Canonized Viking King Reburial Site Located

A shrine to a Viking king who was sainted has been discovered in Trondheim, according to a report in Live Science. Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage believe they have unearthed the stone foundations of a wooden church where the body of King Olaf Haraldsson was taken in 1031 shortly after he was declared a saint.

Now known as St. Olaf, the king ruled Norway starting in 1016 but was challenged by Canute I of Denmark and died in battle in 1030. Olaf was initially buried elsewhere in Trondheim, but based on reports of posthumous miracles he was dug up and reinterred in St. Clement’s Church.

In addition to the church’s foundations, the researchers have found a small rock platform at the structure’s east end that they believe was the base of the church’s altar—which may have been built over St. Olaf’s new grave. His remains were later moved again to a larger church in Trondheim, where Nidaros Cathedral was then built. Also found at the St. Clement’s Church site was a small well that may have been seen as holy.