The Lost City Was Supposed to Be a Myth. 500 Years Later, Radar Found It Exactly Where the Legend Said.

When you read this story you will learn:

• Years of searching for a lost medieval Norwegian town have finally been rewarded with a discovery.

• The crew used a 500-year-old legend to launch the search, but used more modern georadar techniques to pinpoint the right spot for the dig.

• The team discovered the lost town of Hamarkaupangen, where the first ruin was a two-room house.

16^This The 10th-century story of a Norwegian town just east of a bishop’s castle turns out to be much more than ancient lore. In July 2025, archaeological teams from the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Research Institute and the Anno Museum uncovered the discovery of Hamarkaupangen. lost medieval town from the story.

Hamar Chronicles—a 16^This century text – describes the settlement believed to have originated in the 11th century^This It is located in the south, east of the cathedral and bishop’s castle in Hamar in the century. Norway. The only problem? Every time archaeologists looked, they found insignificant artifacts at ground level and no real evidence of a settled medieval village.

As belief in the city’s existence began to decline altogether, others questioned whether the village was merely a seasonal trading post.

This suspicion was completely unfounded. georadar It was first used in 2023 and this really helped move the project forward. Using this technology in 2023 and 2024, the crew explored an area east of the cathedral and castle and discovered the 16th century.^ThisThe text in the 16th century confirmed the legend and said that this would happen. There was an excavation last year where the team dug 3 feet beneath a layer of stone. two bedroom houseaccording to translation expression from the institute.

Buried beneath the wall, the team uncovered wooden structures they believed to be walls and floors; This confirmed the findings from the georadar survey, which showed the remains of the wooden buildings that once formed the town. Researchers believe the radar showed the site as a two-room living space consisting of logs and plank floors. Now the search for a fireplace continues.

“We were very excited about what it looked like down there, because the thick layers of the quarries are a context we haven’t worked in before,” Monica Kristiansen, an archaeologist on the project, said in a translated statement. he said. “Therefore, we have no prior knowledge of how stone-filled layers, for example wood, will affect the visibility in the georadar data. Additionally, there are poor preservation conditions for organic material in these areas, and therefore it was assumed that the remains of wooden buildings were also poorly preserved. Therefore, it is very pleasing that the georadar penetrations were successful.”

To gain entry, the team opened a small peephole in what they believed to be the living area. Kristiansen said crews have already identified wall stumps and floors from the 43-square-meter hole, and “that bodes well for the rest of the area.”

While the search for the fireplace continues, Kristiansen is confident that radar findings show additional urban structures consistent with the Norwegian Fireplace. medieval Architecture, building groupings, narrow passages and even street layouts will be revealed during excavations, just like in this area.

The long-standing legend of Hamarkaupangen is no longer just a legend.

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