Ground-Penetrating Radar Uncovers 13th-Century St. Clare's Convent Beneath Danish Soccer Field
In January 2025, a survey utilizing ground-penetrating radar uncovered remarkably preserved remnants of St. Clare's Convent, located just three feet beneath a soccer field in Roskilde, Denmark. This investigation, carried out by the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) in collaboration with ROMU and the National Museum of Denmark, was initiated due to plans for a parking lot. The findings included traces of rooms, cloisters, pillars, and a church. Established in 1256, St. Clare's was the oldest of Denmark's three Poor Clare convents and was closed during the Protestant Reformation. The convent extended approximately 230 feet and featured four wings. Researchers are set to conduct excavations, hoping to discover artifacts and graves that may identify the nuns.
Key facts
- A ground-penetrating radar survey in January 2025 discovered the ruins of St. Clare's Convent three feet beneath a soccer field in Roskilde, Denmark.
- The survey was conducted by NIKU, ROMU, and the National Museum of Denmark ahead of planned parking facility construction.
- The ruins include rooms, cloisters, pillars, and a church, with the structure measuring about 230 feet long and featuring four wings around a courtyard.
- St. Clare's Convent was founded in 1256 and was the oldest of three Poor Clare convents in medieval Denmark.
- The convent closed during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, and half a million of its bricks were sold to Selsø Castle.
- The site has been used as a soccer field since 1961, which helped preserve the underground ruins.
- NIKU archaeologist Arne Abel Stamnes described the GPR results as among the clearest from a monastery complex in Scandinavia.
- Researchers plan excavations and expect to find pottery sherds, animal bones, religious objects, and graves.
Entities
Artists
- Arne Abel Stamnes
- Magnus Hjorth Jørgensen
- Jesper Langkilde
- Søren Steensig
- Ellen Wexler
- Andrea Margolis
Institutions
- National Museum of Denmark
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU)
- ROMU
- St. Clare's Convent
- Poor Clares
- Selsø Castle
- Historie
- TV 2
- Fox News Digital
- Smithsonian magazine
Locations
- Roskilde
- Denmark
- Scandinavia
- Selsø Castle
- North Dakota
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Buckingham Palace