provided access to the sea. Several roads, such as one called Klemensallmenningen and another known as Bispeallmenningen, ended at docks. Ships from all over the world arrived at this port city and were greeted by the bustle of merchant stalls, warehouses, plazas, and inns.
More than 40 ships dating from the Middle Ages to the 18th century have been excavated at Bjørvika in recent years. Most are medium-sized boats from ten to twelve meters in length, with some smaller ones from six to seven meters. But archaeologists have also found large anchors that much larger ships would have used.
But the discovery of the 'Muelle del Rey' will be short-lived. As NIKU experts have explained to the Norwegian media, these foundations are going to be destroyed. Archaeologists have already surveyed the site, made 3D models and sent part of the discoveries to the laboratory so they can be dated.
But the logs are too big and there is no place to store the wood (immersed in water so it doesn't destroy) and no money to preserve it. Samples were taken and then they had to be removed from the environment so that the works that were being carried out in the neighborhood could continue.
The corner of one of the bulwarks is barely preserved, which was cut off and immersed in water in a container. But that meant the Museum of Cultural History scrapped part of another 15th-century stronghold. Preserving the newly discovered remains was considered more valuable by experts.
The researchers discovered, beyond this huge section of the pier, several magnificently preserved objects. The excavation at Bjørvika was completed at Easter. Apartment construction is becoming more and more abundant in the area and what was once the city's old port will soon be a new space of opportunity in Old Oslo.
