Archaeologists have uncovered Nya Lödöse, a late-15th-century town preserved beneath modern Gothenburg, revealing ramparts, a moat, cobbled streets, timber foundations, workshops and a market area. Exceptional preservation in waterlogged soils has yielded organic materials — wooden beams, food waste — along with ceramics and coins, giving rare insight into everyday medieval life. Excavations continue under current buildings while curators plan interpretive options such as viewing platforms and glass walkways for future public access.
Medieval City Unearthed Beneath Gothenburg: Nya Lödöse Revealed
Archaeologists have uncovered Nya Lödöse, a late-15th-century town preserved beneath modern Gothenburg, revealing ramparts, a moat, cobbled streets, timber foundations, workshops and a market area. Exceptional preservation in waterlogged soils has yielded organic materials — wooden beams, food waste — along with ceramics and coins, giving rare insight into everyday medieval life. Excavations continue under current buildings while curators plan interpretive options such as viewing platforms and glass walkways for future public access.
02:07 AM, 11/21/2025Culture
Beneath parts of modern Gothenburg, archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved medieval town: Nya Lödöse. Founded in the late 15th century and largely abandoned by the early 17th century as Gothenburg expanded nearby, the settlement was gradually covered by later industry and housing — effectively preserving a snapshot of urban life beneath today's streets.
Discovery and significance
Teams from Arkeologerna, working with the Swedish History Museums, have exposed defensive earthworks including a rampart, a moat and a southern gate that mark the fortified city’s edge. These features, together with a clear street grid and distinct city blocks, point to a planned trading centre rather than a loosely organized village.
What the excavations have revealed
Inside the defensive perimeter archaeologists have traced timber foundations for houses, cobbled lanes, artisan workshops and what appears to have been a market or meeting hall. Thanks to waterlogged soils, organic materials have survived unusually well: wooden beams, food waste, leather and other perishables have been recovered alongside ceramics, coins and metalwork. These finds give an unusually vivid picture of everyday life, craft production and local foodways.
Excavators also identified mixed-use zones where homes doubled as workshops, small cultivated plots, wells and drainage channels — evidence that Nya Lödöse functioned as a living, working urban community rather than just a military outpost.
Working in a living city
Excavation continues across multiple trenches, sometimes directly beneath standing homes, shops and civic infrastructure. Field teams are balancing archaeological investigation with conservation and the needs of local residents, and curators are evaluating long-term preservation and display options.
Public access and interpretation
Although the site is not yet open for routine visits, proposals under discussion include glass-covered walkways or viewing platforms that would allow visitors to look down into preserved street grids and interiors. In the near term visitors can follow museum updates and local heritage announcements to see recovered objects and learn about the dig.
This discovery reframes Gothenburg as a layered urban landscape where modern tramlines, cafés and waterfront promenades literally rest above centuries of earlier streets and craft production. Nya Lödöse offers a rare opportunity to experience an intact medieval urban environment and to imagine daily life in a northern European trading town.