This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A medieval monastery complex, long believed to be lost, has now been identified using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in Roskilde, Denmark. The investigations have uncovered extensive and well-preserved remains of the St Clare's Convent from the 13th century, approximately 1 meter (3 feet) below today's ground surface.
The investigations were carried out in connection with plans to build an underground parking facility beneath the sports field at Byparken in Roskilde. Historical sources state that a convent for nuns was located at the site in the Middle Ages, and the museum organization ROMU (Roskilde Museum) therefore wanted to examine the area more closely using GPR. The method is quick and non-destructive and can map structures below ground without excavation.
"We knew that St Clare's Convent had been located here, but not how much of the complex from 1256 had been preserved. The GPR survey has produced very clear results and a solid basis for planning further investigations," says archaeologist Jesper Langkilde at ROMU. In the Middle Ages, St Clare's was one of five monasteries that made Roskilde an important town.
Both ecclesiastical and royal power were centered here for many years. It has long been known that the convent was dissolved and demolished after the Reformation in the 16th century, and that half a million bricks were sold to Selsø Castle. Because of this, it has also been assumed that nothing remained of the complex.
Urban development has meant that today we have only limited knowledge of what the monasteries in Roskilde looked like. The fact that the discovery has been made on an open grass field that has not previously been built over provides a fantastic opportunity to learn more about St Clare's nunnery and the area in which it was located. The investigations were carried out in collaboration between ROMU, the National Museum of Denmark and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU).
The GPR measurements were conducted by NIKU archaeologist Arne Abel Stamnes and Magnus Hjorth Jørgensen from the National Museum, and the interpretation and further processing were carried out by Stamnes, who has extensive experience with geophysical surveys of cultural heritage sites. NIKU has established a permanent geophysics service in Denmark and has a framework agreement with the National Museum of Denmark for implementing and further developing geophysical surveys. GPR works by transmitting electromagnetic waves into the ground.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
