The location was originally the site of an Iron Age village which was removed during the 10th century to allow for the construction of the ring fortress.

Although the exact purpose of the fortress is unknown, the location is of significant strategic importance, as it overlooks a narrow strait of the Limfjord.

[3] Dating the structure has proven difficult, because it was the site of an Iron Age village before the construction of the ring fortress.

The ring fortress itself is believed to have been constructed around 980 during the reign of king Harold Bluetooth and/or Sweyn Forkbeard.

Some historians have argued that the fortress' primary function was as a barracks or training grounds in connection with Sweyn Forkbeard's armies, which conquered England in the early 1000s.

It is more likely that Aggersborg and the other Viking ring fortresses were intended as defensive strongholds along strategic trade points and/or administrative outposts of the budding state.

Both ends of the Limfjord were open waterways when the fortress was constructed and the fjord constituted an important sailing route from the North Sea to the Kattegat.

The portion of the fjord that Aggersborg is located is relatively narrow and was one of the three ancient crossings of the Hærvejen (army road) across the Limfjord.

[2] It is believed the coastline and sea-level at the site had changed over time, as the strait was once much wider, reaching closer to the fortress itself.

These artefacts include a variety of common household objects: pottery, iron tools and weapons, jewellery, and coins.

These artefacts also included a number of objects of import, primarily from Norway, but also western Europe and the British Isles.

After the fortress which replaced it was abandoned, the village was not resettled, though artefacts from the period which immediately followed have been found in areas near the site.