Archaeologists find huge Viking textile production site in Denmark

<p>Archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, who led the 10-month dig, said that "we have a clear focus on textile production, which makes this settlement different from other kinds of settlements of this period."</p>

<p>"We have spindle whorls, we have weight looms; that tells us about what has been going on in the pit houses," said Reher-Langberg, adding that archaeologists had also discovered silver coins, glass beads and pottery.</p>

<p>Experts found separate areas for production and crafts, plus a single residential home, which suggests work was overseen by a powerful individual with control over resources and production.</p>

<p>Reher-Langberg said that, over the last three decades, people with metal detectors had unearthed several silver coins in the area. A trial excavation 1½ years ago, before the start of construction work on a new road and industrial area, then piqued archaeologists' interest.</p>

<p>"We could see in the trenches that it just keeps on going, with these houses and pit houses and textile production features," Reher-Langberg said.</p>

<p>Moesgaard Museum historian Kasper Andersen said that the discovery at Søften is "another piece in the puzzle" to understanding the local economic, cultural and political structure at the time.</p>

<p>During the Viking era, Aarhus — then known as Aros — functioned as a center for royalty and international trade. And last year, archaeologists discovered another Viking site in Lisbjerg, just 4 kilometers (2½ miles) away, that was likely home to members of the nobility.</p>

<p>Goods and resources were likely brought from the countryside and settlements like Søften, before entering an extensive international trade network, Andersen said.</p>

<p>An aerial shot shows an archaeological site in Soften near Aarhus, Denmark, on June 22, 2026.

James Brooks/AP

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<p>"When you have a production site of this scale, it cannot be only because of the local area. It needs to be understood as part of a greater network, a much bigger international perspective," Andersen said.</p>

<p>Reher-Langberg hopes future carbon dating and pollen analysis might answer some lingering questions, for instance about what kind of textile production went on at the site.</p>

<p>During the Viking Age, considered to run from A.D. 793 to 1066, Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raids, colonization, conquest and trade throughout Europe, even reaching North America.</p>

<p>Andersen said that the discovery at Søften shows that Vikings were "not just simple, uncivilized, barbaric hordes, rambling about Europe."</p>

<p>"To have a place like Søften, you need a very well-organized society with a production line, and you also need a market to have the production," he said. "The textiles from Søften go into a market that's much bigger than just the local area."</p>

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Guardian Sport · Jun 24

Guardian Sport · Jun 24

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