Marine archaeologists in western Norway have uncovered a submerged stone formation that may represent one of the earliest known medieval whale trapping systems.
The feature was discovered in Grindasundet, a narrow channel near Telavåg in the Øygarden archipelago outside Bergen.
The shape of the formation matches descriptions of whale drives recorded in written sources dating back more than 1,100 years. If confirmed, the site would offer rare physical evidence of large-scale coastal hunting practices from the Viking and medieval periods.
Medieval and earlier sources describe communities driving whales and other large marine mammals into narrow inlets for capture and processing. Over time, timber and rope barriers weighted with stones were used to funnel animals into gated areas for slaughter and blubber extraction. Coastal communities across Scandinavia exploited marine mammals well into the Viking and medieval eras, and related processing features such as slab-lined pits have been documented elsewhere in northern Norway.
First, a sonar survey revealed a deliberate belt of stones more than 25 meters/75 feet long and up to 9 meters/27 feet wide laid across the seabed. Diver surveys beneath the surface ice then identified a circular rock mound about 4 meters/13 feet high and 15 meters/45 feet across adjacent to the stone belt.
Each element would have required transport by boat and deliberate placement, suggesting an engineered barrier rather than a natural accumulation.
The investigation is led by marine archaeologists from the Norwegian Maritime Museum, Bergen Maritime Museum and Stavanger Maritime Museum as part of the Inter-regional Marine Archaeological Cooperation effort.
During the research, the team combined high-resolution sonar scanning with diver-photogrammetry to produce detailed 3D models of the formations for analysis. These digital records allow close study of construction techniques and spatial relationships without disturbing the site.
