Mikael - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only
In Sweden, archaeologists unburied the remains of a very tall man in a medieval grave. The man was found with a long sword that was nearly two-thirds of his height.
The discoveries were made while conducting excavations of the Franciscan friary at the “Little Square,” a site located in western Sweden near Denmark, at the center of the city Halmstad.
The Franciscan friary was active from 1494 and represented the Roman Catholic Church. However, it was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation in 1531. The site was discovered during roadwork construction in the 1930s.
According to Johan Klange, an archaeologist with the Halland Cultural Environment and the leader of the excavation, the sword was over four feet long and adorned with small Christian crosses made from a different metal.
The man in the grave was six feet and three inches tall, which was an impressive height for his time. At the turn of the sixteenth century, the height of the average male in Sweden was only five feet and five inches tall.
Out of the 49 graves at the site, the sword was the only artifact to be found. Archaeologists believe the presence of the sword buried alongside the man indicated that he was a powerful figure of nobility and supported the Kalmar Union. He was likely wealthy and may have owned property in both Sweden and Denmark.
The Kalmar Union was an agreement to join the Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway together under a single monarch from 1397 to 1523.
It was formed as part of an effort to establish peace and mitigate the influence of the Hanseatic League, an organization founded by northern German towns and communities.
The league dominated trade and commercial activity in the Baltic and North Seas from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Persistent fighting between the factions caused the union to fail. In 1523, the union ended when Sweden left.
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