Unearthing Scotland's Nordic Troves

Carolingian lidded vessel, part of the trove. - ITV.com

"Found in the Galloway area, of the Dumfries and Galloway region in south-west Scotland in September 2014, the assemblage is believed to be of ninth or tenth century Viking culture. The principal finds in the Viking treasure comprise of a decorative gold bird pin, a silver Carolingian pot, a solid gold ring, and a solid silver cross with gold inlay and enamel decorations, over twenty solid gold and silver ingots and dozens of solid silver arm bands decorated with saltire*-type designs."

Read the full article at Coin Week.

Fibula, Fabula, Fact - The Viking Age in Finland

"The chapters of Fibula, Fabula, Fact – The Viking Age in Finland are intended to provide essential foundations for approaching the important topic of the Viking Age in Finland. These chapters are oriented to provide introductions to the sources, methods and perspectives of diverse disciplines so that these resources and the history of discourse from which they emerge are accessible to specialists from other fields, specialists from outside Finland, and also to non-specialist readers and students who may be more generally interested in the topic. Rather than detailed case studies of specific aspects of the Viking Age in Finland, the contributors have sought to negotiate definitions of the Viking Age as a historical period in the cultural areas associated with modern-day Finland, and in areas associated with Finns, Karelians and other North Finnic linguistic-cultural groups more generally. Within the incredible diversity of data and disciplines represented here, attention tends to center on the identification of the Viking Age through differentiating it from earlier and later periods, and on contextualizing it geographically in an era long before the construction of modern nations with their fenced and guarded borders. Most significantly, the contributions lay emphasis on contextualizing the Viking Age within the complexities of defining cultural identities in the past through traces of cultural, linguistic or genetic features."

The full preface for this peer reviewed publication from the Finnish Literatue Society of Helsinki, edited by Joonas Ahola and Frog with Clive Tolley, may be read and also downloaded at Academia.edu.

Sutton Hoo on Google

"Sutton Hoo: Anglo-Saxon Ship Burial" is a virtual exhibit now on display at the Google Cultural Institute. It may be viewed at this link.

Searching for the Vikings on the Isle of Man

From Medievalists.net:
"The Vikings were not just the wanton marauders of popular portrayal, says a Longwood University medieval scholar who recently conducted archaeological research on the Isle of Man.

Dr. Larissa “Kat” Tracy examines a Viking-age stone monument on the Isle of Man.
“The exclusive image of rape, pillage and burning by the Vikings is probably inaccurate,” said Dr. Larissa “Kat” Tracy, associate professor of English.

Tracy spent a week photographing inscriptions on Viking-age stone monuments on the island between Great Britain and Ireland as part of a German-based research project on the ancient runic alphabet. What she found is that the Vikings, who raided and settled throughout Europe from the late eighth century through the 11th century, were perhaps more interested in winning the hearts and minds of the people they encountered than is often thought."

The full article may be read here.

The Typochronology of Sword Pommels from the Staffordshire Hoard

"This paper consists of two parts. First, Svante Fischer will discuss the question of correlating typology and chronology into typochronology. Second, Jean Soulat will discuss the typology of the Staffordshire pommels and offer a preliminary date for the hoard. The authors are of the opinion that the sword pommels of the Staffordshire date from the early 6th century to the early 8th century.

The paper has been financed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (KVHAA)."

The full text of this paper may be found at Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Anglo-Saxon gold pendant treasure

"A gold Anglo-Saxon pendant which was found in a village outside Canterbury has been determined to be treasure at an inquest.

Malcolm John Skeels made the discovery when he was metal detecting in Petham on November 1."

Read the full article at This Is Kent.

Anglo-Saxon warrior found in Wessex

"An award-winning project using archaeology to aid the recovery of soldiers injured on Operation HERRICK has concluded its success on Salisbury Plain with an astonishing treasure trove of Anglo-Saxon finds.

Soldiers taking part in ‘Operation Nightingale’ unearthed a major sixth-century burial site at Barrow Clump, uncovering 27 bodies – including Anglo-Saxon warriors - buried with a range of personal possessions. Artefacts uncovered included shield bosses, broaches, amber and glass beads, spearheads, a silver ring, and a wooden drinking vessel with bronze bands."

Read the full article at British Forces News.

Sliasthorp, Fabled Viking Military Town, Possibly Unearthed In Germany

"In what may be one of the biggest digs of the 21st century, a team of Danish archeologists believe they have uncovered a once thriving center of Viking activity, Sliasthorp, the fabled military base occupied by the earliest Scandinavian kings.

Since excavations began in 2010, roughly 200 buildings, along with weapons, precious jewelry, glass beads, and silver coins have been unearthed at Füsing, near the Danish border, National Geographic reports, findings that they say offer valuable insights into the military organization and town planning of what is thought to be the earliest Viking settlement in the historical record."

Read the full article at the Huffington Post.

What Vikings really looked like

Thanks to Hex Magazine for finding this:
"There’s no shortage of myths about the appearance of our notorious Viking ancestors....
We have picked out five myths from the resulting debate and asked researchers to help us confirm or bust these myths." Read the full article Science Nordic.

Scientists find runes on ancient comb

Thanks to Hex Magazine for this item:
"Archaeologists have found the oldest engravings of letters ever to be discovered in central Germany, officials from the area announced on Thursday.
The ancient letters, called runes, were scratched onto a 12.5 centimetre-long comb by Germanic settlers in the second century, scientists working on the site in Saxony-Anhalt believe." The complete article may be read at The Local.

Archaeologists uncover pre-Christian temple in Norway

"Located at the site of Ranheim, about 10 kilometers south of the Norwegian city of Trondheim, the astonishing discovery was unearthed while excavating foundations for new houses and includes a "gudehovet" or "god temple." Read the full story at the Examiner.

Viking Women: A Reinterpretation of the Bones

"According to a new journal article by Shane McLeod in Early Medieval Europe, the concept of the male Norse invaders migrating across England in the 9th and 10th centuries CE is potentially biased. He argues that based on burial evidence, females were equal in number if not outnumbering the males, leading to a new interpretation of the Norse migration. Textual evidence of the Norse invasion into Britain notes the presence of women and children in some of the invading groups, but primarily they focus on the high number of male warriors. McLeod argues that there were more women than previously thought based skeletal analysis, and this requires a reinterpretation of the Norse invasion."
Read the full article at Bones Don't Lie.

Viking mass grave linked to elite killers of the medieval world

"A crew of Viking mercenaries – some of the fiercest and most feared killers in the medieval world – could be the occupants of a mysterious mass grave in the south of England, according to a new theory.
The intriguing hypothesis is being put forward in a documentary, Viking Apocalypse, which will premiere on National Geographic UK on Wednesday, 25 January, and attempts to piece together the identities of a group of men who were apparently the victims of a horrific mass execution around the turn of the 11th century." Read the full article at PhysOrg.com.

Viking remains reveal warriors filed their teeth to appear more ferocious to enemies

"An axe-swinging 'rape and pillage' fighter found in a Viking burial pit had filed his teeth to look more ferocious in battle.
The pain without anaesthetic would have been excruciating - but it would have proved his status as a great warrior, archaeologists said.
The warrior, found in Weymouth, Dorset, had grooves filed into his two front teeth."

Read the full article at the Daily Mail.

The Axed Man of Mosfell: Skeletal Evidence of a Viking Age Homicide and the Icelandic Sagas

Courtesy Medievalists.net:

"When Christianity was adopted by law in Iceland (1000 A.D.) Grim of Mosfell was baptized and built a church there. . . . When a church was built at Mosfell, the one Grim built at Hrísbrú was demolished and a new graveyard was laid out. Under the altar some human bones were found, much bigger than ordinary human bones, and people are confident that these were Egil’s because of stories told by old men – Egil’s Saga, Chapter 86.

The discovery of the skeletal remains of the person described in this chapter is one of many scientific results of the Mosfell Archaeological Project, an ongoing international research effort we began in 1995. The project’s goal is to produce a comprehensive reconstruction of human adaptation and environmental change in Iceland’s Mosfell Valley from Viking times until the present. To do this, we have used a multidisciplinary approach that integrates information from archaeology, physical anthropology, saga studies, and the environmental sciences."

The full article by Phillip K. Walker, et al, originally published in The Bioarchaeology of Individuals, may be read at The University of California Santa Barbara Department of Anthropology site.

Immortal Maidens: The Visual Significance of the Colour White in Girls’ Graves on Viking-Age Gotland

Via Medievalists.net:

"In some Viking-Age (AD 800-1050) burials on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea, a large number of white shell-beads have been recovered together with glass-beads predominantly coloured yellow, green, red, blue and turquoise as well as beads of exotic materials such as carnelian and rock crystal. The beads were part of bead-sets from necklaces worn by females. Previous research assumed that the shell-beads were made of local limestone, but analyses have revealed that the beads were actually crafted from the exotic cowry shell (cypraea pantherina), originating in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea." Read the full article by Susanne Thedéen in a PDF edition of Making Sense of Things: Archaelogies of Sense Perception, pp 103-120.

Viking hoard provides new clues to 'previously unknown ruler'

"One of the most important hoards of Viking silver ever found in Britain contains valuable coins bearing the identity of a previously unknown ruler, it emerged yesterday.
The “hugely significant” hoard of 1,000-year-old artefacts includes more than 200 coins, ingots and pieces of silver jewellery that was found buried underground in north Lancashire." Read the full article at the Daily Telegraph.

£32,000 to dig up evidence of the past

"A project to unearth Bingham’s past has received £32,000....Mr Peter Allen, the association’s chairman, said the project was designed to look for evidence of the original Anglo-Saxon core village and to show how the village grew and changed, right up to the 20th Century." Full article is available at the Newark Advertiser.