The lost landscape of Borgring: geoarchaeological investigations into the navigation to, and location of, the Danish Viking Age ring fortress

A recent geoarchaeological study of Borgring, a Danish Viking Age ring fortress, reveals that the site's strategic placement was not influenced by navigational access via nearby streams. Despite being a large-scale project requiring significant resources, the fortress's location precluded access for anything larger than a small dinghy, suggesting that such navigation played no critical role in its function or significance. This finding challenges prior assumptions about the importance of water-based access to Viking Age ring fortresses and has broader implications for understanding their functional interpretation across Denmark.

Jessen, C., Henriksen, P. S., Hald, M. M., Sindbæk, S. M., & Ulriksen, J. (2021). The lost landscape of Borgring. Danish Journal of Archaeology, 10. https://doi.org/10.7146/dja.v10i0.121917