Iron Age · c. 500 BC · Korskro, Jutland, Denmark
Iron Age palisade across a Jutland road hints at a forgotten conflict
A belt of post pits from around 500 BC blocked the old Drivvej in western Denmark.
Official announcement
Korskro, Denmark Archaeologists from Museum Vest have found a line of closely spaced pits under a field at Schæfergårde. The site is near Korskro in western Jutland. The pits date to around 500 BC, early in the Iron Age. Sharpened wooden posts most likely stood in them and formed a palisade.
The team did not expect a defence of this kind in this part of Denmark. They made the find during excavations ahead of road works. Route 11 between Varde and Korskro is being widened. The road follows the line of the Drivvej, which was for centuries the main route through western Jutland.
A wall that may have closed the main road
A wall across that road would have controlled who could pass. Museum inspector Michael Alrø Jensen says the team has a best explanation. Local people feared an army coming south from the north, and they tried to close the route. Who built the palisade, and who it was meant to stop, is still unknown.
The archaeologists hope to trace more of the line of pits in the coming weeks. That would show how far the barrier ran.
Finds from the first farmers to the Viking Age
The excavated area is small but covers many periods. The oldest traces belong to the first farmers, who buried their dead in small mounds. Near one of the protected burial mounds, the team found a battle axe about 4,500 years old. They think it was placed in a grave as a gift.
Later finds run from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age to the Viking Age. They include houses, farms and graves.
Few excavations had taken place between Varde and Korskro before. Museum Vest says the new finds have greatly increased what is known about the area. The farm remains also add evidence to a question archaeologists are studying across Denmark: how scattered farms grew into villages.
Museum Vest will keep digging through the autumn. The team will examine several burial mounds, where urns have already been found. Road construction is due to start around February 2027.
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