Unknown Viking trading place discovered by master’s student

Here, at Sandtorg by Tjelsund, Tor-Kjetil discovered a trading place that existed as early as the 800s. (Photo: Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal)

With the help of a metal detector, Tor-Kjetil discovered what appears to be the oldest trading place in Northern Norway to date. Now he’s switching jobs, making archeology a full-time engagement.

In his newly published archaeology master’s thesis delivered at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal has shown that a trading place existed in the Viking Age at Sandtorg in Tjelsund, in Harstad Municipality.

Krokmyrdal found objects that can be dated all the way back to the 800s, which makes Sandtorg the first trading place we know of thus far in Northern Norway.

“This discovery means that from now on, researchers need to re-think how societies and trade functioned in this region in the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages” archaeologist Marte Spangen says, who has been supervising Krokmyrdal in his thesis work.

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