tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61856182024-03-18T04:04:07.881+01:00Archaeology in Europe NewsArchaeological news from the <a href="http://www.archeurope.com">Archaeology in Europe</a> web siteDavid Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comBlogger14150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-5864389708569556472024-03-12T09:16:00.003+01:002024-03-12T09:16:50.129+01:00Dark Age Kings of Britain Confirmed by Archaeology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/dark-age-kings-britain.jpg?width=1200&quality=70" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="230" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/dark-age-kings-britain.jpg?width=1200&quality=70" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Early Dark Age Britain is notorious for being poorly recorded. Most of our information about the era comes from much later records, written centuries after the events they allegedly describe. There is endless debate from scholars, based on the literary evidence, surrounding the historicity of the kings of Britain of this era. However, there are a few cases where we do not need to rely on the later medieval records to know whether a given king really existed or not. There are about 200 stone inscriptions from Dark Age Britain. These inscriptions provide us with contemporary or near-contemporary insights into the kings of Britain at that time.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/dark-age-kings-britain/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-76624731678744642152024-03-04T17:15:00.000+01:002024-03-04T17:15:27.305+01:00Magnet fisherman pulls a 1,200-year-old Viking sword out of a river<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SEC_194453816-bc9d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=644%2C338" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="644" height="210" src="https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SEC_194453816-bc9d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=644%2C338" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Trevor Penny found a Viking sword while magnet fishing in Oxfordshire <br />(Picture: Trevor Penny/Triangle News)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A magnet fisherman was shocked to learn a rusty sword he had pulled from a river was a 1,200-year-old Viking weapon.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Trevor Penny was using a powerful magnet to look for metal objects in the River Cherwell near Enslow in Oxfordshire when he made the fascinating find.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Excited, he notified his local finds liaison officer and gave the sword to experts to verify.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">They have now dated the weapon to around 850 AD and say it would have once belonged to a Viking.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/04/magnet-fisherman-pulls-a-1-200-year-old-viking-sword-a-river-20392223/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-13104330900034172842024-02-29T17:39:00.000+01:002024-02-29T17:39:20.662+01:007 Scientific Tools Archaeologists Use to Uncover the Viking World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/viking-archaeology.jpg?width=1200&quality=70" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="230" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/viking-archaeology.jpg?width=1200&quality=70" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Science loves the Vikings. NASA’s 1970s mission to Mars paid homage to the Vikings, and Bluetooth wireless technology takes its name from the Viking king of Denmark and Norway, Harald Bluetooth. The Bluetooth symbol on phones and computers also hails from Viking runes. Science has become essential to uncovering Viking archaeology, and new archaeological tools have allowed us to better understand the Viking world.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Strontium Isotope Analysis and Viking Archaeology</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Trelleborg Fortress located in Zealand, Denmark is a circular fortification divided into four quadrants. Inside each quadrant are longhouses. On its own, the fortress is an archaeological marvel, but the more archaeologists dig into the fortress, the more exceptional the monument proves to be.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">King Harald Bluetooth organized defensive fortifications across the Viking world to maintain power during the 10th century. Excavations in Zealand from 1938-1940 revealed a fortification associated with Bluetooth’s reign and 157 buried individuals. But who were these people?</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/viking-world-archaeological-tools/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-15508978976588783872024-02-29T09:02:00.000+01:002024-02-29T09:02:09.218+01:00Seeing the wood for the trees: How archaeologists use hazelnuts to reconstruct ancient woodlands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/seeing-the-wood-for-th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="800" height="247" src="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/seeing-the-wood-for-th.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If we could stand in a landscape that our Mesolithic ancestors called home, what would we see around us? Scientists have devised a method of analyzing preserved hazelnut shells to tell us whether the microhabitats around archaeological sites were heavily forested or open and pasture-like. This could help us understand not only what a local environment looked like thousands of years ago, but how humans have impacted their habitats over time.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"By analyzing the carbon in hazelnuts recovered from archaeological sites in southern Sweden, from Mesolithic hunter-gatherer campsites through to one of the largest and richest Iron Age settlements in northern Europe, we show that hazelnuts were harvested from progressively more open environments," said Dr. Amy Styring of the University of Oxford, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-02-wood-trees-archaeologists-hazelnuts-reconstruct.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the rest of this article...</span></a></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-88131209687595212662024-02-29T08:55:00.000+01:002024-02-29T08:55:16.257+01:00Archaeologists decode the secrets held within Scotland's oldest manuscript<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/95ac29_3fd6b9423c894e8d995a723f4d09762e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_833,h_597,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/95ac29_3fd6b9423c894e8d995a723f4d09762e~mv2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="800" height="287" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/95ac29_3fd6b9423c894e8d995a723f4d09762e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_833,h_597,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/95ac29_3fd6b9423c894e8d995a723f4d09762e~mv2.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In a major archaeological discovery, the ancient monastery associated with the creation of the Book of Deer, Scotland's oldest surviving manuscript, has finally been unearthed. This remarkable discovery comes after centuries of speculation and uncertainty surrounding the precise location of this historical treasure. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Book of Deer, dating back to the 10th century, holds a significant place in Scotland's cultural and religious heritage, serving as a remarkable window into the early church, culture, and society of the time. Alongside its historical significance, the manuscript is renowned for featuring the earliest surviving Gaelic writing in Scotland, making this discovery a pivotal moment for the country's heritage and historical understanding.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/archaeologists-decode-the-secrets-held-within-scotland-s-oldest-manuscript" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-15147544731535486742024-02-29T08:52:00.002+01:002024-02-29T08:52:45.286+01:00Researchers create method to detect cases of anemia in archaeological remains<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/researchers-create-met.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/researchers-create-met.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Original micro-CT resolution(a) versus adjusted resolution for comparison to CT images(b) for the same individual. Sagittal micro-CT (a) and CT (b) reconstructions. <br />Credit: Journal of Archaeological Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2024.105942</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Diagnosing anemia in living people is typically a matter of a routine blood test. Retrospectively diagnosing anemia in people who died decades or even centuries ago is much more challenging since there is no blood left to test.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Anthropologists at McMaster University and the University of Montreal, working with a hematologist colleague, have overcome that obstacle by developing a way to detect anemia through patterns in the structures of bones.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-02-method-cases-anemia-archaeological.html" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-18979091357575551152024-02-28T10:24:00.001+01:002024-02-28T10:24:10.257+01:00Excavations at the medieval Beaumont Abbey in France have revealed nearly 800 years of history before the French Revolution shut it down.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2samM6SHsEMCjh844zeu7F-970-80.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2samM6SHsEMCjh844zeu7F-970-80.jpg.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Excavation of the servants' cemetery at Beaumont Abbey. <br />(Image credit: Copyright Jean Demerliac, Inrap)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The excavation of a medieval French abbey has revealed more than 1,000 burials, including those of plague victims, in its cemetery as well as the remains of a nearly 1,200-year-old village underneath the building.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The dig at Beaumont Abbey reveals almost eight centuries of use before the events of the French Revolution shut it down. This is the first time a European abbey has been fully excavated, producing new information about the evolution of the Catholic convent.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Located outside of Tours in the Loire Valley of France, roughly 110 miles (178 kilometers) southwest of Paris, Beaumont Abbey was founded in 1002 on a site that had already been occupied by the village of Belmons since at least 845. Historical records show that the abbey grew quickly, becoming the largest community of nuns in the province.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/1000-burials-and-medieval-village-found-in-excavation-of-abbey-destroyed-in-french-revolution" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-53929991305943809092024-02-28T10:10:00.000+01:002024-02-28T10:10:25.247+01:00Kyivan Rus: The First East Slavic State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/r/w1300/upload/89/81/28/shutterstock-2352131921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="800" height="234" src="https://www.worldatlas.com/r/w1300/upload/89/81/28/shutterstock-2352131921.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Long before Russia or Ukraine existed, there was Kyivan Rus.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Centuries before Russia or Ukraine raised arms against each other, Scandinavians made their way to Novgorod before moving on to Kyiv.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Kyivan Rus rose up during the 9th century and laid the foundations for the development of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The city of Kyiv was the heart of Kyivan Rus, a loosely bound federation of principalities, each under the governance of its individual prince.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The state reached its pinnacle in the late 10th century when it adopted Christianity from Byzantium, marking the conversion of Kyivan Rus into Orthodox Christianity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It also was a crucial hub for trade between the Baltic and Black Seas, helping foster growth and cultural exchange. This fusion of Slavic and Byzantine aesthetics in art, architecture, and political rule emerged. While it was taking in and absorbing influences around it, it was truly becoming a culture of its own. </span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/middle-ages/kyivan-rus-the-first-east-slavic-state.html" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-49001621118998652862024-02-28T10:02:00.004+01:002024-02-28T10:02:53.611+01:00Up to 50,000 coins from the 4th century discovered off of Sardinia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rsz_1arzachena_16-9_7.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rsz_1arzachena_16-9_7.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archaeologists exploring the waters off the Italian island of Sardinia have discovered a cache of between 30,000 and 50,000 coins dating back to the first half of the 4th century.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Italian Ministry of Culture announced the find, which were initially made by a diver swimming just off the north-eastern coast of Sardinia. They quickly reported the discovery to officials, including the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Sardinia, and a larger search was organized.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2024/02/50000-coins-sardinia/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-23460183724930681972024-02-27T09:47:00.001+01:002024-02-27T09:47:53.716+01:00The Vinland Map: How a Mysterious Forgery Fooled Experts for Decades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3840,h_2160,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FvoltaxMediaLibrary%2Fmmsport%2Fmentalfloss%2F01hq3vv3273mhmepb4kr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3840,h_2160,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FvoltaxMediaLibrary%2Fmmsport%2Fmentalfloss%2F01hq3vv3273mhmepb4kr.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Vinland Map courted controversy from the moment its discovery was announced. / Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University // Public Domain (map); wilatlak villette/Moment/Getty Images (background)</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In 1965, Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Michael A. Musmanno traveled to Yale University to look at a map that, until recently, had been kept a closely guarded secret.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The document, dubbed the Vinland Map, was said to date back to 1440. It was inscribed with a phrase alternately deciphered as Vinlanda Insula, Vimlanda Insula, or Vinilanda Insula, and depicted a version of North America that included Greenland as an island as well as part of what appears to be the North American coast. When translated, text on the map seemed to corroborate the events of what are known as the Vinland Sagas, two 13th-century Icelandic texts that speak of legendary explorer Leif Erikson arriving in North America—likely present-day Newfoundland, Canada—by way of Greenland around 1000. If legit, as the university claimed it was, the map was the earliest representation of North America and provided more evidence that Vikings had made it to the continent nearly 500 years ahead of Christopher Columbus—who, although he sailed for Spain, was Genoese by birth and was later embraced by Italian Americans as a hero.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In a blow to their pride, the map’s existence was announced in a splashy press conference just before the holiday honoring the explorer. With it came a book written by scholars who had worked in secret for seven years to verify the map’s authenticity. “Cartographic Scholarship Turns Over New Leif,” the Los Angeles Times punned.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/vinland-map-hoax-controversy-history" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-21859095407854194922024-02-27T09:16:00.002+01:002024-02-27T09:16:34.579+01:00Bones Reveal Bog Man's Secret Life Before His Violent End in a Foreign Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2024/02/vittrup-man-jawbone-close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="800" height="162" src="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2024/02/vittrup-man-jawbone-close.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Vittrup man's teeth reveal his maritime origins. <br />Arnold Mikkelsen/Fischer et al., PLOS One, 2024)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Violently bludgeoned to death and left in a Danish bog, the Stone Age individual known as 'Vittrup man' was discovered in 1915 by peat cutters in the midst of harvest.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">His murder – thought to have been part of a ritualized sacrifice – occurred sometime between 3300 and 3100 BCE, during the height of the local Funnelbeaker culture.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archeologists now have the strongest evidence yet that this is not where his life began.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The first hint that Vittrup man was a foreigner in Denmark came from a study investigating Mesolithic and Neolithic gene pools of Eurasia.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This revealed that Vittrup man's DNA was distinct from the other skeletons from this time found in the area, which prompted archeologist Anders Fischer from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and his colleagues to investigate further.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/bones-reveal-bog-mans-secret-life-before-his-violent-end-in-a-foreign-land" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-23748380885156247172024-02-27T09:13:00.000+01:002024-02-27T09:13:14.932+01:0011,000-year-old Stone Age structure discovered underwater<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxXPhzbz-m0qL3wMjMSVv096awbdC7vjvAgXUGUQHMqwJ8J4S_Uzp8NLzMmUQFtLLRNTs5LnJr3t1c' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Researchers have found a prehistoric man-made stone wall that could be dating back some 11,000 years just off the coast of modern-day Germany. Jacob Geersen, a marine geologist now at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, found the wall during a night lecture with his students who were mapping with echosounders a swath of seafloor off the coast of Germany. “The idea would be to create an artificial bottleneck with a second wall or with the lake shore,” Geersen told the Guardian. According to experts, the stone wall is more than half a mile long and dates back to the Stone Age.<br /><br /><a href="https://flipboard.com/video/independent/e6a1ab8e17" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-76374294904892169782024-02-27T09:03:00.003+01:002024-02-27T09:03:59.848+01:004,000-year-old copper dagger found in Poland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copper-dagger-blade-768x511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copper-dagger-blade-768x511.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A rare copper dagger dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered in a forest near Jarosław, southeastern Poland. Shaped like a flint dagger from the period, it is just over four inches long, but that is actually a large dagger compared to similar such finds because the metal was hard to come by and very valuable. This is the oldest dagger ever discovered in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The blade was discovered last November by metal detectorist Piotr Gorlach from the Historical and Exploration Association Grupa Jarosław, an organization of local history enthusiasts who search for archaeological materials with the permission of government heritage officials. Gorlach was looking for military objects from the World Wars that day without success. He had given up and was heading towards his car when his detector signaled the presence of metal under the forest floor. He saw the metal piece aged with a green patina and quickly realized it was much older than shrapnel from World War I. He alerted the voivodeship’s conservator of monuments and archaeologists from the Orsetti House Museum in Jarosław were deployed to examine the find.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69556" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-47372063030265451872024-02-27T08:56:00.000+01:002024-02-27T08:56:02.155+01:00A 2,000-Year-Old Rune-Inscribed Knife Sheds Light on Denmark’s Past<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2024/02/runic-knife-front.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2024/02/runic-knife-front.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The knife engraved with runes believed to be Denmark's oldest. <br />Photo: Rógvi N. Johansen, Museum Odense.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archaeologists from the Museum Odense in Denmark recently unearthed a significant historical artifact: a small, 2,000-year-old knife bearing an exceptionally rare runic inscription.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The text, composed of five runes concluding with three depressions engraved into the knife, uses the oldest known runic alphabet. The runes represent the word “hirila,” interpreted to mean “Little Sword” in Old Norse. While it remains uncertain whether “hirila” refers to the knife itself or its owner, archaeologists affirm its status as a cherished possession interred in a grave almost two millennia ago. The relic was found under the remnants of an urn in a small burial ground east of Odense.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking on the national significance of the discovery, museum inspector and archaeologist Jakob Bonde was thrilled. “It is a unique experience to stand with such an old and finished written language,” he said. “A runic inscription is like finding a message from ancient people.”</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/knife-rare-runes-2440707" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-91472541319901800892024-02-27T08:48:00.000+01:002024-02-27T08:48:48.435+01:00Danish Unknown Royal Family Discovered Thanks to Ring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ring-11_foto-Nationalmuseet-1024x818-1.jpg?width=1400&quality=55" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://cdn.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ring-11_foto-Nationalmuseet-1024x818-1.jpg?width=1400&quality=55" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Courtesy National Museum of Denmark.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Merovingian line ruled the Franks from the middle of the fifth century until 751. The Merovingians play a prominent role in French historiography and national identity. When it comes to the ring, 39-year-old Lars Nielsen extracted it from the earth. After that, he gave it to the Museum Sønderjylland, in Haderslev. Afterwards, the institution gave the ring to Copenhagen’s National Museum of Denmark.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Kirstine Pommergaard of the National Museum examined the ring and found that its design is similar to those of rings worn by influential Merovingians. She goes on to say that the ring not only announces the arrival of a new family. Additionally, it links Emmerlev to one of the biggest European power centres throughout the Iron Age. The ring possibly belonged to a princess who wed a different prince in the area.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/danish-unknown-royal-family-discovered-thanks-to-ring/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-36898081786005539372024-02-27T08:43:00.000+01:002024-02-27T08:43:25.316+01:00Gold Ring Possibly Linked to Royal Family Discovered by Metal Detectorist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mensjournal.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1400/MjA0NTYwOTEyMjkwNDI0MTIz/gold-wedding-band.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://www.mensjournal.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1400/MjA0NTYwOTEyMjkwNDI0MTIz/gold-wedding-band.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Lars Nielsen was casually using his metal detector while exploring the Emmerlev area in Denmark when he made quite the surprising discovery: a large and luxurious-looking gold ring set with a red semiprecious stone. It turns out it's much more than just a nice piece of jewelry that someone might have left behind. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Researchers have been looking into the ring's origins and believe that it dates back to the 5th or 6th century. According to the Danish news site Via Ritzau, the discovery seemingly points to the long-ago presence of an unknown royal family in the area with close ties to the Merovingians, a royal family that once ruled the Kingdom of France. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Kirstine Pommergaard, a curator and archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark, explained what she found and how the ring's unique build connects it to the Merovingian elite. </span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.mensjournal.com/news/gold-ring-royal-family-metal-detectorist" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-57134355325549342272024-02-20T17:14:00.000+01:002024-02-20T17:14:03.963+01:00Rare Merovingian gold ring found in Jutland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ring-1.-National-Museum..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="800" height="387" src="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ring-1.-National-Museum..jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A metal detectorist has discovered a rare Merovingian gold ring dating to 500-600 A.D. in Emmerlev, Southwest Jutland, Denmark. The ring is made of 22-carat gold and is set with an oval cabochon almandine garnet, a red semi-precious stone prized among Germanic peoples as a symbol of power. The mount has four spirals on the underside and trefoil knobs where the band meets the bezel. The spirals and knobs are characteristic of the highest quality of Frankish manufacture, and rings of this type were worn by the elite of the Merovingian dynasty.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">National Museum of Denmark curator Kirstine Pommergaard believes the quality and construction of the ring suggests there may have been an unknown noble family in the Emmerlev area with close connections to Merovingian royalty.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69517" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-29755169869578867992024-02-19T18:17:00.000+01:002024-02-19T18:17:00.149+01:00Possible Viking-Age Marketplace Found in Norway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.archaeology.org/images/News/2402/Norway-Klostery-GPR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="710" height="223" src="https://www.archaeology.org/images/News/2402/Norway-Klostery-GPR.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">STAVANGER, NORWAY—According to a statement released by the University of Stavanger, a ground-penetrating radar survey conducted on Klosterøy, an island off Norway’s southwestern coast, has detected traces of possible pit houses, cooking pits, and pier or boathouse foundations that may have been part of a Viking Age marketplace. Investigation of this area of private farmland around the medieval Utstein Monastery over the years with metal detectors has also revealed coins and weights usually associated with trade, explained archaeologist Håkon Reiersen of the University of Stavanger Museum of Archaeology. “While many indicators suggest that this may be a marketplace, we cannot be 100 percent certain until further investigations are conducted in the area to verify the findings,” added archaeologist Grethe Moéll Pedersen of the Museum of Archaeology. To read about possible evidence for the Vikings' long-distance trading activity, go to "Viking Trading or Raiding?"<br /><br /><a href="https://www.archaeology.org/news/12162-240216-norway-viking-marketplace" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-12080871180516065052024-02-19T18:12:00.002+01:002024-02-19T18:12:46.082+01:00These Ancient Remains and Relics Reveal Poland’s Bronze Age Rituals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/cnu0m8re1exe/7jltI3gr8ybQL3okFioVpq/d7a118490970ea9efc68a35e45c8482e/Lake-Starogrodzki-Bronze-Age-Bodies-Treasures-Poland.jpg?fm=jpg&fl=progressive&w=660&h=433&fit=fill" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="660" height="262" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/cnu0m8re1exe/7jltI3gr8ybQL3okFioVpq/d7a118490970ea9efc68a35e45c8482e/Lake-Starogrodzki-Bronze-Age-Bodies-Treasures-Poland.jpg?fm=jpg&fl=progressive&w=660&h=433&fit=fill" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Though the lake near Papowo Biskupie is now drained and dry, nearby lakes (including Lake Starogrodzkie in Poland’s Chełmno County) provide a picture of what the ancient waters could’ve looked like when bodies and bronze treasures were deposited beneath the surface. <br />(Credit: Mrugas PHOTOgraphy/Shutterstock)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">There’s no better place to put bodies and bronze treasures than in the bed of a small, shallow lake. At least, that’s what the Bronze Age people of Poland believed, according to a new article in Antiquity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Published in the journal in January, the article reports that researchers recently found a stash of Bronze Age remains and relics that trace as far back as 1000 B.C.E. Recovered from an ancient, long-lost lake in an archaeological area near Papowo Biskupie in Poland, the stash challenges common conceptions about Poland’s past and suggests that the site possessed some sort of ancient, sacrificial significance.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/these-ancient-remains-and-relics-reveal-polands-bronze-age-rituals?utm_source=acs&utm_medium=email&utm_email=info%40archeurope.com&utm_campaign=News0_DSC_240218_DSSUFS_0000000000_FascinatingScience&eid=info%40archeurope.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the rest of this article</span></a></div>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-36241222453429802302024-02-19T18:05:00.003+01:002024-02-19T18:05:38.711+01:00Stone Age 'megastructure' under Baltic Sea sheds light on strategy used by Paleolithic hunters over 10,000 years ago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/stone-age-megastructur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/stone-age-megastructur.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #71738b; font-size: 15px; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Northern and Central Europe in the Late Upper Palaeolithic (white areas = ice-co</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #71738b; font-size: 15px; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archaeologists have identified what may be Europe's oldest human-made megastructure, submerged 21 meters below the Baltic Sea in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. This structure—which has been named the Blinkerwall—is a continuous low wall made from over 1,500 granite stones that runs for almost a kilometer. The evidence suggests it was constructed by Paleolithic people between 11,700 and 9,900 years ago, probably as an aid for hunting reindeer.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The archaeologists investigating the Bay of Mecklenburg used a range of submarine equipment, sampling methods and modeling techniques to reconstruct the ancient lake bed and its surrounding landscape. This revealed that the Blinkerwall stands on a ridge running east to west, with a 5km-wide lake basin a few meters below the ridge to the south.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-02-stone-age-megastructure-baltic-sea.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the rest of this article...</span></a>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-84300895624325057132024-02-19T18:01:00.000+01:002024-02-19T18:01:40.897+01:00New Medieval Books: Beowulf and the North Before the Vikings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mnet24021802.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="800" height="245" src="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mnet24021802.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Beowulf and the North Before the Vikings</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">By Tom Shippey</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Arc Humanities Press</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN: 9781802700138</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">How much history is there in the story of Beowulf? The author argues that we can learn more about the people and places mentioned in the poem than has been commonly accepted, and it also sheds light on the Viking raids that began at the end of the eighth century.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Excerpt:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Beowulf’s anti-historical critics do of course have a point. If you believe that history cannot be written without dates and documents, then Beowulf offers neither. On the other hand, students of prehistory are accustomed to making what they can of other kinds of evidence, like legends and late traditions. And there is in addition the solid and ever-increasing evidence of archaeology, the “open frontier” of Beowulf-studies and of early history. As Ulf Näsman, Professor of Archaeology at Linnaeus University in Sweden, puts it: “archaeologists can write history.” Moreover, and as it happens, even for Beowulf we do have some surprising documentary evidence, which also gives us a date.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2024/02/new-medieval-books-beowulf-and-the-north-before-the-vikings/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the rest of this article...</span></a>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-58458445207401439232024-02-15T11:10:00.000+01:002024-02-15T11:10:15.733+01:00Vikings and their impact in Britain examined in new set of stamps issued by Royal Mail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/15/01/81285383-13085445-image-a-1_1707959190278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="634" height="149" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/15/01/81285383-13085445-image-a-1_1707959190278.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The impact the Vikings had on Britain is being examined in a new set of stamps issued by Royal Mail. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The eight stamps feature Viking artefacts and locations of significance from around the UK.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">These include an iron, silver and copper sword, a silver penny minted in York, silver and bronze brooches, an antler comb and case from Coppergate, York, and a Hogback gravestone from Govan Old, Glasgow.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The release of the collection also marks 40 years since the Jorvik Viking Centre opened in York.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13085445/Vikings-Britain-new-stamps-issued-Royal-Mail.html" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-55114510393315263412024-02-08T12:17:00.000+01:002024-02-08T12:17:23.675+01:00Traces of Saxon town found beneath London’s National Gallery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MOLA2-1920x1446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="800" height="301" src="https://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MOLA2-1920x1446.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> Archaeologists from Archaeology South-East have uncovered traces of the Saxon town of Lundenwic beneath the National Gallery in London.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Following the collapse of Roman Britain, Londoninium (London) fell to ruin and was abandoned during the 5th century AD.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Anglo-Saxons settled 1.6 km’s to the west of the former Roman capital, establishing a small town known as Lundenwic in the area of present-day Covent Garden.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">During the 6th century AD, England was split into multiple Anglo-Saxon kingdoms termed the Heptarchy. As borders changed through conquest and marriage, the town of Lundenwic found itself first within the domain of Essex, then Mercia, and subsequently Wessex.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/02/traces-of-saxon-town-found-beneath-londons-national-gallery/150454" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-26235126214697999112024-02-05T15:58:00.000+01:002024-02-05T15:58:06.068+01:00Ship burial discovered in Norway predates Viking Age<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mnet24020401.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" src="https://medievalists.gumlet.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mnet24020401.jpg?format=webp&compress=true&quality=80&w=768&dpr=1.5" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">A burial mound explored last June in Norway holds the remains of a ship that predates the Viking age. Archaeologists believe this is Scandinavia’s oldest known ship burial.</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archaeologists and a metal detectorist conducted the survey at Herlaugshagen at Leka, which is located in Trøndelag County in central Norway. Carried out by NTNU Science Museum and Trøndelag County Municipality, it was funded by a grant of NOK 100,000 from Norway’s National Antiquities Agency. The purpose was to be able to date the burial mound more closely, and possibly confirm whether the burial mound may have contained a ship. The archaeologists found iron rivets, a horse’s tooth, preserved remains of wood and charcoal.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The rivets allowed the researchers to date the site. “The mound was constructed in approximately 700 CE,” said Geir Grønnesby, an archaeologist at the NTNU University Museum. “This is called the Merovingian period and precedes the Viking Age. This dating is really exciting because it pushes the whole tradition of ship burials quite far back in time.”</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2024/02/ship-burial-discovered-in-norway-predates-viking-age/" target="_blank">Read the rest of this article...</a></span>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185618.post-34304514458250282522024-02-03T17:03:00.002+01:002024-02-03T17:03:46.665+01:0010 Facts About L’Anse aux Meadows, North America’s Only Viking Ruins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_761,h_428,x_263,y_18/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FvoltaxMediaLibrary%2Fmmsport%2Fmentalfloss%2F01hne3hqgvv2rh9xgx8x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_761,h_428,x_263,y_18/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FvoltaxMediaLibrary%2Fmmsport%2Fmentalfloss%2F01hne3hqgvv2rh9xgx8x.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Recreated Viking sod houses behind a wooden fence at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. / Dylan Kereluk, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.0</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">L’Anse aux Meadows, an archaeological site in Newfoundland, Canada, represents the first and only confirmed Viking presence in North America—proving beyond doubt that Vikings reached the Americas some 400 years before Christopher Columbus. Here are 10 facts about L’Anse Aux Meadows and some of its mysteries that are yet to be solved.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Vikings were not the first people to live at L’Anse aux Meadows.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Archaeological evidence of fireplaces, tent rings, and other artifacts suggest that several Indigenous groups lived at L’Anse aux Meadows before and after the Vikings occupied the site. They include peoples of the Maritime Archaic tradition from roughly 4000 to 1000 BCE, the Groswater tradition from 1000 BCE to 500 CE, and the Middle Dorset Culture from 400 to 750 CE. Historians believe there were no people present at the time of the Norse arrival, though.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/lanse-aux-meadows-vikings-facts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the rest of this article...</span></a>David Beard MA, FSA, FSA Scothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04960863966432246464noreply@blogger.com