Researchers from Aarhus and Wolin will carry out a major excavation in 2025-2027 in Wolin's Viking Age harbour, exploring the shared heritage of Denmark and Poland's Viking Age history. The Salling Foundations and the Aarhus University Research Foundation have joined forces to support the newly established collaboration.

At the centre of the project are the exciting new excavations, but it will also form the basis for museum exhibitions, among other things. The work will also involve students from Denmark and Poland.

The project will carry out excavations over three seasons in 2025-2027. The excavations will be the starting point for on-site exhibitions, guided tours and, not least, active communication on social media and news media in Poland and Denmark.

In connection with King Frederik X's visit to Poland in January 2024, Aarhus University (AU) and Moesgaard Museum entered into an agreement with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology at the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAE PAS), Wolin Municipality and the Association of the Slavic and Viking Center "Wolin-Jomsborg-Vineta" to collaborate on archaeological research focused on Wolin.

The agreement aims to strengthen cultural relations between Poland and Denmark and explore the common roots of Aarhus and Poland's largest Viking Age town. Like Aarhus, Wolin was one of the largest trading ports on the Baltic Sea in the 9th-12th centuries and played a central role in the dramatic history of the period.

The project leader, Professor Søren Michael Sindbæk from Aarhus University, calls the project groundbreaking:
"The excavation in Wolin harbour is a key to new finds and information that can unlock Wolin's Slavic-Scandinavian heritage. This project links some of the strongest centres for Viking Age research in Denmark and Poland and will have a major impact on our understanding of the cultural history of Northern Europe."

This enthusiasm is shared by Dr Wojciech Filipowiak, Polish Academy of Sciences, who will lead the excavations in Wolin.
"I am excited we now have the opportunity to explore the archaeology of the city together with our Danish colleagues. Today it is one of the largest archaeological sites in the Baltic Sea region, much of which has yet to be explored. There is potential in Wolin to find everything from ships to suits and rare trade goods."

"We are delighted to support this visionary project that explores the shared Viking Age history of Aarhus and Wolin. It is a unique opportunity to strengthen the cultural ties between Denmark and Poland, which we as the owner of Salling Group with 667 Netto stores in Poland value very highly. We look forward to contributing to an increased awareness of our common heritage and the close ties that exist between our two countries," says Anders Hagh, Chairman of the Board at Købmand Ferdinand Sallings Mindefond.

CEO Jørgen Lang, Aarhus University Research Foundation:
"There is huge research potential in this Danish-Polish collaboration. The harbours were the heart of other Viking Age towns like Wolin or Aarhus - here we really have the opportunity to learn something completely new about Viking Age history and the interaction between Scandinavians and Slavs. We support scientific research at Aarhus University. Our grant of DKK 3 million to Søren Michael Sindbæk and colleagues' excavation project is one of many exciting projects. The grant from the Aarhus University Research Foundation is awarded under the AUFF NOVA programme."

Professor Marian Rębkowski, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology the Polish Academy of Sciences, adds:
"Wolin is not only crucial in the history of Poland and Denmark and in their mutual relations. An archaeological excavation at the level of what is planned in this project has the potential to produce completely new results."

The town of Wolin in Poland was a legendary place in the Viking Age world. According to legend, the town was home to the fortress of Jómsborg and the Danish King Harald Bluetooth is said to have died here around 987.

FACTS
The Salling Foundations and Aarhus University Research Foundation are supporting a major Danish-Polish archaeological collaboration in the Viking Age town of Wolin - the Jomsborg of the sagas. The Salling Foundations have donated DKK 2,18 million to the project. Aarhus University Research Foundation has donated DKK  3 million to the project.

Further information:

Professor Søren Michael Sindbæk
Department of Culture and Society - Centre for Urban Network Evolutions & Department of
Archaeology and Heritage Studies
E-mail: farksms@cas.au.dk
Tel: + 45 4087 8334