The skeleton and skull of a dead Birkebeiner has been found during the excavation of a well at Sverresborg in Trondheim. According to Kong Sverre’s saga, Baglers threw the Birkebeiner into the well in 1197.

OnThursday archaeologists dug up large parts of the skeleton of the Birkebeiner, after working on the excavation for three weeks. The first remains of the more than 800 year old Birkebeiner were found in 2014.

On Friday morning archaeologists also found the skull of the Birkebeiner in the well.

– It is quite unique that written sources are corroborated in this way. This is huge both in national and international context, archaeologist Anna Petersen at Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) said to NRK news on Thursday.

The story of how the Baglers took Sverresborg in 1197 is depicted in King Sverre’s saga. Baglers took all the goods they found in the castle and then burned down the houses that were there. They threw a dead man in the well and filled it with stones until it had been filled up, according to the saga.

The excavation is commissioned and funded by the Inspectorate of Acient Monuments and Historic Buildings, to secure the skeletal remains of the Birkebeiner. The Inspectorate also aim to find out as much as possible about the time of the incident and, if possible, learn more about the actual course of events.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

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