Hune Longhouse: A Great Viking Find

In a field in northern Denmark, archaeologists found the outline of a building as long as a blue whale: a Viking Age hall roughly 130 feet (40 meters) long and 33 feet (10 meters) wide, near the village of Hune in North Jutland. Announced at the end of 2022, it is one of the most important Viking finds in Denmark in years. A hall this size was more than a home; it was likely a gathering place for feasts, councils and ceremony, and it hints that more buildings lie nearby.

Between 10 and 12 massive oak posts once held up the hall’s roof.

“We have not seen anything like it before here in North Jutland, even though it has only been partially excavated,” North Jutland Museums Archaeologist Thomas Rune Knudsen says.

Hune Longhouse Owner?

Knudsen suggests that the longhouse could belong to Runulv den Rådsnilde, who had a nearby rune stone erected in his honor. The Hune church has the stone, which was created between 970 and 1020 CE, on its porch. The inscription reads: “Hove, Thorkil, Thorbjørn raised this stone for their father Runulv the Shrewd.”

“It is difficult to prove that the found Viking hall belonged to the family of Runulv den Rådsnilde, but it is certainly a possibility,” says Knudsen. However, “if nothing else, the rune stone and hall represent the same social class, and both belong to society’s elite.”

The design of the longhouse fits the era of Harald Bluetooth, namesake of today’s connecting technology and ruler in the 10^th century.

Archeologists scheduled to have carbon dating and more excavations done by the end of 2023. That information has not been released as of the writing of this post.

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