Hamburg

A city in northern Germany whose history begins with the Hammaburg, a moated castle of modest size, built in about 825 AD on a promontory between the Alster and Elbe rivers. Archaeologists have located the fortified Carolingian monastic nucleus which, according to the 9th-century chronicler Rimbert, was attacked by the Danes in 845.

Excavations of an area of about one-third of a hectare were undertaken in the old medieval heart of Hamburg, north Germany, between 1947 and 1959. The southern part of the old town near the river and the cathedral precinct were examined, and archaeologists located the fortified Carolingian monastic nucleus which, according to the 9th-century chronicler Rimbert, was attacked by the Danes in 845. Investigations of the suburbium also mentioned by Rimbert were equally successful, and showed the existence of a long sequence of buildings with important groups of artefacts related to each period.