Scandinavian’s Oldest Town Ribe Is Much Older Than Previously Thought

MessageToEagle.com – The Danish town Ribe is the oldest town in Scandinavia. Ribe was an important trading centre in Viking times.

The Vikings sailed to the most important trading centres to buy, sell and trade and Ribe played a significant role in their trading.

Up to now it was believed that Scandinavia’s first town, Ribe was built in the end of the eighth century. However, a new study has moved Scandinavian  urban history almost 100 years further back in time.

“Ribe was where the urbanisation of all Scandinavia began. If Ribe began to become a town already in the early eighth century, this was long before the beginning of the Viking age, which sheds new light on our conception of this period,” says the study’s author Sarah Croix from Aarhus University.
“In her study Croix has shown that the model we have worked with for the past 30 years is not accurate,” says Professor and head of research Søren Sindbæk from Aarhus University, who believes the study will be of huge significance for Viking archaeology.
The study was recently published in the European Journal of Archaeology.

Located on the West coast of Denmark, not far from the North Sea, Ribe was one such trading centre.

From its beginning is the early 700s it also functioned as a landing place, what we today would call a harbor. But was it also a town?

This discussion has been circulating among archaeologists since the 1970s, Croix explains.

“It was thought that it must have been something seasonal, something that wasn’t permanent, a place only visited as a trading post once a year. Envisaging the existence of a town — that is to say permanent habitation — from the very start, is a rather revolutionary idea. However, I have found clear evidence of this in regards to Ribe.”
According to Croix there are several signs showing permanent habitation.

“The soil in the excavation area was levelled by blocks of turf. This was a big job which would only be worth it if the plan was long-term habitation.

Textile-making tools were found on the site, including loom weights. Although textile making in itself is not evidence of permanent habitation, it does strongly suggest this, because it strongly suggests that women were among the site’s inhabitants from the start. Their existence makes it possible that there was family life on the site, since most merchants were men.
Fragments of grinding slabs used to grind grain to flour; four of which can be dated to the earliest period of Ribe’s beginning. The fragmented state of the slabs suggests they were used in daily housekeeping,” Science Nordic reports.

The most important piece of evidence of Croix’s analyses is neither the tools nor other odds and ends in the soil, it is actually an entire house.

The remains of the house are located outside the main excavation area. This means, among other things, that they have not succeeded in finding a hearth, which is otherwise considered crucial for a house to be considered a permanent residence.
However, on the basis of available data Croix has been able to conclude: The house had a floor of hard-stamped clay – which would quickly have been washed away had it been a temporary home.

The house was at least six metres long and its walls were made of wickerwork.

The structure resembles other permanent residences in other Viking towns such as Kaupang in Norway, Birka in Sweden and several located in the UK.

See also:

Explore The Mysterious Ancient World Of The Vikings

Denmark’s Largest Viking Gold Treasure Discovered

Viking Death House: Unique Tomb With Rare Remains Of Powerful Couple And Artifacts Discovered In Denmark

Further excavations will cast more light on the entire issue and hopefully reveal more about the town’s history. Norwegian Professor Dagfinn Skre, from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, finds Croix’s study highly important. He reached the conflicting conclusion in 2007: that Ribe did not become a town until around 780. But the content of the new scientific article is most convincing, he says.

“If this is right, it’s a great result, and Croix has excellent arguments. But final confirmation of whether Ribe was a town already in the early eighth century will require more excavations,” says Skre.
Thought the professional community is calling for more evidence, Croix is certain of her results: Ribe became a town in the early 700s – possibly as early as 705, to which the earliest items on the site have been dated. “It wasn’t initially my ambition to reach this conclusion, but when I suddenly found myself sitting there with the results in my hands, I saw that they would change our current model,” says Croix.
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