Eketorp Fortress

Eketorp is one of about twenty ring forts on Oland and the only one dug out entirely, in a campaign that ran from 1964 into the 1970s and produced something like twenty-six thousand finds. Three phases were identified between roughly the fourth century and the medieval period. Rather than leave the site as foundations, part of the wall and a group of houses were reconstructed on the excavated lines, which is contested practice but makes the layout legible in a way a plan never is. It now runs as an archaeological open-air museum with animals of old breeds, craft demonstrations and school programmes, on the flat limestone alvar of southern Oland.

History

The first ring fort was built about 400 AD, perhaps as a meeting place and a refuge for local farmers; it was abandoned in the mid 600s and lay empty until the early 11th century, when it was rebuilt with timber houses and a second outer wall. A decade-long excavation by the National Heritage Board ended in 1974 (Wikipedia, Eketorp).

Highlights

• A rebuilt ring wall and houses - raised on the excavated foundations.
• Three occupation phases - from about the fourth century onward.
• Old-breed animals and craft work - the open-air museum side.
• The southern alvar around it - flat limestone grassland.

When to go

May to August; closed much of the year. Two hours.

Things to know

The reconstruction is interpretation, not original fabric, and some visitors mind that. The season is short. It is aimed largely at families and school groups. There is no public transport worth using.

Nearby

The Stora Alvaret runs north; Ottenby is at the southern tip.