Sites and Monuments

Denmark is rich in ancient sites and monuments. It is a small, flat, and fertile country, and most regions have easy access to water. Through the ages it has therefore been populated by generations of people, from the first hunters and gatherers to modern civilisation, who have left behind various traces of their existence.

Ancient sites and monuments are found all over the country: burial mounds, rock carvings, runic stones, road tracks, castle mounds, castle ruins, military fortifications etc. Excavation work often reveals ancient settlements and burial finds, and many towns have cultural layers from the Medieval times to the present. In the sea bed are shipwrecks and unique remains of Stone Age settlements.

All sites and monuments are protected from destruction by the Danish Museum Act, which is administered by the Danish Agency for Culture.

The Danish Agency for Culture does not own any sites and monuments itself, but leads the restoration of selected megalithic tombs and Medieval ruins.