Swedish archaeologists lately uncovered remnants of a forgotten Sixteenth-century metropolis beneath modern-day Gothenburg.
The excavation was carried out by Arkeologerna, a Swedish archaeological consultancy, earlier this autumn. Researchers targeted on Olskroken, a district east of central Gothenburg — Sweden’s second-largest metropolis after Stockholm.
What they discovered had been the remnants of a spot referred to as Nya Lödöse, a short-lived city based by Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder in 1473.
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With its strategic location close to the North Sea, Nya Lödöse flourished as a port and attracted merchants from throughout Western Europe.
By 1624, nevertheless, it was largely deserted, and Gothenburg started to rise as an alternative. Due to archaeologists’ onerous work, remnants of the long-forgotten locale have turned up in latest months.
Archaeologists in Sweden uncovered remnants of the Sixteenth-century city of Nya Lödöse beneath modern-day Gothenburg. (Arkeologerna, Statens Historiska Museer)
“There were similarities in the physical structure of most of the plots,” he mentioned. “All houses except the church were wooden and mostly uniform in size and architectural style.”
Obrink added, “They resembled rural dwellings and the architecture didn’t show different social and economic status. What we uncovered were not complete houses — but rather the remains of walls and the boundaries of the individual plots.”
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Obrink labored as a undertaking supervisor in the course of the excavations. He famous that delicate class variations emerged by way of the artifacts.
“We found a huge amount of artifacts reflecting everyday life and surplus — like, for instance, a leather glove and a wooden barrel,” he mentioned.
“We found a huge amount of artifacts reflecting everyday life and surplus, like, for instance, a leather glove and a wooden barrel,” mentioned Obrink. (Arkeologerna, Statens Historiska Museer)
“We also found many imported ceramic objects. One of the most surprising artifacts was pieces of a pocket watch from the mid-16th century.”
Images from the excavation embody the stays of a home, a Sixteenth-century leather-based glove and a cobbled avenue, together with a Seventeenth-century wood barrel that was repurposed as a cesspit.
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“In the 16th century, this part of the town was densely built up, and analyses of the buried inhabitants have given us important insights into life in Nya Lödöse,” he mentioned.
“We have excavated an exceptionally large portion of the town, and the material we uncovered spans a period of only 150 years.”
“The founding of Nya Lödöse represents the beginning of an independent Swedish trade policy.”
Obrink famous that Nya Lödöse was established to succeed the older medieval settlement of Lödöse, throughout a time “marked by battle between Denmark and Sweden.“
“Although the two kingdoms had been united in a political union since the 14th century, Sweden repeatedly attempted to break free,” he mentioned.
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“The founding of Nya Lödöse represents the beginning of an independent Swedish trade policy.”
However Nya Lödöse’s proximity to the Danish border invited battle, Obrink mentioned — and it was changed “by the heavily fortified city of Gothenburg.”
Obrink mentioned delicate social variations appeared by way of artifacts akin to clothes, imported items and instruments. (Arkeologerna, Statens Historiska Museer)
Since 2013, archaeologists have uncovered streets, not less than 39 plots, the port, the pier and the principle sq. — and extra lately, town’s Sixteenth-century fortifications, which included a moat, rampart and traces of a number of gardens contained in the partitions.
All in all, Obrink mentioned that the brand new findings give researchers “extraordinary opportunities to examine fine-grained details of the built environment and to tell the stories of life in Nya Lödöse.”
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“[It’s] something that has rarely been possible elsewhere,” he mentioned.
“These stories unfold against the wider backdrop of the transformative 16th century, when medieval Europe transitioned into the early modern era.”
As we speak, bustling Gothenburg covers the bottom the place Nya Lödöse as soon as thrived as Sweden’s western gateway. (Soeren Stache/image alliance through Getty Photos)
“It was a time marked by the discovery of the Americas, the Reformation and the emergence of powerful princely states,” Obrink concluded.
The Gothenburg excavation is one among many desirable archaeological digs that occurred in Sweden in 2025.
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Within the southwest area of the nation, a historical past buff with a metallic detector led archaeologists to the location of a medieval monastery this spring.
Earlier this fall, an angler digging for fishing worms discovered an enormous medieval treasure hoard exterior of Stockholm.
