In the autumn of 1871, Hjalmar Stolpe put the shovel in the ground on Björkö in Lake Mälaren. 150 years later, Birka is world-famous as one of the Vikings’ bubbling trading towns, where slaves, amber and furs changed owners, where warriors guarded the mighty castle and longships headed towards the harbor. Tobias Svanelid walks in Birka with archaeologists Charlotte Hedenstierna Jonsson and Lena Holmquist to discuss Hjalmar Stolpe’s pioneering excavations and how archaeologists today understand the Viking city.
Source: ICELAND NEWS