Archaeological finds of 2025 on display at a pop-up exhibition “Just Excavated”

From February to April 2025, a rainwater drainage system was constructed in the vicinity of Riga Castle to prevent the impact of water on the castle walls. The project’s archaeological monitoring was provided by specialists of the Latvian National Museum of History. During the construction work, significant historical evidence was discovered in several places in the close vicinity of the castle.

Near the Horn’s bastion a 1.7-meter-thick section of a fortification wall (curtain wall) built from pieces of pink dolomite was discovered. Dolomite was placed along the side edges of the wall, but the middle part is filled with stones using lime mortar.

It is known that the Horn’s bastion was built in the second half of the 17th century, but in the 18th century it was connected to the city fortifications, creating a single line of defense. The Riga fortification system existed until 1857, when it was allowed to demolish the defensive walls. The Horn’s bastion, together with a section of the fortification wall, was rebuilt in 1875, acquiring the form we see today near the castle on the Daugava side.

Under the paved zone of the Castle Square evidence of construction from various periods has been discovered. Fragments of masonry walls dating back to the 18th century have been found, as well as the interior of a building built in the 17th century with the remains of a furnace base and a fragment of a stone tile floor. Under these layers, an even older object has been uncovered – the filled-in defensive moat of the Riga Castle built in the 14th century, which provides an insight into the city’s oldest fortification.

In the green area of the Castle Square a cultural layer from the 17th and 18th centuries in which the remains of wooden structures have been preserved has been explored. The findings relate to the period when an armory was located at this site. Sections of two masonry walls have also been discovered, one of which is associated with an earlier period of construction from the 13th or 14th century.

In the Middle Ages, there was an outer bailey territory here, which was first mentioned in written sources in 1366. It was separated from the city territory by a moat and fortifications. In the 17th century, the outer bailey part was included in a wider fortification system, which was demolished in the 18th century, also filling up the moat. Until 1780, the territory was divided into plots with wooden buildings. It is known that 45 houses were demolished when the square in front of the castle was built in the end of the 18th century.

This pop-up exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view the archaeological items discovered this spring through the eyes of an archaeologist, restorer and museum visitor.

The exhibition is on display from 17 to 25 May.