Interesting way of depicting the buildings that burned down ... not much was left.

Behind the structure is a panel depicting one of the many fires that destroyed parts of Bergen.

L to R: necklace; mini pots, rattles, toys; oil lamp ... against the Wall of Time.

Will our "Wall of Time" look like the one on the left or the right? That is the question.

Knife sheaths from between 1198-1413 ... probably Northern European in origin.

Stove tile from the Middle Ages ... Bryggens Museum — Bergen, Norway.

Thunder Stone; pre1332; made when lightning struck; protected buildings against fire & lightning.

Wood carving of a woman's head; undated; found in Bergen — Bryggens Museum.

Shard from a drinking glass; from between 1476-1702; Bryggen — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Skate made of bone with attached shoe; undated — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

The Bryggen ship was a 130-foot (40m) long trading vessel; charred remains found in a passageway.

Ceramic ware from the Middle Ages uncovered in the ashes — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Beaker; undated — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Part of Jug (c. 1280-1350) ... Vågsbunnen — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Walrus skull with runic inscription that reads "Johan Owns;" likely imported from Greenland.

Charter (on parchment) from Bergen dated 8 August 1472 — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Column capital reused in a wall; found in a grave in Bergen Cathedral — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Rune Stick with a war fleet carving; Runic inscription reads "Here travels the brave at sea."

Wooden stick; perhaps depicting Adam & Eve with the serpent — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Madonna from Granville Church (c. 1350-1400); Altar Front from Dale Church (pre 1300).

Altar front from the Dale Church (built c. 1250); altar front estimated from before 1300.

Male skeleton from the graveyard near St Mary's ... Middle Ages — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Possible gravestone with runic inscriptions; reused in a building — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Closer look at the runic inscriptions on what might be a gravestone — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Ring depicting two holding hands; Middle Ages — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Combs from between 1198 to 1332 — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Shoe from the Middle Ages — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Textile fragment from the Middle Ages — Bryggens Museum, Bergen.

Bergen: Bryggens Museum

August 8 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

Our ship embarkation day dawned with a deluge. The rain was coming down in steady sheets … forecasted to last all day. We were expecting this and had planned accordingly.

Check-in for the ship wasn’t until 3:30p. Our bags were already packed. Nothing to do but relax at the apartment until the 11:00a checkout. We had already scoped out a place to store our luggage … just a few feet from the apartment. That worked out beautifully. After dropping off our bags, we headed to Bryggen to visit a museum we’d not been to yet.

Despite the pouring rain, the waterfront was packed with people checking out the old ships and vehicles participating in the festival. The museum was reasonably well attended though surprisingly less crowded than one might expect on such a wet day.

The Bryggens Museum opened in 1976 to exhibit artifacts from the Middle Ages … found during excavations undertaken following the fire of 1955.

As the attendant explained, each time Bergen experienced a devastating fire that turned it into a pile of ashes, the city was simply rebuilt over the top of the ruins, so there were many layers of history to uncover … reaching down over 25 feet (8m). The displays were later enhanced with finds from other excavations in both Bergen and Western Norway.

Mostly displayed in glass cases, the artifacts included everything from the wooden flooring of tenements, to fragments of glass and pottery; to remnants of leather and fabric; to shoes, socks, and jewelry; to stone and bone carvings with runic writings. All things left behind or dropped as people fled the flames.

Amongst the most interesting items was a wooden sculpture of the Madonna dated to around 1350-1400; an altar frontal from a church in Luster that was built around 1250; a male skeleton from the Middle Ages … from the graveyard near St Mary’s Church in Bergen.

As interesting as the archaeological artifacts were, what I found on the second floor was even more fascinating … to me, at least. Coming up in the next footprint.Read more