New excavations at Jelling

In 2007 Vejle Museum undertook new excavations around the monuments at Jelling. Here a very large palisaded enclosure, which covers an area of c. 120,000 m2, was revealed. The palisade encompasses the large ship-setting, the two large mounds, the church and the two rune stones. The North Mound with the burial chamber lies exactly in the middle of the large enclosure. Several building phases have been established for the palisade and a number of large houses have also been excavated. Much suggests that a royal residence may have been located at Jelling. Forthcoming excavations will perhaps clarify whether the royal manor is the site’s oldest structure, while the ship-setting, burial mounds and rune stones are later monuments, or perhaps other possibilities have to be investigated.