Remnants of a Siege – The Siege of Älvsborg 1612 at the West Coast of Sweden
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 28/01/2017

The primary characteristics of siege archaeology are that the remains in question are often from a relatively short period of time and that the events are not infrequently documented, and in that case particularly by the victors. In recent years battlefield archaeology has had, at least in Sweden, a major boom, but the archaeology of sieges and siegeworks has been in the shadows. In this paper, we present the siege of the royal castle of Älvsborg 1612 during the Kalmar War, and the archaeology of certain events during this siege.
The royal castle of Älvsborg was of great importance for royal power. It secured the corridor of land that provided the crucial westward passage for Sweden. The castle and its fortifications are strategically located on a cliff at the mouth of the river Göta. The castle is an important and widely known part of Swedish history and is best known for two exceptionally large tributes paid in connection with the Nordic Seven Years War (1563-1570) and the Kalmar War (1611-1613). These wars were two major conflicts between Denmark and Sweden a result of both countries constant rivalry for dominion in the north which had its origin in the medieval period.
Between 2003 and 2006, Gothenburg City Museum conducted a series of excavations at the Älvsborg Castle. The excavations aimed at examining structures belonging to the castle’s early modern fortifications. Some features were revealed, such as a bastion, the moat, and the covered way. In addition to these, an extensive assemblage of artifacts that can be directly linked to the Danish siege of Älvsborg 1612 was recovered. The artifacts consisted of a range of ordinance, including lead bullets, cannonballs, parts of rifles, fragments of grenades. In connection with the besieging aspect of siege archaeology, the excavations also uncovered remains of a besiegers approach (sap), and mines, and one of the castle’s defenders’ countermines. During this project it has been possible to link some of the archaeological remains to actual events described in the historical sources therefore strengthening the actual narrative.

Author - Wennberg, Tom, Gothenburg City Museum, Gothenburg, Sweden (Presenting author)
Co-author(s) - Sandin, Mats, Rio Göteborg Natur- och kulturkooperativ, Gothenburg, Sweden