As is common practice in most European countries, an archaeological evaluation and investigation is made on any land that is to be developed or built on. Such was the case with a 58 Hectare site in the Aalborg region of Northern Denmark. The area had been earmarked for a new hospital. During the archaeological investigations the remains of a large Iron Age settlement were found.
     Normally in a find of this nature only post holes remain to mark out the buildings within the settlement. This find, however, had been well preserved as it had been covered by a thick layer of soil, allowing elements such as the chalk floors to remain undisturbed. So far evidence has been found of an ongoing settlement with buildings being repaired, extended and added over a long period.
     One particularly exciting find was that of the remains of a domestic cat, making it one of the earliest examples of its kind in Denmark, dating to when the Romans had brought cats to the area during the Iron Age. The remains of several horses have also been found, raising the wealth and status of the settlement.

Edited from Past Horizons (17 January 2014)