Grüsse von Harald Blauzahn?-Neue Forschungen in der Borgsumburg auf der nordfriesischen Insel Föhr

Abstract

Located about 1 km north the village
Borgsum on a moderately raised moraine
crest, a circular rampart, visible from
afar, still bears witness to the monument
preserved above ground. The Borgsumburg
on the North Frisian Island Föhr
has a height of nearly 8 m and an inner
diameter of almost 100 m. Excavations
in the 1950s uncovered parts of several
well-preserved buildings with sod walls
in the inner area, which can be dated
to the period from the 9th to the late
10th century. Geomagnetic and -radar
surveys in 2001 and 2003 revealed further
remains of numerous closely spaced
sod buildings along the inside of the circular
fortification.
Both date and function still raise
many questions. Since June 2021, a project
funded by the Frederik Paulsen
Foundation investigates the interior of
the Borgsumburg
according to current
questions based on archaeological excavations,
pedological investigations and
botanical analyses. Summerly excavations
have revealed many new insights.
Excellent preservation conditions led to
finds like e. g. textile fragments, bird remains
with feathers and eggshells. The
youngest of the four settlement phasesdates dendrochronologically to the years
of around 980 AD. This is the time of
Harald Bluetooth´s Trelleborg fortresses,
indicating that there might be some
sort of connection, i. e. it seems that the
refurbishment of an already existing circular
rampart was favoured over building a new one