The future Tomb of Queen Margaret has already been designed while archaeologists are currently digging where its is going to be raised
Plans are now going ahead for the future reinterment of the remains of Richard III in Leicester. At the same time (summer 2013) archaeologists are digging in the Cathedral in Roskilde in Denmark. As a World Heritage site, the Cathedral is famous for having the largest number of royal burials in the world. The dates range from Sven Estridsen (1019 – 74) – nephew of Canute the Great – to Queen Ingrid (1910 – 2000).
The archaeologists are digging in the chapel of St. Bridget. The Cathedral as it stands today was built in 1170 on the foundation of an earlier church from app. 1070. At that time Svend Estridsen was reinterred in one of the pillars. The current chapel of St. Bridget – to the left of the royal portal in the West – was constructed in the late 15th century on top of the old foundation of the nearby cloister. Already the archaeologists have found the old foundation and it is hoped this will help add to the knowledge about the first church and the surrounding monastery.
The reason behind the archaeological excavation is the plans for the future burial of the remains of the present Queen Margaret II and her consort, prince Henri. As an acknowledged artist, the Queen herself, has been involved in the approval of her future tomb, designed by a major artist, Bjørn Nørgaard.
Bjørn Nørgaards sarkofag
The Queen and her Consort will be buried in a crypt above which will be placed the sarcophagus by Bjørn Nørgaard. According to Jyllandsposten he was inspired through walking up and down the church pondering the many forms of royal burials. “However, he says, the closer I got to our present time, the more anonymous they became. This has definitely to do with our modern way of looking upon dying and the death. It is not something we boast of. Also it struck me they were all closed, which is unfitting for our time, where we live in a democracy and everything has to be transparent. This is the reason why the sarcophagus – or rather the cenotaph – has been designed as transparent. At the same time death in a Christian context is also a transparent matter. Death is not the end but a passing over to another life, he explains.
It is interesting to compare this daring design with what has so-far been revealed about the future reinterment of Richard III
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Video showing the building phases of the Cathedral in Roskilde
