Snowy Hovdala castle and archaeology memories

During last weekend I went off on a little excursion, to take some winter photos before this cold season ends. And that was apparently a good idea, because currently, its +5 degrees and the snow, which was lying so thick and beautiful, has melted completely! Oh well, I guess now we only have to wait “a few” months till springtime comes around!

The Hovdala castle buildings have been placed on the same location for many hundred years, outside of Hässleholm in eastern Skåne. Because of it’s location, it played an important role during the Swedish- Danish wars during the 1600’s. I’ve visited the site on several occasions, and also participated in a few archaeological excavations on the hillside just east of the current castle and outbuildings. I have never seen the castle during a snowy winter day, though, and it was a great idea because the area looked gorgeous!      The hilly countryside that surrounds the castle and nearby lake Finja (Finjasjön), are well known for their friendly sheep (!) population. In fact, they are so “friendly”, that they pooped in our excavation pit whilst we were of site at night… So, at the beginning of every shift, the first thing we had to do was to shovel poop!