Navigating past Erritsø during the Viking Age

Lately, it has been suggested that the Viking Age site Erritsø possessed a dominating and controlling factor related to the seafaring through the nearby strait of Lillebælt. This suggestion is the point of departure for a discussion of the possibilities of controlling the seaways during the Viking Age of Denmark. Given the natural conditions of the Inner Danish Waters meaning the three straits with adjoining archipelagos connecting the Kattegat to the North of Fyn and Sjælland with the Baltic Sea to the South, the article discusses some hypothetical measures that may have secured the travelling ships a safe conduct. An organisation of security controlled by the king or his representative at Erritsø is very hard to back by archaeological or historical evidence and turns out to be no more than a hypothesis. It is concluded that the Erritsø-site does not possess the qualities and possibilities of being a factor of domination to the sea traffic of Lillebælt, and an organisation guaranteeing a safe conduct through fairways of the Kingdom may be anachronistic.