The stonemarking to the left of the rampart set out the ground plan of a viking house at the fort. Trelleborg is a 60000 M2 big viking ring fortress, built between autumn 980 and spring 981 AD. The layout of the ringfort was strictly geometrical. It consist of 4 X 4 of the house lay out on the picture, set up in 4 squared bloks, with the huge ring wall and a water filled moat around for defence. Some 500 vikings lived here and each house gave room for some 30 - 50 people. The inner diameter...
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The stonemarking to the left of the rampart set out the ground plan of a viking house at the fort. Trelleborg is a 60000 M2 big viking ring fortress, built between autumn 980 and spring 981 AD. The layout of the ringfort was strictly geometrical. It consist of 4 X 4 of the house lay out on the picture, set up in 4 squared bloks, with the huge ring wall and a water filled moat around for defence. Some 500 vikings lived here and each house gave room for some 30 - 50 people. The inner diameter is 136 meter and the rampart an impressive 19 meter, outside covered with oak wood for defence. The length of the houses, like the one here, was 30 meter. The name Trelleborg - could mean "fort built by slaves" - is commonly used for the 6 ring forts in Denmark and Southern Sweden. No other European similarity is known. The purpose of the ring forts are disputed: A) When Harald Bluetooth - yes, he gave name to that modern technology of the same name - in 970 lost his fortress Dannevirke on the southern border to Germany he is believed to have built these 6 ring forts (plus bridges, roads etc.) to defend his kingdom. B) Another theory explains that the ring forts was boot camps for the Vikings, which under Sweyn Forkbeard attacked England and finally burned down London in 1013 AD. Another photo in the OJPHTOS collection displays a reconstruction of a house inside the fort..
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