Viking Evidence Shows Stavanger Cathedral Likely Built Over Viking Settlement

Archaeologists digging below the floors of the spectacular Stavanger Cathedral on Norway’s southwestern coast unearthed new evidence revealing more about the church site’s complex past. While excavating in crawl spaces below the church’s northern section, they found an assortment of animal bones, buried in a layer of darkened earth that showed other signs of human use and occupation. Based on this discovery plus previous finds, the archaeologists believe they’ve proven that the magnificent church was constructed on top of an abandoned Viking settlement. 

“In the northern chambers of the church we have found thin, dark soil layers with a completely different character than in the rest of the areas we have investigated so far,” said excavation leader Kristine Ødeby, an archaeologist affiliated with the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU).

One of the skeletons found in the basement level of Stavanger Cathedral, above the layer that looks to be an ancient Viking settlement. (Jani Causevic / NIKU)