Brovold

Facts

Medieval marketplace

By Per Grau Møller, Lektor, lic. phil. Syddansk Universitet (8 stories)

The unassuming embankment of Brovold on Als slopes up towards slightly flatter terrain and ends with a cliff. The embankment is on the south bank of the stream Strømmen", which connects Mjang Dam with the artificial lake Lillehav near Augustenborg. In the 12th and 13th centuries, a small marketplace graced this plateau. That was before the market town of Sønderborg was established to the south. It was an ideal site because merchant ships could berth in the lea of the embankment. It was also a crossing in the middle of the island that enabled travellers to avoid the long detour around Mjang Dam. The village of Bro, meaning bridge, suggests it was a junction. "

Partly a public place

Selected entry

Archaeological revelations

Story written by Per Grau Møller

Time / Periode 1000 1200

7 Comments 1 recommendations

Brovold is a good example of how thorough archaeological investigations can change our perceptions of a site. In the 1930s, the site was excavated and what was thought to be a Viking Age settlement was found. But new research in the 1970s revealed that the date should be nudged forwards a couple of centuries to the early Middle Ages. The excavations revealed a seasonal marketplace with a number of houses and stalls. Here, craftsmen could sell their wares along with the travelling traders. A number of small square houses were also unearthed with corner posts and a fireplace in one corner. The houses are so similar that they were probably planned and built together.