Researchers collect DNA from men with possible links to York’s Viking past

(Thanks to Christy for finding this.)

"Men with Viking surnames filled the meeting room of New Earswick Folk Hall and queued to help research into the ethnic origins of the British people.

Academics were collecting DNA from men with Viking names to see if they are directly descended from the Scandanavian traders and seaman who once ruled York and Yorkshire."

Read the full article at the York Press.

Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York

Vidar. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. 

From Medievalists.net:

"Leather was one of the most important materials used by pre-industrial societies, The raw materials, hides and skins, were readily available as a by-product of meat provision. After processing, the resultant leather was a highly versatile material, being both strong and flexible, and could be made into a wide range of items. The remains of a large number of these items have been found at York, along with waste material from both the processing of hides and production of artefacts. All were preserved by the unusual anoxic burial environment. The leather described here spans a range of 600 years and provides an insight into one of York’s principal trades during the Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval periods." The full text of Quita Mould, Ian Carlisle and Esther Cameron, first published in The Archaeology of York, Vol.17 (1993), may be found in PDF format at the website of the York Archaeological Trust.