Has The Legendary Viking Stronghold Jomsborg Finally Been Found?

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com -  The existence of legendary Jomsvikings is one of the greatest unsolved Viking mysteries. They are described in Icelandic Sagas as superheroes and a legendary mercenary army. The Jomsvikings were a fearless Scandinavian warrior-brotherhood and no ordinary Viking warriors.

Credit: Adobe Stock - Kaleb

"No-one really knows where they lived, and many historians question their existence, but archeological discoveries reveal it is highly possible Icelandic Sagas about these fearsome warriors can be true. According to intriguing stories told in the Icelandic Sagas, these courageous Norse warriors were based at Jomsborg, a fortress on the south on the southern Baltic shore." ¹

The Viking stronghold has never been located, but archaeologist Wojciech Filipowiak at the archaeology and ethnology section of Poland’s Academy of Sciences has found something that may solve one of the greatest Viking Age mysteries ever.

The local government has decided to build an observation tower on a sandy hill on Wolin, an island in the Baltic Sea. The place, known as Hangmen’s Hill has a dark history. It was previously an execution place and most likely an ancient ground where hideous rituals and human sacrifices were conducted. From an archaeological perspective, one could expect to find something of value there.

When Dr. Filipowiak started digging at the site, he found charcoaled wood that indicated the remains of a 10th-century stronghold. Had Dr. Filipowiak discovered Jomsborg?

“It is very exciting,” said Dr. Filipowiak told the New York Times. “It could solve a mystery going back more than 500 years: Where is Jomsborg?”

As previously discussed on Ancient Pages, "It is not entirely clear how and when the order of the Jomsvikings was created. According to some sources, the brotherhood was established and patronized by the Danish king, Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark. Later he selected Palnatoke (“Toke the Archer”), a legendary Danish hero and chieftain of the island of Fyn, to be the leader of the Jomsvikings. He also supplied the Jomsvikings with their first fleet of longships.  However, the Jómsvíkinga saga says that Jomsborg was founded by Palnatoke alone. Apparently, he received the land to build the fortress of Jomsborg granted him by the Wendish ruler Borislav." ¹

Is it possible the findings at Hangmen’s Hill on Wolin Island are the remains of the legendary Jomsborg, where the Jomsvikings trained and lived?

Ewa Grzybowska, the mayor of Wolin thinks the archaeological finds are intriguing but points out that more money is needed to "carry out excavation work and develop Wolin as a world-class destination for Viking researchers and amateur enthusiasts." ²

Karolina Kokora, director of Wolin’s History Museum described "the elusive 10th-century settlement as a “medieval New York on the Baltic” — a trading entrepôt with a mixed population of Vikings, Germanic people and Slavs — that had mysteriously vanished from the map, leaving only whiffs of its existence in archaic texts.

Where is Jomsborg? Credit: Adobe Stock - Hatia

It is said to have had thousands of inhabitants, a fortress and a long pier to accommodate the Viking ships that sailed to and from Scandinavia and as far as North America." ²

Part of Parts of Hangmen’s Hill have previously been excavated but the specific area where Dr. Filipowiak was digging in preparation for the construction of the observation tower.

Without further studies and excavations, it is impossible to say Jomsborg has been found, but Dr. Filipowiak says he thinks there is “80 percent certainty”  this is the site. His goal is to keep searching for Jomsborg, and if it did exist, he will locate it, he said.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer