The new fortified Kalmar – a work in progress during the 17th century
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2017-01-25

The town Kalmar is situated in the southeast of Sweden and was together with Gothenburg and Jönköping the most important outposts in the early Great Power period. As decisions were made in 1640 to move the town Kalmar to a new and strategically more beneficial location, the town would also be surrounded with a modern fortification. Several archaeological excavations have been made in the last years on one of the nine bastions, Carolus Nonus (Charles IX). In addition contemporary maps have been studied describing the work in progress. This has concluded that the work on this bastion alone progressed over decades, and it took more than 50 years to finish the whole fortification. This puts questions on an efficient defense for the town, its population and administration. The studies revealed solutions to problems regarding the construction, and also the development over the years to keep up with modern types of the construction of bastions.