A Possible Ring Fort from the Late Viking Period in Helsingborg

This paper is based on the author's earlier archaeological excavations at St Clemens Church in Helsingborg as well as an investigation in 1987 immediately to the north of the church. On this occasion part of a ditch from a supposed medieval ring fort, estimated to be about a 7o m in diameter, was unexpectedly found. This discovery once again raised the question as to whether an early ring fort had existed here, as suggested by the place name. The probability of such is strengthened by the newly discovered ring forts in south-western Scania: Borgeby and Trelleborg. In terms of time these have been ranked with four circular fortresses in Denmark found much earlier, the dendrochronological dating of which is 980/981. The discoveries of the Scanian ring forts have thrown new light on south Scandinavian history during the period AD 950—1050. This paper can thus be regarded as a contribution to the debate.

A Case Study in Archaeology and Public Benefit from an Urban Excavation in an Old Brewery: Cork City, Ireland

A major urban development in Cork City entailed dewatering and very deep excavations for new basements. This revealed significant archaeology from the Viking period, which was excavated where necessary. A very successful series of public events followed, with senior politicians visiting. This paper concludes by emphasising the need to provide the public with accurate information.

On the origins and chronology of the Wolin emporium

The paper concerns the problem of the origin of Wolin as an emporium in the early Middle Ages. The excavations conducted in the 1960s and 1970s in the Old Town of Wolin recorded extremely rich cultural deposits of considerable thickness, in some cases exceeding eight meters. Results of recent studies on the finds and on the archival documentation from these excavations indicate that it can be dated to the period between circa 800–1400. During this time four main stages of land-use in the place are clearly visible. The second of them, dated since circa 850 up to circa 1100, involved a large settlement of the area of a few hectars with a tightly packed, regularly laid-out wooden buildings and wood-paved communication roads leading to the port. The size of the settlement, its regular layout and a building style are alien to the Baltic Slavic region of that period. Considering also remains of intense craft production recorded on the site, it may be concluded that in that period there was a craft and trade settlement with all the features of a Baltic emporium. This was established in the place of an older, small, seasonal settlement. The transformation and the growth of the settlement must have been related to the development of the so-called Baltic economic zone of the Viking period and can be also attributed to a change in communication routes in the mouth of the Oder and the collapse of the craft and trade settlement in Menzlin on the Peene.

Echoes of the Past: Women, Memories and Disc-on-Bow Brooches in Vendel- and Viking-period Scandinavia

This article examines the development, handling, and depositions of disc-on-bow brooches from the sixth to tenth centuries ad in the Vendel and Viking periods in Norway and mainland Sweden. A revised typological framework is presented, and the context of these brooches explored. The authors discuss their preservation, re-use, fragmentation, and ritual meaning within ongoing social negotiations and internal conflicts from the late Vendel period into the Viking Age. References to the past in Viking-Age society and the significance of women for maintaining narratives of the past are considered, as are levels of access, control, and definition of narratives of the past in times of social redefinition.

THE CAROLINGIAN CUP FROM THE VALE OF YORK VIKING HOARD: ORIGINS OF ITS FORM AND DECORATIVE FEATURES

In 2007, near Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, a Viking-period hoard was discovered with a Carolingian silver-gilt cup. This article examines this cup, highlighting Oriental, Central Asian and classical parallels in both metal and pottery for the cup’s form and decoration. The overall significance of the cup’s iconography has already been thoroughly discussed by Professor Egon Wamers, who proposed that the scenes on the cup are paralleled in the early ninth-century Stuttgart Psalter. This article proposes that Oriental forms and decorative elements in metalwork were channelled to the West through diplomatic contacts and trade by way of a complex of routes by land and sea, as well as possibly by refugees from Islamic conquests.

Whalebone Gaming Pieces: Aspects of Marine Mammal Exploitation in Vendel and Viking Age Scandinavia

Discussions of pre-Viking trade and production have for many decades focused on products made of precious metals, glass and, to some degree, iron. This is hardly surprising considering the difficulties in finding and provenancing products made of organic matter. In this article we examine gaming pieces made from bone and antler, which are not unusual in Scandinavian burials in the Vendel and Viking period (c. ad 550–1050). A special emphasis is placed on whalebone pieces that appear to dominate after around ad 550, signalling a large-scale production and exploitation of North Atlantic whale products. In combination with other goods such as bear furs, birds of prey, and an increased iron and tar production, whalebone products are part of an intensified large-scale outland exploitation and indicate strong, pre-urban trading routes across Scandinavia and Europe some 200 years before the Viking period and well before the age of the emporia.

Northern Norway in Viking age

The aim of this paper is to present some aspects of the image of Northern Norway in the Viking period. The article first sketches the Viking Age and its underlying causes, by also defining, in brief, the specificity of the Vikings. It continues with considerations on the creation of Norway, so as to finally outline the country’s image in the Viking Age. Aspects of navigation, language and trade are also presented in short. This entire portrayal of Northern Norway in Viking times is based on Ottar’s account about Northern Norway at the court of King Alfred. From a literary perspective, Harald Hårfagrets Saga (The Saga of Harald Fairhair) from about 850 was analysed. This saga tells the story of a Danish princess being transformed into a Norwegian woman. Thus, one encounters the myth of Northern women. All these aspects lead to a comprehensive image of Northern Norway in the Viking Age.