Kapitelberget

Kapitelberget is a fossil coral reef beneath a medieval church ruin.

430 million years ago, the Earth looked very different from today. The continents had completely different shapes and locations than in our time. During this period, known as the Silurian, the continental plate Baltica-which Norway was a part of-lay south of the equator and was submerged by a shallow sea. This warm, shallow sea provided perfect conditions for a rich plant and animal life. Many of these animals and plants had an outer shell or internal skeleton of calcium carbonate, which over time became fossilized and transformed into limestone, a widespread rock type in the Grenland area.

The typical fossils found at Kapitelberget are tabulate corals, horn corals, and chain corals, as well as a type of sponge136.

The building stones that make up the foundation of the church ruin were probably collected from the areas immediately around Kapitelberget.

An extraordinary ruin

The church ruin on top of Kapitelberget is from a crypt church, probably built in the Middle Ages. A crypt was a room under the altar, often used for storing relics. Only four such churches are known in Norway, and it was unusual to build churches of stone at that time.