Aggersborg is one of the most important archaeological monuments of
Denmark's Viking Age, and the largest fortress in the Viking world.
Excavations by the Danish National Museum between 1945 and 1952 revealed
the largest of a series of at least five unique circular fortresses,
built to a precise geometrical pattern by the [politically ambitious
and] powerful king Harald Bluetooth. Below it were uncovered the rich
remains of a rural settlement, founded c. 800, which in the 970s was
razed to make way for the royal fortress. This monograph is the
culmination of a study and interpretation of what was found at
Aggersborg. Analysis of the remains of the early settlement provides a
new and detailed view of the buildings, material culture and social
structure of a Danish rural community in the early Viking Age. The
excavation of the later fortress has shed much new light on a nodal
period of Danish history in which the fortress played a crucial role. It
has also resulted in important new insights into Harald's royal
pretensions and his political and economic achievements, in relation
both to Denmark and to the neighbouring countries of Europe. The book is
edited by Else Roesdahl and Sen SindbAek of Aarhus University, together
with Anne Pedersen of the National Museum of Denmark and David M.
Wilson, former Director of the British Museum (who also translated this
slightly abbreviated English version of the Danish monograph).
