King Øystein's Harbor at Agdenes

The harbour at Agdenes has a special status in Norwegian cultural history. It is mentioned in several sagas, and is one of very few sites so far recorded in Norway where wooden constructions are preserved. A number of elements are present in three zones: on shore, intertidal and seabed. It consequently constitutes an natural and combined area for maritime archaeological research.

King Øystein`s harbour at Agdenes

The site is situated in a key position where the Trondheim channel and the Trondheim fjord meet, making this an ideal location for construction of the harbour in a small bay on the northern point of Agdenes.

Agdenes and the harbour in the bay at Agdenes are mentioned several times in Snorre and Håkon Håkonsson's saga. The Magnus's sons saga reports that the harbour at Agdenes was built during the reign of King Øystein (1103-1123). In the comparison of the achievements of King Øystein and his brother, King Sigurd, Øystein claims that he built the harbour whilst his brother was on a journey in 1108-1111.

Parts of the harbour constructions are very well preserved

The harbour was probably built for political and military reasons. Its construction required a great deal of manpower and technological expertise. The choice of the location also confirms the strategic importance of the site. Agdenes bay is not a good natural harbour, but its geographical position is ideal for the establishment of a control and defence post. Trondheim, or Nidaros as it was called then, functioned at this time as both a trading and a political centre in central Norway. The harbour was built during a period when civil wars still occurred and central Norway was only loosely attached to the rest of the kingdom. In this context, the construction at Agdenes had, in addition to purely practical purposes, a clear symbolic value signalling royal power.

The investigation of King Øystein's harbour has a history lasting more than 220 years. This was in fact one of the first medieval monuments to be investigated in Norway. As early as 1773, Gerhard Schøning tried to gather information about the harbour when he spent a night at Agdenes.

Remains of the harbour at Agdenes were found 92 years later. In 1865, the chairman of the Trondheim section of the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments,O. Krefting, reported that he had observed the remains of harbour constructions and church foundations in a small bay. At the request of the society, the site was mapped and described in 1869 by J. Meyer. His exceptionally precise drawings, along with his description of the site, now form a very valuable source of information for archaeologists.

Other investigations, of varying scales and goals were undertaken in 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1982, 1984 and 1986.

In 1991, the sea floor was inspected by the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology in Trondheim for the first time, and the submerged construction was photographed and described. Nearest land in the southwest corner of the area is a pile of medium-sized stones and larger blocks. From this, two distinct, elongate mounds of stones stretch into deeper water.

A crib is situated in the middle of the pile of stones, between these mounds. Investigation of the crib showed that the same technique had probably been used to build this as was used for the cribs on the beach. The crib is located approximately in the middle of the pile of stones which originally filled it. An approximately 5 m long timber extends from beneath the stones uppermost on the easterly mound of stones. This marks the outer limit of the crib. Perpendicular to this are three additional timbers with diameters of between 27 and 46 cm. Between these are eight smaller logs.

Geological studies were also carried out and data collected to draw up a shoreline displacement curve for this part of central Norway. Sections of the site deeper than 30 m were investigated with a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) equipped with a video camera. This survey located among other objects a small iron anchor at a depth of about 34 m.

In 1993 a 2x1 m trench near the crib was excavated. This revealed a thick, compact layer of material originating from human activity, covered by 5 cm of sand. Work continued on land where a detailed survey was made of the eight basal timbers on the beach and of the rampart. The aim here was to clarify the relationship between all the elements recorded so far.

Maritime archaeological investigations carried out at Agdenes have contributed some valuable new data. Nonetheless, studies here are certainly far from complete, and many unsolved problems and questions remain. The investigations both on land and under water will continue.