Oslo 1324, A Project of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research
The Norsk Institutt for Kulturminneforskning (Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research) has created a website based on its work to reconstruct the city of Oslo in the year 1324. Along with information in text, the site contains a two-minute video of a walk though the city and some of its structures at the time, complete with muddy streets, plank pathways, and dimly-lit rooms inside the buildings.
Image credit: NIKU
[Image description: A screenshot from the video, showing a few buildings on a muddy street with some plank walkways laid across it.]
Image credit: NIKU
[Image description: A screenshot from the video, showing an interior room dimly lit by a few candles, with two narrow, deep windows. The walls are stone, and the floor and ceiling are made of wooden beams. Two long benches form an L-shape against the far walls. An arched doorway leads to another room.]
While the fourteenth century is well after the end of the era known as “The Viking Age”, the site is well worth exploring if you are interested in the history of Norway, or simply appreciate the amazing work done by the people involved.
NIKU has done over 1,000 digs since 1994, which you can read about on their main website. One of the finds in the Tonsberg dig was an Arabic-style chess piece made of antler, probably from the late Viking era.
Both sites are in Norwegian, but with the help of a web-based translator, I was able to review most of the information in English.
A fascinating way to spend a few hours!
