OSLO, NORWAY—Life in Norway reports that massive timbers and stone foundations from Oslo’s medieval waterfront have been uncovered at the head of the Oslo fjord. Scientists including Håvard Hegdal of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) dated the timber to the summer of A.D. 1420. The stonework may have served as building foundations, or as walkways described in medieval sources for watchmen to patrol the city and the port’s jetties, Hegdal said. Timber quay structures have also been found some 300 feet to the north, he added, suggesting the quay at the port of Oslo was larger than had been previously thought. The newly uncovered landing area, however, is larger and better built, leading Hegdal to speculate that the area might have once been one of higher status. The researchers are creating 3-D models of the waterfront area as they continue to excavate the remains of ships and piers. To read about Norway's first Christian ruler, go to "The Church that Transformed Norway."
