Work had just begun on a new building in the courtyard of Nyborg Castle on Funen when a surprising archaeological discovery stilled the shovels. The foundations of a building that no-one had any idea existed were revealed as the first layers of soil were removed.
“We have never dug in the courtyard before,” Claus Frederik Sørensen, the head archaeologist at Østfyns Museum, told DR Nyheder. “We dug around a bit and found what is by all accounts the foundation of a building we never knew existed.”
Old bones
So far, the excavations have revealed a ‘cultural layer’ containing bones and pottery that probably date back to medieval times, perhaps as far as the 13th century.
Archaeologists and architects are now in a dialogue regarding the way forward. Sørensen estimates that excavations of the site could take up to 18 months.
“I have the highest expectations for excavations,” he said. “We have only seen the tip of the iceberg.”
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Sørensen added that visitors to the castle would be able to track the progress of the dig.
