The Sad History of Tjernagelhaugen (the Sword Nail Cairn)

For some 3,000 years, a great mound of stones on the Norwegian coast told sailors where they were. The skald Þórarinn loftunga (Torarin Lovtunge) mentions King Knut the Great sailing past Tjernagelhaugen, the ‘Sword Nail Cairn,’ on the Bømlafjord in 1028. Then, in 1983, it was torn down to make room for a shortwave radio tower, which was obsolete within 20 years.

The cairn was more than 75 feet across and over 8 feet high. After the Ministry of the Environment lifted its protection to make way for the Directorate of Telecommunications’ tower, archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen excavated the site.

The archaeologists found three graves. The oldest held bones and charcoal from around 1000 BC; the other two were stone cists. Little else had survived the centuries. Then the cairn itself was gone. Today the old waymark lives only in photographs, a monument erased for a tower that barely outlived its construction.

As a museum and registered nonprofit with an emphasis on historical education, this kind of wanton destruction for short-term, ephemeral gains goes against everything we believe in. We aim to bring Viking heritage to life so our guests can learn what it was like to live as the Vikings. More importantly, we will work to preserve our land and its cultural heritage regardless of its origin.

The best way to honor history is to protect it where it stands, and to bring it to life where it’s missing. Join our newsletter to follow along as we work toward a home in Alaska.