v king heritage heritage magazine...and old part 1 by birgitta linderoth wallace north americans...

V king HeritageV king Heritage

4/20034/2003

magazine

DESTINATIONVIKING

http://viking.hgo.se 2

Viking Heritage Magazine 4/03

WORLDLINESS

The traveller musttrain his wits.

All is easy at home.He who knows littleis a laughing stock

amongst men of the world.

From Hávámal(Words from “The High One”)

AAbboouutt tthhee ffrroonntt ppaaggeeThe Leif Eriksson rune stone, raised at L’Anse aux Meadows on July 28, 2000. Read more on page 23. Photo: Kalle Runristare

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Drawing by Lou Harrison, tthhuunnddeerrhheeaarrttssttuuddiiooss@@yyaahhoooo..ddkk

EditorialDear Readers,

WELCOME TO THE LAST ISSUE OF THE YEAR!This time the theme of Vikings in North America is in focus and I am

sure you will find plenty of interesting reading. I would like to callspecial attention to Birgitta Linderoth Wallace’s article, Vikings in NorthAmerica – New and Old, dealing with the many alleged Viking finds“over there”. And of course you will find articles about the much-discussed Kensington Runestone, in the headlines right now, exhibitedand investigated by leading experts in Sweden.

The Vikings travelled and expanded in all directions and as usual wefollow their example of being curious and eager to explore somethingnew. Take a look at the beautiful spoons from Poland and participate inthe manners and customs of diet and table-service in Wolin. Don’t missthe exciting article about Viking-age horse graves in Lithuania, either.

I also would like to inform you that Maj-Britt Andersson, who hasbeen responsible for subscriptions from the start, has retired. Thank youMaj-Britt for the great job you’ve done keeping all our members and theadministration in good order!

And last but not at least, to all of you from all of us,Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

MMaarriittaa EE EEkkmmaann

Editor

Email: mmaarriittaa..ee..eekkmmaann@@hhggoo..ssee

Heritage News

IN THIS ISSUEVikings in North America – New and Old 33––99

About the KensingtonRunestone 1100––1111

DDEESSTTIINNAATTIIOONN VVIIKKIINNGG

Vikings in the New World 1122––1133

Destination Viking Baltic Stories 1144––1155

Reproducing tools 1166––1188

A Northern Periphery projectSouth Greenland 1199––2211

Norstead, Canada 2222

The Leif Eriksson Runestone 2233

International Viking LegacySymposium in Philadelphia 2233

VVIIKKIINNGG FFOORRUUMM 2244

Diet and tableware in Wolin 2255––2277

Viking-age Horse Offerings inLithuania 2288––3311

A replica ofthe Gokstad Faering 3322––3333

International courses 3344

NNEEWW BBOOOOKK 3366––3377

HHEERRIITTAAGGEE NNEEWWSS 3388

3 http://viking.hgo.se


Big Ole. A giant Viking heraldsthe Kensington runestone andother alleged medievalNorse finds in Alexandria,Minnesota. Photo by Kate Yorston.

The allure of the Vikings is old inAmerica. It dates back to 1837 and 1838when the Vinland sagas became accessibleoutside Scandinavia, translated first intoLatin, then in English. The man behindthe work was Carl Christian Rafn,Secretary of the Danish NationalAntiquarian Society. Speculations as towhere the Norse would have landed beganimmediately. Rafn himself settled on theTaunton River-Mount Hope Bay area ofMassachusetts and Rhode Island. Eversince then, New England has beenassumed by many to be legendaryVinland. Among the antiquities believedby Rafn to be Norse were the NewportTower in Rhode Island, which he believedwas a medieval round church, and theDighton Rock in Fall River,Massachusetts, thought to have a runicinscription. The tower has since beenshown to date to the 1600s, and theDighton Rock to be a native Americanrock carving.

With the stream of Scandinavians

Vikings in North America – Newand Old Part 1By Birgitta Linderoth Wallace

North Americans have harboureda special fascination with Vikingsfor over a century. The interest isnot scholarly but a popularpreoccupation with the image ofVikings as freedom-seekingadventurers and pioneers,aggressive, strong, handsome,and bold, always exploring newhorizons, the ideal of a man.In many ways thisrepresents the male ethosin white America, whichexplains why the topic ofVikings is especiallypopular among Americanmen.

Reputed Norse finds inNorth America. Map by J.Ertzman and B. Wallace.Revised by P. D’agnan.

oblivion” and published a book onthe stone in which he declared thatthe inscription was genuine. TheScandinavian scholars were wrong.Holand devoted much of his life tothe promotion of his views on thestone, producing five full-lengthbooks, and innumerable newspaperarticles and lectures. His workreceived much attention.

In 1908 first the NorwegianSociety of Minneapolis, then aprominent Scandinavian philologistat the University of Illinois, GeorgeT. Flom, and finally the state-sponsored Minnesota HistoricalSociety launched investigations intothe finding circumstances of thestone, and the personality of itsfinder. While the NorwegianSociety believed that the inscriptionmight be genuine, Professor Flomconcluded that it was modern inlanguage as well as in runes. Theofficial verdict of the MinnesotaHistorical Society was that itsauthenticity could not be proven. Ageologist as well as others whoexamined the stone, commented onthe freshness of the rune cuts.

Undaunted, Holand continuedhis work, over the years publishingwhat he presented as corroboratingfinds such as axes, spears, andswords, and sites where the Norseship supposedly had been moored.His work has been taken seriouslyby many and is frequently cited asproof that the Norse penetrated theMiddlewest.

By now, there are innumerableclaims for evidence of Norsepenetration into North America:more than 50 sites, over 100inscriptions, and about 75 artifacts.In the 1960s, I was assigned byCarnegie Museum of NaturalHistory to make a systematicinvestigation of all these sites,inscriptions, and artifacts, a studythat I have kept relatively à jourwith later developments in thisfield. When I began my study, I wasaware that a similar investigationhad been published in 1951(English version in 1954) byProfessor Johannes Brøndsted, thenDirector of the Danish National

Museum. I deliberately did not consult it,until I had viewed all the evidence myself.The following is a representative selectionof the purported evidence.

settling in Minnesota andsurrounding states from the 1850son, the quest for Vikings migratedto the Middlewest. NationalRomanticism flourished in theScandinavian homelands, andVikings represented their gloriouspast. It was this view of history theimmigrants brought with them.New publications of the Vinlandsagas appeared in English andNorwegian in the 1880s, and, in1893, Captain Magnus Andersonsailed a replica of the Gokstad shipto New York, with much fanfare andpublicity, heightening the Vikingfrenzy.

The Kensington stone In November (or August) 1898 asensational find was made. On afarm at Kensington in centralMinnesota, a Swedish immigrantstone mason-turned-farmer found arunestone embedded in the roots ofa tree. The farmer was Olaf Ohman,an immigrant from Forsa inHälsingland, Sweden. Local peoplecame to see the stone and the stumpof the tree, which had grown over it.Translations were soon printed inSvenska Amerikanska Posten,Skandinaven, and the MinnesotaJournal.

In late February 1899 the stonewas shipped by train to ProfessorGeorge Curme of the Departmentof Germanic Languages atNorthwestern University inEvanston, Illinois. As the trainapproached, the Chicagonewspapers heralded the sensationalfind, and Professor Curme’sexcitement. His excitement turnedinto disappointment as soon as hesaw the stone. The inscription,which bore the date 1362, waswritten in modern Swedish, notmedieval, and the runes were moresimilar to 18th and 19th – centurythan medieval Swedish runes. Thecuts were fresh, breaking throughthe weathered surface of the stone.However, to make sure that hisobservations were correct, Curmehad the stone photographed andsent the photographs to the mosteminent Norse scholars andrunologists of the day, among them AdolfNoreen in Sweden, Ludwig Wimmer inDenmark, Gustaf Storm and SophusBugge in Norway. The unanimous verdictwas that the inscription was modern.



The stone was returned to its finder.There it rested until 1908, when a youngNorwegian-born amateur historian by thename of Hjalmar Holand “rescued it from

The Kensington stone. Photo by B. Wallace.

Svenska Amerikanska Posten 28 February 1899.The headline was “A Curious Antiquity Find inMinnesota.” Clipping courtesy Minnesota HistoricalSociety.



Knowledge of runesKnowledge of runes in Scandinavia afterthe Middle Ages is not as esoteric onemight imagine. Writing with runespersisted. Runes continued to be used incertain areas of Sweden and Norwaythroughout the 19th century, particularlyin Älvdalen, Dalarna, not far fromOhman’s home community of Forsa.Runic calendars such as this 1884example now in Mora Museum, Dalarna,were in use until modern times. Some ofthe Kensington runes, such as ‘X’ for ‘A’are characteristic of these late runic letters.

There was also a romantic interest inrunes and runestones, evident in arunestone from Frösön, Sweden, erectedin 1835 with the inscription: Den XXVIIaugusti MDCCCXXXV konung Carl XIVJohan helsade här Jemtlands krigare (Onthe 27th of August 1835 King Carl XIVJohan here greeted the warriors ofJämtland).

Lately the Kensington inscription hasreceived a new army of enthusiastsproclaiming the inscription to be genuine.Foremost among them is Richard Nielsen,a petroleum engineer with no linguistictraining or knowledge of old Scandinavianlanguages. Although every Norse linguisthas pinpointed the inscription as modern(Prominent among them are Oluf Rygh 1899,1911; Sophus Bugge 1899, 1911, Gustaf Storm1889, 1911; Adolf Noreen 1906, Helge Gjessing1909; Gustaf Flom 1910, Chester N. Gould 1910,Magnus Olsen 1910; Gisli Bothne 1910; MariusHaegstad 1911; Ludvig Wimmer 1911; Otto vonFriesen 1911; Sven B.F. Jansson 1949; HarryAndersen 1949-50; Erik Moltke 1949; KarlMartin Nielsen 1950, August Steinnes, 1950s;Einar Haugen 1950s+; Erik Wahlgren 1958+;Aslak Liestøl 1966; Claiborne Thompsen 1970s;James Knirk 1990s), Richard Nielsen,undaunted, has scoured medievaldiplomaria and other documents forcorroboration that the forms on the stonecould be medieval exceptions from thenorm. If Nielsen is right, the wholeinscription is a collage of uniqueanomalies.

New Petrographic StudiesIn the year 2000 the stone was subjectedto a new petrographic study by ScottWolters, a private geologist in St. Paul,Minnesota, and this study has nowreceived wide publicity in Sweden. Thestudy concludes that the runes do indeedcut through the weathering of the surfaceof the stone. Wolters calls this the“retooling” of the runes and says it musthave happened shortly after it was found,presumably before the stone arrived inChicago. The stone is currently beingreexamined by Swedish geologists.

The Kensington Stone and Its FinderTwo things make it quite clear that theinscription is a joke, not a recording of a1362 event: Ohman himself, and what isprobably a paper draft of the inscription.Ohman has been portrayed by Holandand his followers as an uneducated, roughfarmer, who could barely read or write,honest but dumb. People who knewOhman, had a different view. Hishandwriting was schooled as can be seenfrom the examples that survive. He wasknown to send excuses in verse for hischildren to their school.

Unlike many of his neighbours, he wasan avid reader and subscribed to SvenskaAmerikanska Posten, which regularlypublished articles on matters of Swedishhistory. Many of these he cut out andassembled in a scrap book which hassurvived.

One of his best friends was SvenFogelblad, a former Lutheran minister,educated at the University of Uppsala,who was deeply interested in Ethics andPhilosophy and published a number ofarticles in the Svenska-AmerikanskaPosten. These were also cut out byOhman, who, according to his daughter,was interested in theosophy and "things ofIndia.". The articles carry titles such asVad är sanning? (What Is Truth?), Hvadmenas med anarkism? (What Is Meant byAnarchism? ), En utredning om förnuftetsnatur (An Analysis of the Nature ofIntelligence), Bildning och kunskapsbeär(Education and the Thirst forKnowledge), and Upptäckt af bibliskaminnesmärken i Palestina (Discovery ofBiblical Antiquities in Palestine).

When Svenska Amerikanska Postenpublished Oscar Montelius’ SvenskaHistoria (History of Sweden) asinstallments from the fall of 1897 toFebruary 1898, Ohman cut them out andhad them bound into a book, signing hisname and the date 1898 inside it. Boththe articles and Montelius’ History arecomplex reading. The Montelius volumehas 2312 illustrations, many of which areburial mounds and other antiquities.There are detailed discussions of runesand development of the Scandinavianlanguages. It also talks about Vinlandvoyages and refers to the Newport Tower.

Rune calendar from 1884, now in Mora Museum, Sweden. Photo by B. Wallace

The Ohman farm. Photo by B. Wallace.



Since 1891, Ohman also owned Denkunskapsrike skolmästaren (TheKnowledgeable School Master) by CarlRosander, a book on Swedish languageand language development. Among otherthings, it shows how the Lord’s Prayerchanged over the centuries, from 1300 to1646. In the language sample for the year1300 is a phrase found on the Kensingtonstone, Frælse os af illu. Amen. The bookalso contains detailed discussions of thechanges in runic writing. Ohman himselfadmitted that he knew something aboutrunes, and coming from Forsa, hecertainly had seen the nearby runestonesthere.

He was reasonably successfulfinancially, at least until he bought hisfarm. Originally not a farmer but a stonemason and construction worker, he hadsaved enough money to return to Swedenfor two years in 1884. He bought thefarm in 1889, ten years after first arrivingin Minnesota.

With his friends he was quite a joker,and Emil Mattson, the son of aneighbour, told of his grin showing amouth full of white teeth. The sameperson testified to his skill with a chisel asOhman helped his father drilling stonesso that they could be blasted and used inbuilding foundations. Another neighbour,John P. Gran, believing he was dying,confessed to his son that he had helpedOhman make the inscription.

The paper copy of the inscriptionA paper copy of the inscription suggeststhat the stone was a planned joke. The

author must have had detailed knowledgeof runes since the copy includes accuratebut alternate forms of runic spelling. Thecopy was mailed to Svenska AmerikanskaPosten on January 1, 1899. The text,which was said to be a copy of the

inscription, was in turn mailed toProfessor O. J. Breda of the ScandinavianDepartment of the University ofMinnesota.

It is uncertain who made the copy. Thenewspaper editor said that it was Ohman,

Olof Ohmanwith theKensingtonstone in1921. Photo byParkRegionEcho.

The Rune paper.Photo by

MinnesotaHistorical Society.

The KensingtonInscription.Drawing by B.Wallace.



who sent it via John P. Hedberg, a realestate, travel, and insurance agent inKensington. The paper later published asimilar but different copy on February 28,much closer to the inscription than thefirst sketch.

The text on the paper copy is the sameas on the stone. The spelling differssignificantly. The variations, marked withrectangles in the illustration, include thefollowing:

• NORR on the stone is written asNOR on the paper, followed by ‘:’which separates all the words. On thestone, the second R has been writtenover the : sign.

• FRO on the stone is FROM on thepaper. Whoever “copied” theinscription, be it Ohman or someoneelse in the local community, knew thecorrect rune for ‘M.’

• ENO on the stone is fiENE on thepaper. Both are valid ways of writing“this”, and the person who changed‘O’ to ‘E’ was familiar with the runefor ‘E’.

• The stone has RÖDE, the paperRÖHDE. This is an example of silentH, which neither changes thepronounciation, nor the meaning ofthe word. The person who wrote thepaper, knew the correct rune for ‘H.’

• The stone has BLOD, the paperBLÖD. The change does not affectthe meaning, but the rune for Ö is sodifferent from the rune for O that itcannot be a copyist’s error. The runefor Ö is in fact a post-1500 Dalecarliarune.

• RISE on the stone is RESE on thepaper, again with the correct runefor’E.’

A couple of other minor deviationscould be dismissed as a copyist’s error, forinstance the common Dalecarlia rune for‘A’ on the paper has two dots added onthe stone, making it into an Ä. However,the variety of legitimate alternate spellingssuggests that this could have been a draftprepared for the inscription by someoneintimately familiar with runes.

The Paul Knutsson letterA letter signed in 1354 by King MagnusEriksson of Norway is claimed to behistorical verification of the Kensingtonexpedition. The letter authorizes his

hirdman (retainer) Paul Knutsson to sailthe royal knarr to Greenland for thehonour of God...and for the sake of ourpredecessors, who in Greenland establishedChristianity and have maintained it to thistime, and we will not let it perish in ourdays (English translation by H. Holand.).

According to this theory, theexpedition, under Paul Knutsson, arrivedin Greenland and, finding the WestSettlement abandoned, with rumours thatthe Norsemen had converted to a heathenreligion, set out in pursuit. Travelling viaHudson Bay and various rivers, large and

that the expedition ever took place, letalone continued beyond Greenland toNorth America!

Another Runestone in Minnesota –The Barrett Lake RunestoneThe interest in runic writing in the area isillustrated in the Barrett Lake runestone.This runestone was found in 1949 on ahill near Elbow Lake, not far fromKensington. The text states

ÅHR 18764 JUNGFRURSAT LÄGER PÅ DHENA KULE(Year 1876; 4 maidens; had a camp onthis hill).

After a flurry of newspaper interest, thefinder, a farmer by the name of VictorSetterlund, admitted to carving the stone.

Cluster of Norse Finds Throughout North America there arethree concentrations of artefacts,inscriptions, and sites reputed to beNorse: New England, with a subgroup inOklahoma, the American Middlewest,and the Canadian Arctic. In additionthere are also the finds from the L’Anseaux Meadows site in northernNewfoundland – which will be presentedin a separate article.

The evidence in New England andOklahoma is associated with the Vinlandvoyages and of a presumed 11th centurydate. The evidence in the Middlewest isgenerally referred to as “Viking” but issupposedly of post-Viking 14th centurydate, supporting the claim that theKensington stone is genuine. Only theArctic finds are plausible evidence of theNorse, lying in close proximity to theGreenland settlements.

Reputed finds of Viking Ageor older finds

New England and OklahomaCarl Christian Rafn concluded thatVinland would be found in New England.His idea was uncritically accepted and stillis. His chief criterion was the position ofthe sun on the shortest day of the year asstated in The Greenlanders’ Saga: the sunrose at the time of the morning meal andset at the time of the afternoon meal. Thetiming of meals can hardly provide aprecise calculation for daylight hours. Allwe can say is that the shortest day of theyear was longer than in either Greenlandor Iceland.

The Barrett Lake Runestone. Drawing byJ. Senior after photo by E. Crane in theMinneapolis Tribune 7 August 1949.

small, the expedition finally met its sadfate in Kensington.

The rumours of heathendom are nowseen as an indication that the GreenlandNorse chieftains persisted in their oldpattern of control of the churches, apattern that would appear pagan to theNorwegian church establishment.

The Paul Knutsson letter, whichbecame known among Viking enthusiastsvia Gustaf Storm’s 1888 Studies on theVineland Voyages, is not an order to saveChristianity among the Greenlanders. Itexists only in a much later Danishtranslation, which, as has been pointedout by the runologist James Knirk andothers, is faulty. The King’s interest inGreenland was potential taxes. KingMagnus was in debt to the Pope, havingused tithes to pay for a war with Russiainstead of forwarding them to Rome. Theletter is not a royal command but aprotection letter, corresponding to amodern passport. There is no evidence

DHENA KULE



Newport TowerCarl Christian Rafn suggestedthat a small stone tower inNewport, Rhode Island, was aNorse round church. Extensivearchaeological excavations in1948 to 1949 yielded onlymid-16th century and latermaterial. In the late 1990s aDanish-Finnish research teamconfirmed the Colonialprovenience via radiocarbonanalysis of gas trapped in themortar. The Danisharchitectural historianJohannes Hertz determinedthat the tower was built on themodel of a windmill designedby Inigo Jones at Chestertonin Warwickshire, UK.

Follins pondThe American writer Frederick J. Pohlbelieved that remains of posts in a gully atFollins Pond on Cape Cod formed theshoring for Leif Eriksson’s ship. The postshave been radiocarbon dated, by threeseparate radiocarbon laboratories andfound to be no older than about twohundred years. Historical records showthat the gully was a repair area for whalingand fishing boats in the late 18th and early19th century.

Tor Bay AxeAxe found at Tor Bay, Nova Scotia, said tobe Viking. The semi-circles and dots onthe blade were interpreted as secret magicrunes from the Old Futhark, stating FHABLE, meaning “Inscribed with magicrunes to give divine protection.”

In reality, the marks are typical maker’smarks, touch marks. Axes of this shapewere not made before the 17th century.They may have been used in whaling, tocut up the carcasses, as was done in the19th century on the American west coast.

Heavener RunestoneA runic inscription wasdiscovered in the late 1890son a large, naturally uprightslab of sandstone on thePoteau Mountain nearHeavener, Oklahoma, close tothe point where Oklahoma,Arkansas, Texas and Louisianaintersect. The runes are in theOld Futhark except for twofrom a Viking Age futhark.This kind of mix is commonin “modern” runic carvings,for instance in a boundarymarker erected around 1900at the farm Hesselberg inRingerike, Norway, and othersat Nolgården and Öxsjön inVästergötland, Sweden.

The Heavener runes can beread as either GAOMEDAT

or GNOMEDAL. The letters are said tohave had lichens growing on them at onetime. When I saw the inscription thelichen was gone, but this could be due tothe varies studies that had already gone onby that time.

The carver of the runes is unknown.Nomedal is a modern, i.e. post-1500Norwegian name, its older equivalentbeing Naumdalir.

In the 1720s there was a Germansettlement led by a Swedish captain,Charles d’Arenbourg at present-dayHahnville, Louisiana. The two localities

are connected viarivers. Could therehave been aNorwegian in thesettlement? It ismore likely that the

Newport Tower. Photo by R. Wallace.

Tor Bay Axe. Photo by W. B. Goodwinin H. Holand, Norse Discoveries &

Explorations in America 982-1362. Leif Erikson to the

Kensington Stone.New York: Dover

Publications.1940.

Follins pond.Photo by B.Wallace.

HeavenerRunestone. Photosby B. Wallace.

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runes were carved in the 19th century,when interest in runes and things Norseblossomed in Scandinavia. There wereNorwegian settlers in Texas from the1840s on, and the Civil War also broughtmany Norwegian-born soldiers from theMiddlewest to the south.

Richard Nielsen believes that the textdates from around AD 600 and says thatit is Primitive Germanic for GLOMEfiAL,meaning Glom’s valley. One cannot helpwondering how the Norse would have gotthere at a time when they barely hadsailing ships, let alone ones that couldcross an ocean.

The most recent, equally implausible,theory is that the inscription is a secretmonument to the French explorer La Sallewho died in the Poteau Valley in 1687.

The Poteau InscriptionA second inscription was found at TerryHill, Poteau, near Heavener, in 1967. Inthis case the carvers also came to lightwhen they read about the find in themedia. Two boys, who had seen a pictureof the Heavener runes in the local press,had carved them in the late 1930s, afterthey had their interest sparked by a movieabout the Vikings.

The Byfield runestoneThe grooves on this stone atByfield, Massachusetts, oneof several similar stones, havebeen interpreted as the runesfor JARTAR VAGR ØNSITU, translated into“Overland route, øn set thestone.” In reality, the groovesare glacial striations, whichhave eroded. Examination ofthe stone reveals that thewide grooves continue toexpand and end in finercracks.

made. They consist of natural furrows,criss-crossing a red basalt vein enclosed ina large outcrop of bedrock. The furrowshave eroded faster than the surroundingrock. A similar phenomenon at Runamoin Blekinge, Sweden, was also mistakenfor a runic inscription in the 19th centurywhen runology was in its infancy.

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The Beardmore findGenuine Viking Age artifacts have beenfound in interior North America. This is aNorse sword, dating from the 9th or 10th

century, an 11th-century axe, and a rangle,a rattle possibly used on horses.

A prospector claimed that he hadfound the objects in a grave on hismining claim near Beardmore in the1930s in western Ontario. It was laterproven that they had come from thebasement of the prospector’s landlord.The landlord had obtained them fromanother tenant, a young Norwegian,Jens Bloch, whose father AndreasBloch, a well known illustrator ofheraldry, had owned a largecollection of archaeological andhistorical weapons before it becameillegal for private individuals to doso.

The Manana inscriptionThis “inscription” on MananaIsland, outside the coast of Maine,is believed to be a runic inscription

saying “I Veigle lay seven years, yearJesus 32 (1031 A.D.).”

The sentence makes no sense. Thecracks are neither runes, nor man-

The Yarmouth stoneThis stone from Yarmouth,Nova Scotia, has beenregarded as a runestonesince the 1860s. The signs,which consist of irregulargrooves and pits do notbear any resemblance torunes.

Mananainscription.Photo byB. Wallace.

The Yarmouth stone.Photo by B. Wallace.

Byfield runestone. Photo by B. Wallace.

The Beardmore find.Photo by Royal OntarioMuseum.



The Grave creek tabletThe small tablet found in 1838 in a hugeindigneous Adena burial mound, theGrave Creek Mound, in Moundsville,West Virginia, caused quite a stir. It hasbeen interpreted as Phoenician, Etruscanor Celtiberic by some, as Norse by others.According to the latter it contains therunes for “I knelt on meadow island,Ann’s Yulesite, which is now a sanctuarythat hoards holy thing.” All indicationsare that the tablet is a fake made to stirinterest – and revenue – for the moundand the museum established inside it.

To be continued in the next issue, VHM1/2004.

By Kalle Runsristare,Rune Carver

On October 17, 2003 a group metto study the well-knownKensington runestone in theNational Museum of Antiquities inStockholm. As a present-day runecarver my mission in this groupwas trying to interpret the workwith the help of my ownexperiences and knowledge.

The rune inscription of the Kensington stoneis well composed, the lines are even and thesurfaces have been used fully. I judge that therune inscription was planned in advance thenpainted on the stone to be later cut.

At least two cape chisels have been used. A

pointed one for the dots and the bow parts onsome of the arms of the runes. The other had a5 mm broad edge and was used mostly forstraight chopping notches, but also for bowingarms with less successful results. Even if thetools were small, the runes were too detailed forthe stone not to break during the work, andnearly all the runes had the surface crackedbetween body and arms.

On line no 2 a new problem seems toemerge. A part of the surface of the stone,where line 2 naturally would have started,could have been changed. Perhaps the runecarver discovered too late that the area had a“miss”, a loose cavity. To avoid this delicate areathe runes on line 2 and 3 can have been movedto the right, where the runes that lost theirplaces were instead pressed into line 4 and

About the authorBirgitta Linderoth Wallace is SeniorArchaeologist Emeritus with ParksCanada in Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada. Born and raised in Swedenand educated at University ofUppsala and Kansas University, herexpertise has focussed on the Norsein North America. She has beenresponsible for much of ParksCanada’s archaeological work atL’Anse aux Meadows National HistoricSite. Before coming to Canada, shewas employed by Carnegie Museumof Natural History in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania in the United States.While there, she conducted asystematic investigation into allreputed evidence of the Norsethroughout North America. This articlereports on some of that evidence.

The Grave creek tablet. Photo by L.Sarnaki

“The Riddle of the The Kensington Runestonenow exhibited in SwedenA sensational find or a hoax? This question has been discussed for morethan one hundred years and is still as hot a topic as ever. In the year1898 a farmer, Olof Öhman, found the stone in the roots of a tree on hisfarm in Kensington in Minnesota, USA. According to the carvings on it, thestone is from 1362 and carved by Norsemen from far away. For the firsttime the stone is now on display in Sweden, at the National Museum ofAntiquities in Stockholm.

The exhibition The Kensington runestone attracts greatattention from both the public and press inSweden. It has been discussed in newspapers andmagazines and is now famous even in Sweden.

The opening ceremony of the exhibit tookplace at the museum and Mr Charles A.Heimbold Jr, U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, heldthe inaugural speech.

In his welcoming remarks Mr Kristian Berg,Director General of the Museum, stressed thefact that, whether true or false, the Kensingtonrunestone acts as a strong symbol for identity –and as a cultural heritage – for manyScandinavian-American immigrants and theirdescendants in the USA.

Besides displaying the runestone, theexhibition shows some other interesting artefactslike rune calendars with pentadic (Roman)number symbols and some copies of finds from

the L’ Anse aux Meadows Viking-periodsettlement in Canada.

Examinations The day after the opening a conference aboutthe stone was held at the Museum.

It will also be examined by leading Swedishgeologists and runologists during its time inSweden.

A scientific reading of the stone has alreadybeen done by a group of runologists led byHenrik Williams, professor at the Dept. ofScandinavian Languages at Uppsala University,Sweden. The runologists did not find anysensational new readings but consider the earlierAmerican examinations as correct on the whole.Yet, some interesting observations were made.Some small mistakes were found as well as theirnoticing that the carver of the stone was not aclever rune carver. But primarily they discussed

REFLECTION



especially lines 5 and 6. From line 7 and on itlooks like the original painting is the basis forthe carved runes.

Interpretation of this part can becomeclearer upon later examination, hopefully doneby the beginning of 2004, before the stoneleaves Sweden.

Whoever carved the Kensington stone wasmost likely inexperienced. If the same carverhad cut one more stone, the runes wouldcertainly have been bigger and more wellcarved. The poorly carved runes of theKensington stone do not exclude that the runecarver is well informed of runic letters, it onlyshows that the carver was unfamiliar withcutting in stone.

Just cutting the Kensington stone ought to

have taken one to two days. Adding the timefor planning and the time it might have takento change the placement of the runeinscription, the whole task should have takenalmost a week, maybe more, depending on theextent of planning.

Maybe the Kensington stone’s greatestworth is as an unsolved mystery…

During the last hundred years many havespent a great deal of time researching both theemigration from the North Europe during the19th century as well as the possibility that theNorse visited North America long beforeColumbus. Maybe this research would nothave taken place if the Kensington stone hadnot been carved.

I, myself, think that the group of Norsewho settled in the north of Newfoundland in

the 11th century went further south. We knowthat they both had the contacts and possibilityto travel further, so there ought to be more tofind in North America.

Maybe not until the military’s satelliteimages with high resolution are combined withadvanced computers that the traces of theNorse can be discovered in the landscape,settlements, graves and wharf foundations tounveil where the Norse went. Perhaps not untilthen can the riddle of the Kensington runestone be solved.

Kalle Runristare has a website, availablealso in Englishwwwwww..rruunnrriissttaarree..ssee

Kensington Runestone”

how to interpret the meaning of the runes. Theconclusion of the runological investigation isthat there are many reasons to go on researchingthe stone.

A preparatory geological examination of thestone has also been done. Earlier this yearAmerican geologist Scott Walter has carried outan investigation that shows that the stone hasbeen exposed to natural forces for manyhundreds of years, which could imply that thestone is older than the 18th century. In hisinvestigation he compared the decomposition ofthe stone with gravestones from the 19th

century.

Swedish geologist, Runo Löfvendahl saysthat the stone is worth another investigation.This applies particularly to the shape of therunes, possible supplementary workings andchemical transformations. Unfortunately earliercleaning, washing with different kinds ofdetergents and plaster casts will make furtherinvestigations more difficult. He and his grouphope to be able to study the stone more closelyin January, before it travels back to theRunestone Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota.

The riddle of the Kensington stoneIs the stone from 1362 as carved on it, or is it a

fake from the 1800s? The answer to the riddleof the Kensington stone has been sought formore than one hundred years.

Immediately after Olof Öhman found it, itwas judged to be a fake by experts in USA.Öhman got the stone back and placed it facedown outside an outhouse as a step on whichhe frequently straightened out nails. Anamateur researcher, Hjalmar Holland, traced itand bought the stone for a few dollars. Hecarved his initials in it and then commenced alife-long tour with it. Öhman was never freedfrom his label of forger.

The exhibition continues until Jan 25, 2004.

The Swedish National Museum of Antiquitieshas published a special issue of “HistoricalNews”, all about the Kensington Runestone.This issue (both in Swedish and English) canbe downloaded from wwwwww..hhiissttoorriisskkaa..ssee

For more information, see• In this issue, the article Vikings in North

America by Birgitta Linderoth Wallace.• VHM 2/2002•• wwwwww..rruunneessttoonneemmuusseeuumm..oorrgg

In the next issue VHM 1/04 we hope to beable to publish some results from the latestinvestigations of the stone.

UPON THE KENSINGTON RUNESTONE

Runological investigation of theKensington runestone.Byline: Christer Åhlin/Statens historiskamuseum.


By John S. Hull

In Canada, the Learning and EnrichmentTravel Alliance (LETA), established in2002, argues that today’s traveler isseeking experiences, which will providethem with a greater insight, increasedunderstanding and a personal connectionto the people and places visited. Trends in

Meeting point of different times…Photo: Courtesy of the VTTA.

the growth of tourism reveal that travelersare increasingly interested in vacationswith authentic, hands-on or interactivelearning experiences featuring themes suchas adventure, anthropology, archaeology,arts, culture, cuisine, forestry, nature,spirituality, sports, wine and wildlife.

In the province of Newfoundland andLabrador on Canada’s east coast, one ofthe popular travel destinations is theViking Trail. The Viking Trailencompasses the Great NorthernPeninsula of Newfoundland and southernLabrador. It is the province’s largestthemed touring route, a driving route ofapproximately 550 kilometers. Borealforests, alpine plateaus and sub-Arctic terrain support a diverseflora and fauna. Icebergs andwhales are common in thesummer months.

There are numerouspoints ofinterestincluding twoUNESCO WorldHeritage Sites. At

Gros Morne National Park of Canada, thegeology of the park illustrates the conceptof plate tectonics, one of the mostimportant ideas in modern science whileat L’anse aux Meadows National HistoricSite of Canada, the earliest knownEuropean settlement in the New Worldhighlights the Viking lifestyle, artifacts,and the archaeological discovery of the

site. The rich natural and

cultural assets of theViking Trail havebrought an increasingnumber of visitors to theregion.

From 1996 to 2000,the provincial tourismindustry grew byapproximately 40% with416,500 non-residentvisitors spending $287million (Cdn). During

the same period, visitation at ParksCanada sites along the Viking Trailreflected provincial growth trends.

The Viking Site at L’anse auxMeadows witnessed the most dramaticincrease in visitors from 20,000–35,000.The 2000 Millennium celebrations,marking the arrival of the Vikings inNorth America in 1000 AD, helped tospur growth and interest in the region. Asa result, in 2003, even with the SARSscare in central Canada and the events inthe Middle East, visitation levels continueto match 2002 levels as other regions ofCanada are witnessing declines invisitation and revenues.

In an effort to help manage tourismdevelopment along the Viking Trail,the Viking Trail Tourism Association

(VTTA) was founded in 1988. Theassociation represents the interests of

approximately one hundred andfifty businesses that are

committed todeveloping asustainable industryof the highestpossible quality

Viking Heritage Magazine 4/03 DESTINATION

VIKING

DestinationVikingDestination Viking is a concept forpresenting the Vikings and theViking Age. It includes museums,visitor centres, prehistoric villages,re-enactment groups etc., and isworking with research, presentationand the development of a trans-national tourist destination.

Destination Viking includes anumber of separate projects,currently the Destination VikingBaltic Stories, funded by theInterreg IIIB Baltic Sea Regionprogramme and the DestinationViking Sagalands project, fundedby the Interreg IIIB NorthernPeriphery programme. Anapplication for Interreg IIIB NorthSea Region funding for aDestination Viking Waterlinksproject was submitted in March.

The Destination Viking projectsare co-publishers of Viking HeritageMagazine, and Viking Heritage is apartner of Destination Viking.

Project consultant for DestinationViking projects:

Mr Geir Sør-Reime, Senior AdvisoryOfficer, Rogaland County Council ggssrr@@rrffkk..rrooggaallaanndd--ff..kkoommmmuunnee..nnoo

Project manager Destination VikingBaltic Stories:

Mr Björn Jakobsen, Director,Fotevikens Museum bbmmjj@@ffootteevviikkeenn..ssee

Project manager Destination VikingSagalands:

Mr Rögnvaldur Gudmundsson,Director, Tourism Research &Consulting rrooggnnvv@@mmmmeeddiiaa..iiss

Co-ordinator of Destination Viking+ Viking Heritage partnership:

Mr Dan Carlsson,

Associate Professor,

Gotland University ddaann..ccaarrllssssoonn@@hhggoo..ssee

Vikings in the New World:

Building Experience-


through partnership.The VTTA promotes and markets the

region primarily through media and traveltrade programs and is now working withcommunities and organizations along theViking Trail and internationally indeveloping high quality experience-basedtravel opportunities for visitors.

In August 2003, the VTTA and ParksCanada will organize a weekend of Vikingactivities at L’anse aux Meadows NationalHistoric Site and Norstead.

In 2004, through a partnership withParks Canada and the Destination VikingSagalands project based in Iceland, a"Sagas of Discovery" learning vacationwill offered. The seven-day tour willinclude informative lectures by Viking

specialist, Dan Carlsson, AssistantProfessor at Gotland University andcoordinator of Council of Europe’s VikingRoutes Initiative. There will also besupplemental programs by Parks Canadaspecialists.

The VTTA and Parks Canada will alsohost a workshop in November 2004 onViking interpretation and trainingtechniques for the Destination VikingSagalands project partners.

Through these recent initiatives, theVTTA is hoping to increase localrevenues, provide employmentopportunities and promote localpartnerships to strengthen the tourismindustry on the Viking Trail. Creating aninternational network of contacts is also apriority to increase local knowledge andunderstanding of Viking history andexploration and to provide high qualityexperiences for visitors.

Viking Heritage Magazine 4/03DESTINATION

VIKING

Based Travel Opportunities

Iceberg in Newfoundland. Photo: Courtesy of the VTTA.

About the authorJohn S. Hull, completed his Ph D intourism geography at McGillUniversity in 1998 and is theExecutive Director of the Viking TrailTourism Association in Newfoundlandand Labrador.

Email: jjhhuullll@@vvttttaa..nnff..ccaa


The third ordinary partnermeeting of Destination VikingBaltic Stories proved to be avery intensive and productiveevent, where the participants,at some point dressed up asthralls, really had to work fortheir food!

By Geir Sør-ReimeSenior Advisory Officer, Rogaland CountyCouncil (Norway), Project Consultant tothe Destination Viking Project

Destination Viking Baltic Stories is aproject focusing on Viking historypresented by living re-enactors, Vikings, atreconstructed Viking farms. It has nowbeen running for a year. At this thirdpartner meeting, it was time to look backto assess what we have achieved so far, andto look forward, to assure that the projectwill fulfil its obligations and objectiveswithin the coming two years.

Before the meeting started, Mr KaareJohannessen, Curator of the Museum atTrelleborg welcomed the delegates fromSweden, Norway and Denmark to themuseum and served mead as a welcomedrink.

Immediately thereafter, the first workingsession commenced. After a shortintroduction by Mr Björn Jakobsen, the

project manager, Mr Kim Nyborg from theMuseum at Trelleborg reported and led usthrough the discussion of Work Package 3,replicas and re-enactors.

The discussion centred on a number ofissues, several of which were discussed inmore detail at the concluding seminar. Thequestion of quality is a vital one formuseums/villages working with re-enactment. As many re-enactors arevolunteers, an awareness process isnecessary to raise the level of qualityunderstanding. The network would like toproduce a number ofguidelines/recommendations and fact sheetsthat could facilitate this process.

The discussions continued with theother Work Packages. Work Package 1 deals

with house reconstructions. ThomasSundsmyr and Kristina Carlsson from AleMunicipality reported. They have adaptedthe quality assessment manual to theirreconstruction project, and have found thesimplified and revised version of greatvalue. A seminar on reconstructions will beorganised in conjunction with the nextordinary meeting in Ale in May 2004.

Work Package 2 deals with sites andmonuments from the Viking Age. Severalpartners have already started working ontheir own local/regional Viking routes,linking their Viking villages/museums withremains from the Viking period in theirvicinity. Svend Rosborn from FotevikenMuseum reported that he has taken overallphotos of all villages participating in the


VIKING

Destination Viking Baltic Stories, 3rd Ordinary Partner Meeting, Trelleborg, September 17–21, 2003

Hard work for the “Thralls” at

Gørlev church seen on a grey day. All photos: Björn M Jakobsen.

The delegates on excursion.

Geir and Kim in front of the rune stone. Gørlev church.


project, and of numerous other Vikingsites.

Work Package 5 concerns marketing.Several initiatives have already been taken,and our partners will now revise theirmarketing strategies to incorporate theDestination Viking potential.

The Work Package 4 projects of theplanned book on Viking attractions aroundthe Baltic Sea and supporting this magazinefit well into the marketing strategy of ourproject.

While at Trelleborg, the partners werealso taken on a full-day excursion in the

surrounding area. We started in Korsør, thetown where we stayed. This town wasfounded around 1380 as a royal strongholdand trading town on Storebælt, the soundbetween Seeland and Funen.

Then we went on to the town’simmediate predecessor, the township ofTårnborg, “Tower Castle”. Only a hugeheap remains of the royal castle here, builtaround 1200. The town itself was probablyestablished around 1050 AD. It lies a bitup river from Storebælt, and the problemsof access for larger ships were the probablereason for its move to Korsør around 1380.

We went on to see the site where theViking-age seasonal trading settlement waslocated, at Hyllehavn (Elder Harbour).

On route we looked into Gørlev

Church, where a huge stone with two longrunic inscriptions was found underneaththe entrance in 1921.

Our next destination was the royal farmbeside Lake Tissø. At the main farm,Fugledegaard, several huge Viking-agebuildings remains have been unearthed.The manor was at its height around 900

AD, although the oldest houses here datefrom around 650 AD. The settlement herelasted until around 1020–30 AD. A newmanor was established close by around1100. One interesting point is that thebuildings found besideTissø constitute themodels for the house reconstructionscurrently being built in Ale municipality,one of our partners.

Next stop was at Lejre, the centre forarchaeological research and experiments.Here we looked closer at their educationalarea, and also at their living historyconcepts.

Our final stop was the Viking Shipmuseum in Roskilde. The reconstruction ofthe Skuldelev 2 ship is currently nearing itscompletion, and is already a very impressivesight.

As a farewell from Denmark, allparticipants assembled in Viking costumesfor a guided tour through the Trelleborgarea, including the museum, the fortifiedsettlement itself, the reconstructed houseand the educational area. The finale was abig Viking feast in the Trelleborg house.


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TrelleborgA view of Lejre.

Thereconstructionof theSkuldelev 2ship. TheViking ShipMuseum inRoskilde.

The lastnight atTrelleborg.


By Johannes Jägrud andMagnus Börjesson Carpenter and Instructors forconstruction of the Ale Viking AgeFarmstead

Ale Viking Age ProjectThe Viking Age farmstead is now startingto take shape up on the hill! The project iscalled Ale Viking Age and is being run bythe municipality of Ale, Sweden, incollaboration with the European SocialFund (ESF). The municipality of Ale liesalong the Göta älv river, about 30kilometres north of Göteborg(Gothenburg).

We are building a post and plankbuilding, which will be a craftsman’sworkshop, and a stave-structured dwellinghouse. Our construction work is based onauthenticity following the latest scientificresearch into handicraft traditionsaccording to a specially formulated quality

concept where all work is carried out inconsultation with constructors,archaeologists, carpenters and projectmanagers.

Recreating Viking-age tools We have been working for more than twoyears on the Ale Viking Age Farmsteadproject and, during this time, the task ofconstructing our wooden structures haspresented us with numerous differentproblems that have needed solving. Inmany cases, we already know what theresults should be, but we don’t know howto achieve them. We have arrived at theresults by meticulously studying differenttool marks. However, we only have vagueideas when it comes to the actualappearance of the tools.

By means of a longer process that hasinvolved studying marks and traces madeby tools in medieval archaeological findsor surviving ancient buildings, we havenow succeeded in recreating credibleViking-age tools. In consultation with ourarchaeologist, we are also studying finds ofViking-age tools that could very probablyhave left such traces.

It might seem a simple matter just tomake an identical copy of these tools. Inmost cases, however, the original tool is in

pieces and corroded, and any woodenhandle that the tool might have had isnow missing. This makes the processmuch more difficult. The most importantparts of cutting-edge tools, such as theshape of the edge, its length, curvature orwhich side the bevel is on, are the onesthat disappear first since they are usuallythe thinnest parts. Which means that evenreproductions have to been tested forsome time before achieving satisfactoryresults. The edge often needs to bealtered. In some cases, it is necessary toforge the entire tool again until it provesmore functional.

The project is working in collaborationwith a skilled blacksmith, with whom wehave discussed our ideas and thoughts onthe purpose and aesthetics of the tools. Asa result of these discussions and thanksparticularly to the smith’s tremendous,personal interest in the purpose and use ofthe tools, we have been able to achievesome highly successful results.

We have to adopt a slightly differentmethod of approach in those cases wherewe don’t have any tool finds to rely on. Inorder to be able to understand what thetool ought to have looked like, it isnecessary to have considerablecraftsmanship experience as well as


VIKING

From Ale Viking Age Project

Reproducing tools using evidencefrom ancient wooden artefacts

Ancient handicrafts part VI

When the surface is illuminated at anoblique angle, it is possible to see thefurrows made by the draw knife alongthe sides of the groove. Photograph:Magnus Börjesson.

Spoon auger, spokeshave. Lying at the bottom draw knife.Copyright: Ale Viking Project.


knowledge of the characters of wood andmetal. There are many obvious aspectshidden in the practical purpose andaesthetics that even the experiencedartisan is unable to fathom, whichconsequently means that some of theprototypes turn out to be no good at all.

ProgrammeIn order to achieve the most credibleresults possible, we have chosen a methodof working that consists of several stages.First of all, we ask ourselves the followingquestion: What is the purpose and do wehave any idea of what the end resultshould be?

Then we peruse literature and visitmuseums and surviving ancient building(e.g. stave churches) in search of usefulinformation. Can we find any evidence ofthe tools that were used? If we do manageto find something, we then try to imaginewhat the tool that produced these tracesand evidence might have looked like. Tobe able to do this, it is essential to beknowledgeable in the nature and characterof the wood and know what happens, forinstance, when different types of tools areused? Was the surface of the wood cut,shaved, scraped or sawn? We then try toget hold of tools from archaeological findsthat match the ideas we have about thetool’s appearance and use. Sometimes wesucceed and sometimes we don’t.

Some examples: Draw knife We needed a tool to make the groove (alongitudinal channel) on one side of thestave boards that we will be using to makethe walls of the dwelling-house. We wereable to see, in some of the stave churchesthat still exist today, that some boards hadbeen worked using a small, curved,cutting tool. On the basis of thisdiscovery, we started to look for finds ofiron that may possibly have been used forthis purpose.

One tool that might have been used forthis could have been a gouge, but sincethe tool marks are also clearly visible onthe side of the groove on some of thematerial we examined, we can eliminatethe gouge as an alternative here.

After searching through literature, onthe Internet and having discussed thematter with other craftsmen, we foundsomething that may possibly have beenused. The Swedish Museum of NationalAntiquities houses the entire “Mästermyr”find, see VHM 3/2000 (eds. note), whichincludes a 120–150 mm long and 10–15mm wide iron object, with a small,flattened hook at one end. The tang isbent at an angle of about 30 degrees some30 mm from the hook’s outer edge. Thissmall tool, termed a “moulding iron” bythe museum, is probably the one we werelooking for. We consulted the blacksmith

about this tool, discussed how it may havebeen made and our thoughts on theappearance of the blade.

On our first attempt at reproducingthis tool, the bevelled edge was on theoutside of the hook. This proved to workwell for making grooves that were slightlywider than the tool itself, but not formaking such narrow grooves as those weneeded to produce. These are only 20–22mm at the widest point and becomenarrower deeper down. So instead, we hadto make the bevelled edge on the inside.This was a fiddly and time-consuming jobthat had to be done using a small, roundfile and a little, semicircular whetstone.The end result was exactly what we werelooking for. Long, fine, semicircular, deepcuts both on the sides and along the baseof the groove.

On several of the older stave boardsthat we examined, the groove was wider abit further down and, since the tool’scutting part (hook) makes it possible tocut along the side of the groove, it wasalso possible to achieve this or rather aneffect that comes of its own accorddepending on the character of the wood.

Our end results closely matched thefinds and the boards that we had studied.This means that it is highly likely that thetools discovered at Mästermyr could havebeen used for this very purpose.


VIKING

The spokeshave isextremely effective andcan produce shavingsup to a meter inlength. Photograph:Jörgen Johansson.


SpokeshaveAfter visiting different medieval timberedand stave churches in Norway andSweden, we were able to establish that,after they had been hewn, the woodsurfaces had been planed. We can see thatthe finished surfaces in churchesdemanded greater care and precision thanthose in secular buildings.

For us, this was an extremelyinteresting discovery, because the projecthad decided that the surfaces we would beworking on should be made as smooth aspossible. When we scanned the planedsurfaces of the preserved medieval woodenmaterial, we could establish that themarks made by the plane were somewhatconcave and we could see that the planehad jumped slightly, creating horizontallines that gave a wash-board effect. Thesurfaces were gently undulated in depthtoo, which implies that the tool had ashort sole.

We guessed that this had been achievedusing something similar to a spokeshave.We found out that a steel blade datingfrom the 980s had been found atTrelleborg in Denmark. Unfortunately,however, the handle or shaft of the toolwas completely missing. According to theresearchers at Roskilde museum, this steelwas used solely for spokeshaves.

In consultation with our smith, wereproduced some very functional steelplanes. When it came to the shape anddesign of the original steel blade, ourinterpretation was that the cross-section ofthe tangs had been rectangular andslightly conical, which made it easier toattach the steel without using woodenwedges. No shaft had been found, butsound, practical experience stands in goodstead.

We experimented with the steel blade’sangle of attachment and the angle of thesole, persevering until we achieved thebest result, which was when the steel waspushed right down to the bottom so thatthe corners of the bit were bearing on thesole with a long edge on the outer side ofthe steel. When the steel had becomeshorter through wear and grinding down,the sole had to be planed down to theright level instead of moving the steel outand wedging it in place.

DrillBuilding construction is about putting anumber of parts together to make larger,more or less complex structures. One wayof joining these parts is to dowel or nailthem together. This method of joining

The self-tapping nail pulls the boarddown with its head and in the conicaldrill hole the lower part of the conicalnail is also locked fast. Photograph:Johannes Jägrud.

almost always requires there to be roundholes in the wooden sections. And inorder to make round holes, you needsome sort of drill or auger. What did adrilling tool or auger look like in theViking Age, and how effective were they?

To find out what the Viking Age drilllooked like and gather more details thanthe archaeological finds could give us, wefirst tried studying holes. A hole isactually just a specific point at whichsome material is missing. Yet a hole canalso tell us quite a lot about theappearance and use of the tool that madeit. It can be very difficult to see toolmarks inside a hole and it is thereforepreferable to saw through the hole toproduce a cross-section. With a bit ofluck, you are then able to see the marksmade by the rotational movement of thetool, how much was cut away with eachturn and what the cross-section of thedrill looked like (if the hole does not goall the way through).

Drilling tools from the Viking Agehave been discovered at a number of sites,including Mästermyr and Hedeby, sothere is good evidence of what these toolslooked like. But how were they used andhow were they honed? To answer thesequestions, it is important to study theholes that were created using so-called‘spoon augers’. We had augers of differentsizes made and honed them to see if theresults corresponded with the discoverieswe had made when studying artefacts. Ifwe weren’t satisfied with the results, wesimply honed the auger slightly differentlyand tried again.

We have found both drills and holesthat have been of parallel thickness andconical. The conical drills are muchheavier to use for boring since the sides ofthe drill also have to be made for cuttingand a wooden cross-shaft, or auger, had tobe used.

On the other hand, the conical drillmakes a tapering hole provided you don’tdrill all the way through. This allows youto hammer in a wooden nail that, thanksto the tapering shape of the hole, sitsfirmly in place without the need for anywedges. This saves a lot of work and it isnot so important for the wooden nail tobe of an exact size. In Granhult’s church,dating from the 1200s, the ceiling raftersare joined together using this verytechnique.


VIKING

The spoon auger draws up longshavings. It takes about 8 minutes todrill these 15 cm deep holes. Honingtakes a lot of time. Photograph: JörgenJohansson.


By Hans Kapel and RieOldenburg

Background At the millennium celebration of LeifEricson’s voyage to Vinland muchattention was directed to the two mostimportant groups of ruins found in theformer Eastern Settlement, theNorsemen’s Brattahlid and Gardar(present-day Qassiarsuk and Igaliku).These two have already been subjected tothorough archaeological investigations.

Gardar was excavated by the NationalMuseum of Denmark in 19261 (PoulNørlund and Aage Roussell), while theexcavations in Brattahlid took place in19322 (Poul Nørlund and Mårten

Stenberger). Once the excavations werecompleted, the two ruin sites wererestored according to the standard of theday. Efforts at upkeep since then havebeen modest. Resource allotments overthe years for this purpose have been verylimited, a fact clearly evident at the ruinsites as they appear today.

There is a need for thorough andcontemporary restoration and care of theGreenlandic cultural heritage, comprisingnot only Norse ruins, but certainly alsothe numerous findings that witness to thevarious aboriginal population waves thathave found their way to Greenland longbefore the 10th century settlers came fromIceland

The National Museum & Archives of

Greenland has the general responsibilityfor the protection of Greenland’s culturalheritage. Notwithstanding, over the lastfew years, a couple of local (municipal)museums in South Greenland have takenit upon themselves to remedy the lack ofinitiatives in highlighting the historicallandmarks that are hidden away under thesod and heather. For example, since 1998,Narsaq Museum has prepared a project,the goal of which is to restore the ruins ofone of the of the oldest Norse settlementsin Greenland, the so-called LandnámaFarm, right in the middle of Narsaq town.

Here, we want to relate the preliminaryinvestigations that have taken place, aswell as the plans for a more formalconservation in the years to come.


VIKING

A “Northern Periphery” project: The Viking Trail

Conservation of an early Norsefarm at Narsaq, South Greenland


The Landnáma Farm in NarsaqSince the end of the 19th century, it hasbeen known for a fact that the Norsemensettled on the lowland promontory at thesite of present-day Narsaq3 (inGreenlandic, ”narsaq” means ”plain”).Recent discoveries show that aboriginalhunters had been living in this area longbefore the Norse settlements, but notraces of their dwellings are to be foundany longer. Until the mid-20th century,Norse ruins could still be seen whereNarsaq cemetary is now located.Unfortunately, because of the rapiddevelopment of the township, all suchremains have now disappeared. However,the location of the Norse farm can still beobserved on aerial photos, and the light ofa late afternoon sun still makes itscontours vaguely discernable in theterrain.

In the 1950’s, another group of ruinswere found above the shoreline of ashallow bay on the southern edge of town.The findings took place duringconstruction work in connection withbuilding a sheep slaughterhouse.Unfortunately, the remains of these Norsebuildings were so badly eroded that theywere deemed unfit for research.Consequently, they were exempt from theotherwise automatic legal conservationclause that is meant to protect allimportant findings of an archaeologicalnature.

Vebæk’s excavationsWhen, a few years, later people began todig up dirt for their private gardens atthat same place, many interesting things

were found. The National Museum wascalled in, and authorities agreed to re-evaluate the matter to see whether theseruins might qualify for conservationmeasures after all.

In 1956, the archaeologist, C.L.Vebækinitiated a closer investigation of the finds.The largest of the ruins proved to be thehabitation unit of the farm, and it did nottake long time to verify that, in fact, itwas in a much better state forconservation than originally estimated.Also, local conditions for the preservationof organic materials proved to beunusually favourable, and the ruinactually did contain a considerablenumber of interesting finds. However, inother respects, the archaeologicalchallenge turned out to be much greaterthan first estimated, and as it turned out,there was neither time nor money tocomplete the excavations that year.

Due to the size and expense of thisproject, progress has been slow. Until

1964, only the farm dwelling and onesmall stable had been excavated. In thearea as a whole, remains of no less than 10buildings have been identified. However,to this day, only one of these ten has beenformally protected. The rest wereconsidered destroyed and were deemed tohave no historical value. At thetermination of this round ofinvestigations, the excavated sites were leftwithout cover of any kind, and use of thearea was left to the discretion of theslaughterhouse.

For a number of reasons, the results ofVebæk’s excavations were not publisheduntil 19934. Inspired by his work, andfurther motivated by the growing numberof tourists showing an interest in thehistory of Greenland and its heritage fromthe Middle Ages, Narsaq Museumdecided to look into the possibility of afull-scale restoration of the ruins.Especially the dwelling house isinteresting because of its many uniquearchitectural details, as shown by Vebæk’sexcavations. A plan for the restoration ofthat ruin5 was adopted, and preliminaryinvestigations were conducted in 1998.Since then four seasons of archaeologicalwork have been completed in order toverify exactly how much of the originalstructures has survived.


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Sketch of the area, placement of ruins.

1. Nørlund, P. 1929: Norse Ruins at Gardar.Meddelelser om Grønland 76,1.2. Nørlund, P. & Stenberger, M. 1934: Brattahlid.Meddelelser om Grønland 88,1.3. Bruun, D. 1896: Arkæologiske undersøgelser iJulianehaabs distrikt. Meddelelser om Grønland 16,III. p.257-58.4. C.L. Vebæk 1993: Narsaq – a Norse landnáma

farm. Man & Society 18. A preliminary reportabout these findings were published in the review”Naturens Verden” of July 1967. Vebæk died in1993.5. H. Kapel 1994: Landnamsgården i Narsaq. Planfor restaurering og pleje af ruingruppen Ø17a.Arbejdsrapport.


Preliminary investigationsSince the completion of the excavations in1964, the site has changed in appearance.Today, only someone with Vebæk’sworking papers at hand and who knowsthe history of the place, will be in aposition to identify the various remains.The deepest of Vebæk’s excavation ditcheshave been filled up, and low moundsindicate the house-walls of old. The exactposition of the walls is clear only in thenorthern part of the ruin where stonestructures prevail.

The primary goal of the preliminaryinvestigations has been to relocate the restof the excavated buildings and examinetheir state of conservation. It has provennecessary to conduct extensive trialexcavations in the uneven surroundings ofthe ruin in order to establish exactly whatpart of the terrain contains remains of theoriginal buildings, and what on the otherhand turns out to be nothing but recentmounds of dirt.

These preliminary excavations havepresented new data, capable ofsupplementing earlier observations. Also,samples collected throughout the processwill hopefully be able to shed some lighton the exact dating of the various sectionsof the building. The work was completedin the summer of 2003, and the way hasnow been cleared for the restorationproper of the ruin.

The architectureThe basic design of the structure, as wellas the fact that this dwelling house hasbeen built apart from the buildingsconnected to the farm’s economicactivities, indicate that we are dealing witha very early settlement. Vebæk’s work hasestablished that it is a two-storey buildingin question. Vebæk himself thought thatthe middle part of the structure –containing the fireplace – must have beenthe first built. He saw it as the remains ofa traditional longhouse of the type thatwas in use during the very first settlementperiod, a view corroborated by several ofthe archaeological finds. Later on, thesouthern room would have been added,and later still, the addition to the north.

Recent C-14 datings have proven thatthe oldest building blocks date frombefore 1000 AD, i.e. all the way back tothe time when Eric the Red settled inGreenland – a fact which lends even more

importance to this ruin.Vebæk’s work has brought many

unusual details to our attention, such asthe in-house stone-covered sewer system.Undoubtedly, the general humidity of theterrain being a general problem, theprimary function of this system has beento contain the water that kept seepingdown from the fields above the house andprevent it from flooding the floors.

It seems that the settlers hade been ableto turn the liability of uncontrolled waterabundance into an advantage. Watersupply for the household was never aproblem, and at the same time, theditches under the floor level have takencare of the surplus water, assuming asewer function of their own.

The documentation left by Vebækseems to show that the house ruin wasdug all the way through down to the floorlevel. But with the work now completed,it seems that actually many of the stone-covered ditches were left untouched.

Restoring the ruinExisting plans to restore the ruin implythat all traces of earlier excavations andlater use of the area be removed. The ideais to clean up the floor in all the rooms soas to expose the water supply and sewagesystem, the fireplaces and other noticeablearchitectural details.

For the most part the walls have beenbuilt using turf and stones and have onlybeen conserved a few places. When therestoration is completed, new low turfwalls (one meter high) will show theirposition. The trial excavations of 2002and 2003 have demonstrated that in spiteof Vebæk’s thorough investigations,

valuable finds are still to be made.Cleaning up the floor, as explained

above, will be done manually as a purelyarchaeological challenge, whereas levellingthe terrain outside the walls of the oldbuilding will, for all practical purposes, beundertaken using appropriate machinery.

”The Viking Trail”Restoring the Landnáma Farm is part of aNarsaq Museum project called “Saga andStorytelling”, sponsored by the NorthernPeriphery Programme and financed by EU.This project also deals with thepopularisation of Norse history in a newinformation centre, in various websitesand in a number of new and innovativetourist initiatives. Among the latter, so-called “cultural trails” also give rise toeconomic development at a local level.

At the same time, a restored LandnámaFarm will function as an integrated part ofthe general development andimprovement of the service extended tothat well motivated group of tourists whotake a special interest in Norse history – atimely service to supplement the offerswhich the municipality of Narsaq hasalready assembled in a program called”Viking Trail – Greenland”. That trailleads on to far-flung places, in the greatfiords and mountainous expanses of SouthGreenland and further afield, whereverthe Vikings went.

In this way, the Northern PeripheryProgramme affords us a possibility ofenhancing the quality of our local work,while at the same time giving a smallmuseum the opportunity to take part intrans-national cooperation together withpartners from the entire North Atlanticarea.


VIKING

The in-house stone-covered sewersystem. Copyright Narsaq Museum.

About the authorsArchaeologist Hans Kapel is formermuseum inspector at the NationalMuseum in Copenhagen.He leads the work of restoring theLandnáma Farm in Narsaq on behalfof Narsaq Museum, and has been incharge from its commencement.

Rie Oldenburg is the manager ofNarsaq Museum, NPP-partner.


By Angie Elliott,Manager Norstead

L’Anse aux Meadows, NL Canada – Itseems that the community of L’Anse auxMeadows in the province ofNewfoundland and Labrador Canada hasits own little Viking trade town. Norstead,a recreated Viking Age port of trade is aliving history attraction that is owned andoperated by the Viking Trail TourismAssociation.

The attraction was developed as part ofthe Vikings! 1000 Years Celebrations heldin 2000 to mark the 1000 yearanniversary of Leif Eiriksson’s arrival toVinland. It was part of a series of eventsthat saw nearly 200 international Vikingre-enactors live on site for intervals of twoweeks and saw 13 Viking ships from allover the world participate in the VikingSail fleet. Two of the ships included theIselendignur, which now resides in Icelandand the Snorri, which now calls Norsteadher home.

Norstead, A Viking Port of Trade wascreated to take history out of the exhibitcase and place it in the hands of visitors.Costumed interpreters are situatedthroughout the site to interpret a range ofactivities as they relate to the Viking Age.One can visit the Chieftain’s Hall andlisten to mysterious Viking tales told bythe Chieftain or learn to cook a flatbreadover the open fire. The blacksmithdemonstrates iron forging and howvarious implements were made.

One can step aboard our full-scalereplica Viking ship, Snorri, and learn howthe Norse mastered the North Atlantic by

using a simple notched stick to measuredistance by the stars. Our potter mouldsclay into pottery the way Vikings did andour spinner spins sheep fleece into yarnusing a drop spindle. The yarn is thendyed using local plants and berries andwoven into cloth at the loom.

Being that Norstead is a Viking livinghistory attraction, the site depicts life as itwould have been in any of theScandinavian countries circa 790-1066AD.

The site is inhabited by some 15costumed interpreters who bring it to lifeusing first and third person narration.These interpreters were all trained inHeritage Interpretation at the College ofThe North Atlantic in nearby St.Anthony. They were then all instructed in“Interpreting the Viking Age” by a

member of the Ontario ScandanavianCanadian Association from Canada.During the training, all participants weretaught a variety of skills as they relate tothe Viking Age and have since eachconcentrated on making one or two ofthem their area of expertise at Norstead.

Norstead is currently in its 4th seasonof operation and visitation has alreadyseen a 20% increase from last season.

The attraction is partnering with theL’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Siteof Canada, the only authenticated Vikingsettlement in North America, on anumber of new initiatives. Now visitorscan purchase a coupon that will allowaccess to both sites. As well, the two siteswill be developing joint trainingworkshops for interpreters and are alsotaking part in the Destination VikingSagalands Project.

Staff of Norstead and the L’Anse auxMeadows National Historic Site ofCanada have traveled to Europe twice in2003 to take part in a series of workshopson saga trails and Viking museums. Thevisits have been a great learningexperience and staff are looking forwardto the next workshop in the Shetland andOrkney Islands in January 2004.


VIKING

Norstead.Photo:Courtesy ofthe VTTA.

Norstead, A Viking Port of Trade Out of the exhibit case and into the hands of visitors…

A Viking guide introducing the Leif Eriksson rune stone, see front page and page 23.Photo: Courtesy of the VTTA.



What do you imagine when you hear theword “Viking”? If what you think of is awarrior, a raider, and a looter, you mightwant to be in Philadelphia next April fora different, more modern view of Vikingsand their international culture.

The American Swedish HistoricalMuseum and the Leif Ericson VikingShip, Inc., will present The Viking Legacy:A Symposium About Viking History,Culture, and Contributions to WorldCivilization on Saturday, April 24, 2004.

Vikings traded and settled from Russiato North America, and founded orcontributed to societies in Iceland,Russia, France, Ireland, and the NorthAtlantic islands. They made importantadvances in navigation and ship building,founded a democratic society in Iceland,and that culture produced the sagasabout life in Iceland and elsewhere in theViking world that people still read today.

This symposium will examine severalaspects of Viking history and culture thatare overlooked by the prevailing popularimage of Vikings merely as warriors andraiders. Topics include Viking nation-

building (Russia), the democratic cultureof Iceland that produces the sagas,important ship building and navigationaladvances, the roles women played inViking society, and Norse efforts to settlein North America around the year 1000C.E.

The program features prominentstudents of Viking culture from Canada,Sweden, and the United States. BirgittaLindroth Wallace will speak about TheArchaeology of L’Anse aux Meadows, andNorse Efforts to Settle North America. Dr.Wallace, formerly a Parks Canadaarchaeologist, is well known for her studyof the Viking site at L’Anse aux Meadowsin Newfoundland. William Miller,University of Michigan Law School, willspeak about The Icelandic Culture ThatProduced the Sagas. John Hale, Universityof Louisville, will present Viking ShipConstruction and Navigation. JennyJochens, Towson University, will speakabout Women in Viking Society. DanCarlsson, Center for Baltic Studies,Gotland University, Sweden, will discussThe Eastern Face of Viking Culture:

Founding Russia, Exploring toConstantinople. Ruth M. Karras,University of Minnesota, will provide asummary of the day’s program.

The Barbro Osher Pro SueciaFoundation has provided major fundingfor the symposium. It is also supportedby generous grants from the Elis OlssonMemorial Foundation, Volvo GroupNorth America, Inc., Viking Termite &Pest Control, Inc., and other corporatesponsors.

For information about the symposium,contact:

The ASHM, American SwedishHistorical Museum1900 Pattison Ave., Philadelphia,PA 19145, USAPhone 215.389.1776, fax 389.7701,email aasshhmm@@lliibbeerrttyynneett..oorrgg, website: wwwwww..aammeerriiccaannsswweeddiisshh..oorrggLEVS, Leif Ericson Viking Ship, Inc Phone 302.656.3257, fax 656.8414,email iinnffoo@@vviikkiinnggsshhiipp..oorrgg, wweebbssiittee,, wwwwww..vviikkiinnggsshhiipp..oorrgg

The Leif Eriksson runestone is certainly one of the mostrecent runestones to have been raised in North America.

On July 28, 2000, the Viking Trail Tourist Association(VTTA) in Newfoundland had this rune stone raised atL’Anse aux Meadows to commemorate Leif Eriksson’sexploration of North America. This happened the same day asseveral Viking ships sailed into the bay where Leif Eriksson issupposed to have landed.

The stone was chiseled by a rune carver, Kalle Runristare,in Sweden on the island of Adelsö, 50 km west of Stockholmin Lake Mälaren. It was then shipped by boat to Canada.

The rune stone is a beautiful piece of Vätö graniteweighing nearly two tons. On top is a solar compass, a copyof a find from Greenland, surrounded by sunrays, or a cross,if you prefer. Everything is suspended from the rune-carryingdragon. Under the solar compass, there is a Viking ship, acopy of the VTTA logo. VTTA = Viking Tourist TrailAssociation.

The inscription reads:

VTTA and Barbara Genge raised stone to commemorate theexploration of North America by Leif Eriksson in the year onethousand. Kalle rista. (rista = carve)

At that time Barbara Genge was the Executive Director ofthe Viking Trail Tourism Association in Newfoundland.

The “Kalle” in the inscription is Kalle Runristare onAdelsö. His rune stone workshop is located near Adelsö’sancient monument area and Viking-period royal residence(Hovgården). This area, together with Birka, the Viking townon the nearby island of Björkö, is a UNESCO WorldHeritage site. The Adelsö Historical Society’s museum andCafé Uppgården lie near the workshop.

On Kalle’s website you can follow the story of the stone www.runristare.seClick for Vinland 1 and 2.

About the front page

The Leif Eriksson Runestone

International Viking Legacy Symposiumin Philadelphia in April ‘04



By Birger A. PearsonProfessor Emeritus of Religious StudiesUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

ON A VISIT TO SIGTUNA one fine dayin June 1981, I stopped to admire abeautiful runestone in front of St. Per'sruined church. I was intrigued by its text,in eleventh-century Futhark: ...nuntr * lit* raisa * stain dhina * at * sik * kuik...n *."[An]und had this stone set up forhimself while he was still al[iv]e." I took apicture of it, and said to myself, "I'd liketo have a stone like that some day."

Anund’s stone inscription is notunique. I know of four other exampleswith the same formula, all four set up byJarlabanke at Täby, in Uppland. (See SvenB. F. Jansson, Runes in Sweden, pp. 108,121.)

Fast forward to April, 1994. I had justretired from my professorship and movedto a country home outside of Escalon,California. I received a telephone callfrom my son David, then working as aplumber on a job site at Oakhurst, nearYosemite, California. “I found a greatpiece of granite for your runestone,” hesaid. I rented a flat-bed truck, drove up toOakhurst, and my son had the stoneplaced on the truck. (He paid theoperator of the crane a six-pack of beer.)

I brought it home, dug a trench, andslowly lowered the stone into the trench.A neighbor came down with his tractorand righted the stone into position. Myson David volunteered to chisel theinscription for me.

Using Anund’s stone as a model, Itraced the inscription inside a coiledserpent, with a square cross (cruxquadrata) within the coil (see photo),using a red felt pen. David "carved" the

stone by hand with steel chisels and ahand sledge. The inscription reads: ***Birkir * lit * raisa * stain * dhina * at * sik* kuikuan * tauit * risti ***, “Birger hadthis stone set up for himself while he wasstill alive. David carved.” I added the lasttwo words to credit my son for all of hiswork.

David worked on the stone in his sparetime, and it was finished in June. I call it“Fridhemstenen” (The Fridhem stone)after the name we have given to our place.We had a dedication party at Fridhemsoon after, led by the local godhi (myself ),with readings from Havamal,“consecration” with the sledge serving as aThor’s Hammer, and libations of beerpoured out of a drinking horn. It was allin good fun, which even our localLutheran pastor enjoyed. Thecongregation consisted for the most partof svenskättlingar (Swedish descendants),but we did include a couple of Norwegianfriends.

I suppose that people who drive by ourplace don’t know what to make of myrunestone. After all, there aren’t many likeit in these parts. Some probably regard it(and its owner) with some suspicion. ButI'm happy to tell its story to whoever isinterested.

By Rolf Bergstedt,alias Gånge-Rolf

LLEEGGEENNDD TTEELLLLSS that a Viking longboatwas caught in a storm on the Baltic Sea1000 years ago. Desperately the crewprayed to Odin and Thor for their livesbut nothing remarkable happened. Thenthe chieftain remembered the WhiteChrist and promised to give away thegilded bronze vane to the first Christianchurch they came across if they wererescued. The prayer was answered in amiraculous way and they reached land atSöderala.

The drama is based upon this legendand about 40 amateurs perform the playin open air during summer season. Atthis first year’s performance about 550persons attended the drama!

Please contact the tourist office fordetails of the next year’s performance,accommodation, sights worth seeing inthe area etc.

Phone +46 270 753 53Email: info@turism.soderhamn.sewwwwww..ssooddeerraallaafflloojjeellnn..ssiiddaa..nnuu

VikingViking Forum

A California Runestone

The golden vane from Söderala – a living historical play!

The author and his runestone.

Fig 2. One of a fewbronze kettle from Wolin (10th

century) (Filipowiak & Gundlach1992).

Very often we read about the greatevents, battles or persons in the VikingAge but books keep quiet about thefundamental parts of everyday life likefood and eating. Although we don’t knowvery much about the kitchens of thistime, the rich source materials dealingwith the preparation of victuals and thequality of the tableware sometimessuggest the great importance the eatingceremony had in everyday life. The highartistic and symbolic quality of the tableware isalso very often evident. The aim of this article is todescribe the diet and tableware of inhabitants in Wolin during theEarly Middle Ages (8-12th century).



VictualsThe sources of our information about thediet in the early medieval times arehistorical and archaeological.

Some messages helpful forreconstructing the Slavic diet arementioned in Ibrahim ibn Jakub’s andHerbord’s historical texts. The first ofthem writes: “ ... they sow twice a year: inthe late summer and in the early spring andthey harvest twice. They sow mostlymillet…”

And Herbord writes: “the soil is very

fertile for the different grains, vegetables andseeds; any area has plenty of honey, pasturesand grass...” and in the other place: "forthe butter from cows and milk of sheep, forfat lambs and rams, for the abundance ofhoney and wheat, hemp and poppy anddifferent kinds of vegetables, for plentifulfruit-trees…” and also: “the whole regionabounds with deer, aurochs, wild horses,bears, boars, hogs and different other wildanimals”.

Knowledge about the diet of thisperiod is based on the results of

archaeological excavations. Fromarchaeozoological, ichtiological andpaleobotanical research we can distinguishdietary components like animals, fishes,grains, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Nextto ceramics, animal bones are the mostcommon archaeological artifacts from thesettlement levels in Wolin. Animal bones,fish bones and botanic materials arefundamentally significant as the source ofinformation about the early medieval diet.

The conclusion of thearchaeozoological research of the animalbones from Wolin is – the basis of themeat diet was domestic animals. Theimportance of wild animals was veryexiguous in Wolin.

Among the remains of domesticanimals from Wolin are the followingspecies: swine (Sus domesticus), goat(Capra hircus), sheep (Ovis aries), cow (Bostaurus), horse (Equus caballus), dog (Canisfamiliaris) and cat (Felis ocreata domestica).Among the bones of the wild animals arethe following species, which could be onlya supplementary dietary component: wildboar (Sus scrofa ferus), deer (Cervuselaphus), elk (Alces alces), aurochs (Bosprimigenius), roe (Capreolus capreolus),bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus L.),otter (Lutra lutra L.), seal (Halichoerusgrypus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), beaver (Castorfiber), hare (Lepus europaeus) and rat (Mus

Text: Blaz.ej M. Stanislawski Drawings: M. Jusza

Diet and tableware in Wolin

Fig 1. The fish-bones from the settlement levels at Wolin.

Fig 5. The Fresendorf typevessel is very characteristicfor Slavic ceramic workshopsof early medieval Wolin. Weknow the same pots from theexcavations in Scania, Birka,Hedeby and Kaupang (thesecond half of the 9th century).

Fig 6. The Woldegk-type vessels are the

next example of thehigh quality ceramic

production from earlymedieval Wolin.



rattus). We can suppose that wildanimals were mainly the sourceof raw material like hides andfur, fat and antlers.

The majority of artifactsfrom the excavations in Wolinare objects connected withfishing and fish bones (fig. 1),which must have been animportant component of diet. Inthe result of ichtiological analysis,the following fish species weredistinguished as the most common:bream (Abramis brama), roach (Rutilusrutilus), zander (Stizostedion lucioperca),perch (Perca fluwiatilis) and westernsturgeon (Acipenser sturio).

Knowledge about the grains,vegetables, fruits and herbs from Wolin is

(Panicum miliaceum). Flax (Linumusitatissimum) was probably usedfor oil production. The veryimportant dietary componentwas fruits like: cherry, plum,apple, nut, pear, raspberry,blackberry, strawberry andbilberry; and vegetableslike: sorrel, radish, carrot,

The wooden grain-grinding mill fromWolin (11th century).

the result of paleobotanycal research.Among grains were the following species:rye (Secale cereale), wheat (Triticumaestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgarevulgare), oats (Avena sativa) and millet

Fig 7. The large Weisdin-type vessel forpreservation the root materials and food(11th century).

celery, parsley, lentil, buckwheat andsavoy cabbage. Among numerous herbs is

chamomile.Although the dietary components

mentioned above were very rich andnumerous, our knowledge about the billof fare is relatively slight. Archaeologicalevidence such as a bronze kettle (fig. 2),three ovens and grain-grinding mill (fig.4) say something about the means of foodpreparation but unfortunately nothingabout the victuals.

Table serviceDuring the archaeological excavations inWolin numerous objects connected with



the tableware of this period werediscovered. Unfortunately there is nofurniture like the tables among a greatquantity of very well-preserved woodenartifacts. The tableware from Wolin isvery rich and is represented by ceramicvessels, wooden bowls, knives, spoons andladles made of wood and bone.

First of all the Slavic southern coast ofthe Baltic sea and Wolin was theproduction place of the very good ceramicuntil the end of the10th century. The highquality aesthetic Slavic vessels (fig. 5 & 6)are in great contrast to the contemporaryprimitive Scandinavian pottery. Thecollection of vessels is dominated by potsof different sizes. Bowls are very rarethough they are a bit more common inthe 11th and 12th centuries. One of thefunctions of ceramic vessels was thepreservation of root materials and food.This function led to large vessels oftenvery beautifully decorated with plaitedornamentation (fig. 7).

Drinking cups, bowls and plates weremostly made of wood. Archaeologicalevidence has the other components oftableware like spoons (fig. 8) and knives(fig. 9) too. In the second half of 10th–firsthalf of 11th century many of them werevery often beautifully decorated.

About the authorBlaz

.ej M. Stanislawski is

employed by the Institute ofArchaeology and Ethnology, atthe Polish Academy of Sciencesin Wolin. Under the Prof. W.Filipowiak’s supervision he isconducting the archaeologicalexcavations in Wolin. He is alsothe organiser of the Wolin-Jomsborg Viking Festival and theViking movement in Poland.Over the years he hascontributed several articles toVHM. Email: sstt--wwsskkii@@wwpp..ppll

ReferencesAlsleben, A. 1996. Rosliny uz

.ytkowe z

wczesnosredniowiecznego Wolina –dwie wybrane grupy: zboz

.a i len,

Materialy Zachodniopomorskie 42:77-137.

Filipiak, J. & Z. Chelkowski, 1999. Szczatkiichtiologiczne zwczesnosredniowiecznych warstwosadniczych w Wolinie – Porcie(stanowisko 1, wykop 8), MaterialyZachodniopomorskie 45: 385-401.

Filipowiak, W. & H. Gundlach. 1992. Wolin,Vineta. Die tatschliche Legende vomUntergang und Aufstieg der Stadt.Rostock

Kubasiewicz, M. & J. Gawlikowski, 1965.Szczatki zwierzece z Wolina-Miasta(stanowisko wykopaliskowe nr 5), czescII, Materialy Zachodniopomorskie11:563-570.

Kubasiewicz, M. 1959. Szczatki zwierzatwczesnosredniowiecznych z Wolina,Szczecin.

Rogosz, R. 1965. Wczesnosredniowiecznaosada otwarta w Jarszewie, pow. KamiePomorski, MaterialyZachodniopomorskie 11: 317-409.

Fig 9. The knife with thewooden handledecorated inScandinavian Borre-style(the second half of the10th century).

8 a, 8 b, 8 c.Woodenspoons fromthe lastexcavations inWolin (after980 AD).

8 a.

8 b.

8 c.Based on the numerous sourcematerials for food preparation andthe quality of tableware, the bill offare and the food flavors should bevery special too.

, ,

,

, ,

,



Text and photos byMindaugas Bertasius

IntroductionThere is only a little information aboutViking routes and Viking monuments inthe territory of Baltic tribes, which wereliving in the East Baltic. Some aspectswere ascertained by the results ofarchaeological investigation from Trusso(Poland, near Elblag), Grobinia(Lettland), Kaup-Wiskiauten (present-dayRussia, Kaliningrad region). Remnants ofold Viking colonies, established since 7-8th

century were found. The material gainedmostly from earlier investigations is moreor less published. Meanwhile, thearchaeological investigations arecontinuing every day and new material isemerging all the time.

It is known that Viking travelers were

seeking for new ways to reach the FarEast. Rivers constituted the main overlandroutes. Thus often main archaeologicalsites, like cemeteries, settlements and hill-forts or single artifacts, are situated on thebanks of rivers. The lower Nemunas(Memel) – from the Baltic coast toMiddle Lithuania (Kaunas region) –was ofgreat importance at all times for the Balticregion. This area can be perceived as aconstant contact zone, where peoplewandered and wares have drifted. Accessto water and favourable environmentalconditions in the river valley determinedhuman activities. The river valleys mayhave been a contributing factor toarranging the settlement network system;the river being the only means ofcommunication.

But not only material objects reachedthe Middle Lithuania region by river.Different cultural traits reached thisregion by this route, different patterns ofburial rites and models of social lifewandered to remote lands. No doubt theBaltic Sea, but even the coastal river netconnected the tribes. During theChristian Iron Age this region couldprofit from a geopolitical andgeographical situation. This is especiallynoticeable during Viking period.

All Northern Europe had seeneconomic growth, including establishmentof trading centres along the coasts and

rivers in the Baltic region (Roesdahl1992). That kind of communicationdetermined the multi-ethnical structure ofsettlers in the Middle Lithuania – data ofburial rituals, imported goods, specificdetails and commodities of life give usmaterial evidence of the multi-ethnicpopulation in this region.

Great variance in burying customsamong the Baltic tribes is characteristic.However when investigating the MiddleLithuania burial rites we sometimes findunexpected similarities. Some burial ritesare comparable only within extremelyremote regions. It is impossible toexamine the nature and structure of allburial rites that reflect the complicatednetwork of Baltic connections. It could bea good pattern when considering apopulation’s mobility. Decoding symbolsis the most challenging task for thearchaeologist studying burial rites and Iwould like to disclose one expressive anddemonstrative ritual – the horse-offeringritual.

Horse-offering ritualThere are well known horse-offeringrituals in some regions of Europe (Müller-Wille, 1972; Oexle 1984). Very expressivesuch rituals appear in the Scandinavianworld and in the East Baltic populated byBalts‘.

Balts‘ territories have a peculiarity – a

Viking-age Horse Offerings inLithuania

Fig 1. Distribution of horse graves in the Balts’ territories from 7th to 11th centuries.

Fig 2. Horse grave with complete horseskeleton.

,



large amount of horse bones are found inburial grounds. In this area horse burialshave been known since the period ofRoman influence (2nd–4th cent. A.D). Inthe Early Middle Ages a horizon with anabundance of horse graves was found insome areas settled by Balts’. This is mostcharacteristic of Prussians (Sambia –Samland peninsula, 5th–11th c.) and thepopulation of Middle Lithuania inKaunas region (8th–11th c.), fig. 1.

Some burial grounds were investigatedduring the few last decades. Butprincipally new material was obtainedthrough the investigations of the newlydiscovered burial ground of Marvele. inKaunas. More than 1300 graves,inhumations and cremations dated to2nd–12th century and an abundance ofhorse graves were investigated there(Bertasius 2002).

Both human and horse burials of thisperiod are not exactly dated, since datingprinciples are not consistent. Humangraves are usually found separate fromhorse burials, which causes difficultieswhen comparing burial items. Someauthors regard the territory of Balts’ as akind of “fashion designer” for the customof burying horses and bridling mode forneighbouring countries, which makescomparison and identification of burialsmore complicated.

Horse burials from the 8th–11th centuryreflect the territory of Middle Lithuaniamost significantly. Regional differences areobvious. The largest burial grounds of thistype are located in Kaunas district.Abundant horse graves have beenexcavated there. The number of buriedhorses is sometimes absolutely staggering.For instance, 185 burials containingremains of 217 horses have beeninvestigated at Versvai; 236 burialscontaining remains of about 290 horseswere excavated at Marvele. burial ground(both in Kaunas); and 236 burials atPakalniskiai near Kaunas. On the Balts’territories, a similar phenomenon is onlynoted on old Prussian lands (today theregion of Kaliningrad) – in some burialgrounds of old Sambia (Samland) wherethe number of horse burials exceeds 100.

As the horses were usually buried in aseparate section of the cemetery, they have

no relation to the human cremations andthis raises some problems when datingthose graves. The location of the sectionof the cemetery containing horse gravesusually varies in respect to human graves– north, south (Pakalniskiai), west(Versvai), east and west (Marvele.).Sometimes, this burial group forms aseparate cluster; sometimes, it is a narrowline. The archaeological material allowsthe supposition that a horse had been aritual offering.

Horse graves During the excavation of the Marvele.

burial ground, the distinctive burialindications have been fixed. Several horseburial types have been defined on thebasis of the archaeological data. Acommon horse grave is when the wholehorse was buried (Fig. 2). Sometimesthere is only a head or a head withforelegs, or scattered horse remains in aburial are found (Fig. 3).

Burials of the first type are common inLithuania, Prussia and are rather frequentin Europe. Most frequently in these casesa horse was squeezed into a small oval pit(measuring 1.05–1.7 to 0.43–0.8 m). Inthe burial the croup (hind quarters) ofmany horses has been noticed to behigher than the head. It waspredetermined by the oblique (irregular)shape of the pit – its bottom graduallyslants in a western direction and thewestern slope is absolutely steep. The pithas also a deeper part. Fig. 4.

The shape of the pit is directlyassociated with the funeral process. Whenburying a horse its head is always locatedin a deeper part of a pit and a horseskeleton is nearly always west-northwest-

oriented, with the croup 0.05–0.6 mhigher than the head, quite close to theformer burial surface.

By means of reins and bridle bits (andnearly all horses are buried with bridlebits) it is possible to place a live horse in aposition that prevents it from climbingout. Horse skeletons in graves were foundon their stomachs, with their legs tightlypressed, the head under the breastbone(sternum), indicating that they wereprobably buried alive (some of the horseswere buried with a sack over their head atVersvai cemetery). The described situationsuggests the idea of performing some kindof ritual, as only an exhausted horse couldbe forced into the pit.

The data from historical sources are ofparticular interest in this respect. TheAestii (old historic name of Baltic tribes)rituals prior to cremation are mentionedin Vulfstan’s stories and are included inKing Alfred’s edition of Orosius’ “Historyof the World” (9th c.). Horse races andgames are also discussed. Later(13th–14th c.) Peter von Dusburg writesthat before ritual horse offering Prussiansand Lithuanians “run the horses off theirfeet to such an extent, that the animalscan hardly stand” (Dusburgietis, 1985).

Likely a horse exhausted by such gamesshowed less resistance to being pushedinto the pit. Similar ritual horse races areknown among some Caucasian nations;they were organized by Greeks andRomans. Horse racing is well knownamong Scandinavians.

The manner of burial corresponds tothe beliefs of various nations, that theworld of the dead is the place where thesun sets and a horse escorts the dead toEternity. The western orientation of the

Fig 3. Horse offering withscattered horse skeleton.

‹



horse burials in the Middle Lithuaniaconfirms this.

The other burial group is distinguishedby ritual offering of separate horse parts:the head and forelegs, the hindquarters(croup). In the major burial grounds inthe Kaunas region these graves comprise14–15 % of all horse graves. In somecemeteries they dominate. Such isolatedpits containing animal remains areregarded as ritual offering pits. It wasmuch more usual to bury the headseparately (even 12.5% in Nendriniaiburial ground) or both the head andforelegs (Marvele. - 20 burials, 10 %).Such a manner of burial testifies to thepresence of funeral rituals, maybe a longcomplicated ritual by the grave.

Different parts of horses were buried incemeteries and according researchers ofmythology this had particular ritualmeaning. We will never be able todiscover more details of this ritual byarchaeological means, only a few glimpsesof the ritual could be reconstructed byinvestigated material.

In another type of burial, horseremains are scattered in a definite area.Burial items, together with the bones ofone or several horses, are usually scatteredin the area measuring 0.8–1.2 x 1–2.2 m,in one, or more layers, 0.15–0.4 m thick,or even more, sometimes up to one meter.The areas where this type of grave isencountered in separate sections ofcemeteries testify to simultaneity anddistinctly original tradition. The burialsusually contain skull, neck, leg bones and

their fragments. Sometimes on the bonesurfaces signs of chopping are evident.Ribs, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae arefound less frequently. The graves arefound in the largest burial grounds ofKaunas region. In various burial groundsthey comprise 17 % (Versvai, Grauziai,Pakalniskiai) to 28 % (Marvele.) of thetotal number of graves.

The distinguished Arabian traveller andenvoy, Ibn Fadhlan, who attended aViking funeral on his travels, describes aritual horse offering in the account of histravels along the river Volga.Archaeological finds confirm that theburial rites witnessed by Ibn Fahdlan were

similar to those used in Scandinavia(Roesdahl 1992:157). Meanwhile fromthe investigated material from Marvele. wehave a fascinating data about burial rites,as performed in the Volga regionaccording to the words of the afore-mentioned Arab envoy.

It was confirmed osteologically thatremains of two individuals are mostfrequently found (40 % of the third groupof burials; Bertasius&Daugnora 2001).Occasionally, the remains of threeindividuals are found in the graves of thistype. It is interesting to note that thegraves containing remains of two horsesincluded dogs’ bones too. Therefore, it ispossible to draw an important comparisonwith Fahdlan’s impressions from a Vikingfuneral: “...a dog was brought, choppedinto two (parts) and thrown.... Two horseswere taken..., then chopped withswords”*, all of that was left as food for aburied individual (Kovalevskij 1956).

Analogies of ritual horse offering ofthis kind are rather widespread. Thenearest are found in old Prussian burialgrounds (Hollack 1908). Graves of thistype are known in north Russia, near theVolga (Golubeva 1981), where Viking-agegraves related to Viking voyages areknown. Archaeological data inScandinavian countries testify to horsechopping for ritual offering, here thehorse was the sacrificial animal of thewarrior and aristocratic class (MedievalScandinavia 1993).

Eating horse meat was part of thesacrificial meal that took place near thegrave. It is not known whether thesacrifice was personally offered for

Fig 4. Horse skeleton in the pit with irregular shape.

Fig 5. The present-day native Lithuanian horse originated from Viking-age MiddleLithuanian horses.



recollection of the deceased, or if it was aninstitutionalised offering that happenedmethodically. Perhaps there was atraditional day of deceased like in today’sLithuania the Day of Deceased onNovember 2nd (the day when it is believedthat dead people’s souls appeared and tookpart in the Holy Supper in the evening).

Institutionalised ritualThe character of graves testifies to acomplicated burying ritual. The form ofgrave and burying peculiarities (carefulburying of the horse in the small pit,definite situation of graves) give evidencethat burials were performed according to acertain ritual. Separate pits for offeredanimals in some of the Middle Lithuaniacemeteries have testified that bloodyrituals for mentioning of the dead tookpart there.

Finally, on the one hand, the horsetestifies supplying the dead with wealth,common in the surrounding society, onthe other hand the horse burials show thebloody ritual at the grave. Greatimportance was namely attached to thoserituals in Middle Lithuania. Often horsesacrifices were connected with a sacrificialmeal establishing a communion amongthe participants. Considering the partialhorse offerings (such as heads andforelegs) we could assume they wereoffered for the gods.

Evidently the sacrifices were linked toimportant occasions that helped toemphasis the cultural identity of localsociety. It is something like an “ethnicpractice”, through the reiteration of theties that joined the members ofcommunity (Pohl 1991). The reality ofthat connection must be re-created byritual activity in the everyday life of thecommunity. We could see a deliberateselection of some rituals that build up thetradition.

* Translated from Russian text byauthor.

References:Bertasius, M. 2002: Vidurio Lietuva VIII-XII

a. Kaunas.Bertasius, M. & Daugnora, L. 2001: Viking

Age Horse Graves from Kaunas Region(Middle Lithuania). In: Int. J.Osteoarchaeol. 11 (2001).

Dusburgietis P. 1995: Pru-sijos zeme.s

kronika. Vilnius.Golubeva, A. 1981: Horse graves from

barrows in the north-east Russia from8th–11th century. In: Soviet Archaeology 4(1981), in Russian.

Hollack, E. 1908: Die Grabformenostpreußischer Gräberfelder. In:Zeitschrift Ethnol, Bd.40, Heft 2.

Kovalevskij, V. 1956: The Book of IbnFadlan’s Journey to the Volga in 921-

922. Kharkov, in Russian.Medieval Scandinavia. 1993: An

Encyclopedia. New York / London.Müller-Wille, M. 1972: Pferdegrab und

Pferdeopfer im frühen Mittelalter. In:Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor hetOudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek.Jaargang 20-21.

Oexle, J. 1984: MerowingerzeitlichePferdebestattungen – Opfer oderBeigaben ? In: FrühmittelalterlicheStudien, Band 18.

Pohl, W. 1991: Conceptions of ethnicity inEarly Medieval studies. In: ArchaeologiaPolona, vol. 29:1991.

Roesdahl, E. 1992: The Vikings. PenguinBooks.

About the authorMindaugas Bertasius, Dr. Departmentof Philosophy and Cultural Sciencesat the Kaunas TechnologicalUniversity. He has worked as anarchaeologist for twenty years, mainlyin Kaunas region (Middle Lithuania),has a research interest in archaeologyof Viking-age and medieaval townarchaeology. Email: mmbbeerrttaass@@ttaakkaass..lltt

WANTS TO DNA TESTA VIKING QUEEN!Were the two females found in the famous Oseberg-ship in 1904 related, or was it a queen and her slave?

The board of the Oslo university cultural historic museum – Vikingskipshuset(Vikingshiphouse), wants to use modern DNA-analysis to solve the 100 year-oldmystery. When the ship-grave was first discovered in 1904, remnants of twoskeletons were found. Both were female, one 60-70 years old and the other 24–40.

But ever since, the relation between the two women has never been made clear,nor which of them could possibly be the queen. Today’s scientific methods couldoffer a solution and help determine if there is any relationship between the queenfrom the Oseberg ship and whoever her companion was.

– We have referred to them as queen and slave all these years, but we don’t knowif our interpretation is correct, says Arne Emil Christensen, archaeologist at theUniversity’s cultural historical museum/Vikingshiphouse.

– We know from historical sources that during the Viking Age people weresacrificed to follow their masters in death. We have an Arabian description of aViking burial on the Volga river from the 10th century, which tells us how a slavewas sacrificed. From Denmark we have a Viking grave with two males, where oneof them had bound hands and had been decapitated. One of the females from theOseberg ship could be such a sacrificed slave. But she could just as well be arelative or family member.

After the excavation in 1904 the remains of the two women were in storage fora long time, until they were brought back and reburied in Oseberg mound in1948.

– They were put in twin granite sarcophagi, says Christensen. – We don’t knowwhether the coffin was lead-lined for the sake of preservation. Both skeletonremains were fragmentary. The skeleton of one of the females was relativelycomplete and contained among other material, bones and knuckles with traces ofrheumatism and also the top part of the cranium. From the younger woman, thelower jaw was preserved with abrasion marks on the teeth from a metal toothpick,possibly silver. To carry out the DNA- analysis the grave must be reopened. It is ofcourse an open question if it is possible to obtain DNA from such old material,but it would be desirable.

– Financing for the analyses still remains to be found. It shouldn’t be a problemto localise and reopen the grave. If the DNA-analysis could give us a concreteanswer, it would be a step on the way to answering who was buried together withour greatest national historical treasure, says Christensen.

Source: wwwwww..aafftteennppoosstteenn..nnoo

News



By Michael I. Stratton

“I’d like to have a Viking boat”.“Do you think we could build one?”“Sure, they did it a thousand years ago with

hand tools. We can certainly build one withour modern tools!”

With these few simple words and a“mild” misconception about the complexityof these ancient boats, my friends and I setout to build a replica of the GokstadFaering. That was about two years ago, andwe have just finished the planking andmoved her out of my garage. The timebetween has been filled with a lot ofdiscovery, training, problem solving,frustration and huge amounts ofsatisfaction!

We quickly found that a number ofpeople were interested in the project. Theirskill range varied from those who had neverpicked up a woodworking tool to those thatwere skilled carvers. None of us had everbuilt a boat, but there was a lot ofenthusiasm for building this one. So, weforged ahead and now have an almostcompleted faering, which we call“Blackbird”.

We started by consulting twopublications, both unfortunately out ofprint: Christensen, A. E. (1959) “Faeringen fra

Gokstad”. Viking, 23: pp. 57-69.McGrail, Sean (1974) The Building and

Trials of the Replica of an Ancient Boat:The Gokstad Faering. Part 1 Building theReplica. Maritime Monographs andReports, No. 11. National MaritimeMuseum, Greenwich, London. 59 pp.

Had it not been for the NationalMaritime Museum Monograph, I do notbelieve we could have built this replica. Weare indebted to Mr. Bruce Blackistone,founder of The Longship Co., Ltd, for

supplying us with an original of thispublication.

Using the National Maritime MuseumMonograph, important components of thefaering were scaled-up from the originaldrawings and diagrams. This was done bymarking a grid on the drawing andtransferring the measurements to a full sizegrid to make a pattern. A two-dimensionalpattern was made for the carved stems, andpatterns were made for each of the cross-sections taken from the replica built by themuseum.

We decided to make two faerings. Thefirst would be made from easily obtainedmodern materials, while the second wouldbe made in a more “period” manner afterwe had a better understanding of how afaering was built.

The first step was to construct thecarved stem pieces. Laminating five threefoot long pine 2 x 12’s with marine gradeepoxy gave a wooden block thick enoughfor the stems. From these blocks the stemswere carved using a combination of modern

power tools, including a chain-saw, andseveral more traditional tools, mainlygouges, chisels and an adz. The difficulty intranslating two dimensional photographsand drawings into a three dimensionalobject proved quite challenging. In the end,two nearly identical stems were completedand attached to a keel made from a singlelength of 1 x 12 pine lumber.

Regarding the process of carving thestems, we can offer very little advice. It is atask that has to be performed to beunderstood. It would certainly help toexamine an actual stem during the carvingprocess.

The lessons learned are:

(1) Don’t use pine for the wooden block. Ithas turned out to be very unsatisfactory forthis purpose, tending to split along thegrain, which generally runs off of the stemat an angle. Thus far we have been able torepair these cracks with epoxy putty. (2) Have the people doing the carvingunder constant supervision by someonewith a thorough understanding of the three-

Carving the stem. After rough cutting with a chainsaw, we used various tools to remove the wastewood. We discovered this was and inappropriate useof a slick. Photo: Michael I. Stratton

Positioning thecross-sectionforms. The stringstretchedbetween the bowand stern wasused to measurethe correctdistance forplacement of theforms. Otherstrings were usedas plumbs tocorrectly mark thekeel forplacement of theforms. Photo: Michael I.Stratton.

BLACKBIRD:A replica of theGokstad Faering



dimensional form you are trying to achieve.Work with your carvers to insure they havean understanding of the object’s intendedshape and purpose. Making a small modelor carving would probably facilitate thisprocess. (3) Realize this is where the most seriousmistakes will occur. However, they will notbe so severe as to be insurmountable!

The completed stems were attached tothe keel, and the top part of the "T" wasformed from a one inch thick board,attached with glue and screws to the alreadylaid keel. Cutting the cross-section patternsfrom 3/4 inch plywood, we attached themto the keel. This gave a guide for cutting thecorrect bevel into the “T” with a blockplane. Cutting the bevel in this fashion willset the angle for the first strake perfectly.

Constructing a pattern for the strakesinvolved clamping a piece of masonite (a1/8 inch thick fiberboard that is fairlyflexible) against the keel and holding ittightly against the plywood cross-sectionforms. This usually required two peoplewith a third person marking where thestrake should be at each form. “Connectingthe dots” from each of the cross-sectionforms with smooth curves formed thepattern. After cutting the pattern, it wasagain fitted against the keel and forms toinsure a proper fit.

Using the pattern, the strakes were easilycut from 3/8 inch thick exterior gradeplywood. Because the plywood was availableonly in eight foot lengths, each strake hastwo scarf joints. The front and rear portionsof the strake were first riveted in place andthe center section was added last. Thispermitted close fitting of the strakes againstthe stems.

Because the stems were not correctlyshaped, attachment of the strakes directlyadjacent to the stem without a large gapbetween the strakes was frustrating.Improper stem shape required the strakes tobe bent into multiple curves to obtain atight fit. Frustration mounted because theclamps would not adequately pull thestrakes together.

Then it was discovered that using wedges

between the clamps and the strakespermitted much closer fits because thepressure could be applied exactly whereneeded. Unfortunately this put tremendousstrain on the stems, which cracked in twoplaces. Epoxy was used to repair the splits.

Currently all of the strakes are riveted inplace. The remaining work is to install theribs, install a top rail to hide the plywoodedge, install the kabe, caulk the seams, andapply a couple of coats of paint. An epoxypaint will be used as the base coat to sealthe wood because she will be in and out ofthe water frequently.

Although the original did not haveevidence of a mast or sail, a removable mastis also planned. The first launching will bein the spring of 2004.

The task that was started so easily isnow nearing completion. It was definitelynot what we expected. Almost half of theoriginal time spent was in group discussions– trying to understand the design and howto translate the plans into reality. A lot oftime was spent teaching people the proper

use of various tools, and learning how touse tools that no one in our group had everused before.

Our original estimate of six to twelvemonths to complete the boat was wildlyoptimistic, given our lack of skills andknowledge, and the unplanned interferenceof the everyday affairs of living in our workschedule. Would we do it again? I do notknow of a member who would answer “no”.

But perhaps the most important thing tocome from the Blackbird project is a fullerunderstanding and appreciation of theabsolute genius of those ancientScandinavian people that designed and builtsuch a magnificent boat. Even thoughBlackbird is nearing completion, I still donot fully understand why she was designedexactly that way. Perhaps, with a lot ofstudy and experience, I might come close tounderstanding in the future.

With all of the strakesattached, Blackbird is ready

for transport. Photo: Guy W. Tessum.

Making the strake pattern frommasonite. Photo: Guy W. Tessum.

Viking Age Vessels is an organizationdedicated to building and operatingvessels of the Viking Age. Ourmembers study and practice the skillsneeded to achieve that end. We arealso available for demonstrations ofViking boat-building and Viking life.

VAV currently has a single chapter,VestRus Viking Ships. VestRus isgroup of persons interested in sailingand building Viking boat replicas. Ourgeographic area is roughly SoutheastOhio, including parts of Kentucky andWest Virginia, USA. Since we will benavigating on rivers and lakes, weare the Western Rus, or VestRus.

The purpose of Vest Rus VikingShips is to promote, encourage andprovide the opportunity fordevelopment of knowledge and skillsin the building, sailing, andmaintenance of replicas of Viking Ageships and boats of northern Europe.

For more information please visit ourwebsites:hhttttpp::////wwwwww..vviikkiinnggaaggeevveesssseellss..oorrgg orhhttttpp::////wwwwww..vveessttrruussvviikkiinnggsshhiippss..oorrgg



Viking Archaeology andAdvanced ArchaeologicalField Methodology, 10 points(15 ECTS)

Summer 2004On the southwest shore ofGotland in Fröjel parish, one ofthe island’s largest and mostimportant Viking-age harbourand trading places has beenfound. The site was swarmingwith activity over a period of400–500 years. Along theshoreline of Gotland some 60conceivable harbour places havebeen found, some are smallfishing hamlets and some aremuch larger, like Fröjel.

For several years, GotlandUniversity has been running aresearch programme with the aim ofinvestigating this Viking port of trade.Contemporaneously with this research aninternational archaeological field coursehas been carried out. The aim of thecourse is to investigate the social patternsand physical structures of the site usingadvanced archaeological and humangeographical field methodology.

The harbour extends over an area ofapproximately 100,000 m2 and was usedfrom late 6th century to the end of 12th

century AD. So far, about 1500 m2 havebeen excavated and the excavation hasproduced a rough idea of how theharbour developed and expanded.Remains of buildings have provided aninsight into the settlement pattern andthree different grave fields have also beenlocated. The research at Fröjel intends tothrow light upon the development of theGotlandic society during the Viking Age.

Much emphasis is put on the use of

GIS (GeographicalInformation System) andthe use of digital techniquesfor surveying, landscapereconstruction,documentation,photography, analysis,presentation andvisualization using virtualreality and 3D modelling.

The overall aim is to givean introduction to the

Viking-age period and provide practicaland circumstantial knowledge of advancedarchaeological and human geographicalmethodology.

The course is divided into two units;the first unit begins with two weeks ofliterature studies, followed by five weeksof practical field investigations combinedwith lectures.

The second part is three weeks longand focuses producing a paper on achosen theme connected to the course.The first two and last three weeks areInternet-based.

The literature as well as teaching willbe in English.

Date: June 7th–August 15th (Week 24–33).

If you are interested in moreinformation concerning earlier excavationsat Fröjel please visit our homepage athttp://frojel.hgo.se. Click on “join us”.

Introduction to osteology, 10 points(15 ECTS Credits)

Summer 2004 The course provides an introduction tothe human skeleton and how relevantinformation can be extracted from it, aswell as knowledge of the skeletons of themost common mammals in the Nordiccountries. Furthermore, knowledgeregarding osteological documentationproblems and taphonomical processes isoffered.

The course is divided into two units, atheoretical one, which is provided via the

Internet, and one involving practicaltraining.

A first part deals with humanosteological theory and methodology,including practical training in the variouselements of the skeleton; physical andchemical characteristics; as well asmethods for the determination of sex,length, and age of death. Pathologicalchanges and activity marks on theskeleton are presented.

A second part provides knowledge ofanimal osteological theory andmethodology, and includes practicaltraining in determining the specific traitsof the most common species in theNordic fauna. Finally, a third partconcerns the specific problems ofosteological documentation atarchaeological excavations, as well astaphonomical processes, i.e. what happensto human and animal skeletal materialbefore and after it ends up in the ground,either from graves or settlements.

The Viking Society – General Course,10 points (15 ECTS)

Spring and Fall 2004–2005This course is an introduction to theViking-age society and its development.The course is interdisciplinary and,through primary and secondary sources,analyses the Vikings and the Viking Age.It is divided in two main parts: Who werethe Vikings? and The Viking Homelands.

The aim of the course is to diversifythe term Viking and an overarching viewof the Scandinavian Viking societythrough literature studies and chats. Issuesto be discussed are the physical remainsfound in the landscape and theoreticalissues such as social change and culturalinterchange.

FFoorr ffuurrtthheerr iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn aabboouutt tthheeccoouurrsseess,, pprreerreeqquuiissiitteess aannddddoowwnnllooaaddaabbllee aapppplliiccaattiioonn ffoorrmmss pplleeaasseevviissiitt GGoottllaanndd UUnniivveerrssiittyy’’ss hhoommeeppaaggee aattwwwwww..hhggoo..ssee,, cclliicckk oonn ““EEnngglliisshh ppaaggeess””..

Lena using the total stationduring the excavation 2003.Photo: Tove Eriksson.

Students investigating a female grave. Photo:Tove Eriksson.

International courses offered byGotland University



The ancient mystery of the “BlondEskimos” of the Arctic solved by DNA?

An ancient mystery of the Arctic may have been solved whenanthropologists from Iceland released their research results withDNA-material about the Inuit from the north of Canada, theso-called “Blond Eskimos”.

According to the Icelandic sagas, the Norse in Greenlandmet people who belonged to different cultures. On the otherhand the Inuit also tell legends of ancient meetings with peoplefrom other cultures. The legends tell of Inuit, living in thecentral Arctic, with distinct European features like fair hair,beards and blue eyes.

The Norse explorations westward from Greenland tookplace in the 9th and 10th centuries. By the 15th century all thesettlements mysteriously disappeared and the fate of the Norsesettlers is still unknown. One possibility is that they simplydisappeared through mingling with the origin population.

The tantalizing stories about the “Blond Eskimos” originatefrom earliest Arctic explorations. To state one example, thefamous Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson heard a rumourfrom a whaling captain about European-looking Eskimosliving among the Cooper Inuit close to what we now callCambrige Bay in Nunavut. Stefansson, who wished to becomefamous, took advantage of these rumours to raise funds for anexpedition to the area. In the first decade of the last century he

caught up with the Inuit he was looking for. In his Journal hewrote: “There were three men here whose beards are almost thesame colour as mine and who look like typicalScandinavians… One woman has the delicate features one seesin Scandinavian girls…” and so on. He also speculated aboutthe origin of these Inuit and thought they descended frominhabitants of the Norse settlements, which had disappeared.

Anthropologist Gisli Palsson from the University of Icelandin Reykjavik, with the help of anthropologist Agnar Helgason,has now applied DNA-technology to Stefansson’s speculations.During 2002 his team were in Greenland and in CambridgeBay to gather saliva samples from 350 Inuit to compare themwith genetic markers known to have been prevalent inmedieval Scandinavia.

The samples have now been analysed and the preliminaryfinding negate the blond Inuit legend. The two scientists saythat their DNA tests have now failed to find any evidence thatthe Europeans mingled genetically with the Inuit. Helgasonsays: –“Stefansson’s hypothesis doesn’t seem to be supported bythe data. But I wouldn’t want to give a final death certificatefor Stefansson’s hypothesis at this point in time.”

Source: CNEWS, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

News



It doesn’t very often happen that amodern doctoral thesis can be read like aso-called good book. One criterion for agood book is that you want to read it fromcover to cover at one sitting. BodilPetersson has succeeded in making goodliterature of her doctoral thesis. This is myfirst and lasting impression.

Besides a feeling for style and a superbuse of language, naturally the choice ofsubject adds to this impression. To quotethe blurb on the back cover: “Never has theinterest in creating milieus from the pastbeen as great as it is now. Viking villages arespringing up in several places and thenumber of medieval markets is increasingall the time. Even Stone-, Bronze- and Iron-age settlements and milieu are now beingreawakened. Behind this expandingphenomenon, a combination of researchambition and a desire to spread thisknowledge to the general public isflourishing”.

That this really is an expanding field isevident from the more than three hundredobjects on the list of reconstructions of lostobjects and environments in theScandinavian countries, Denmark, Norwayand Sweden. The author herself admits thatthe list included in the thesis appendix isnot complete and needs to be updated withnew objects, as they appear each year.

In order to examine the critical aspectsconnected with the subject ofreconstruction, the thesis must be read

several times in the usual manner, i.e.underlining, comments in the margin andattached notes.

In the introductory chapter, Archaeologyand reconstruction, the author establishesthe structure of the thesis. This is based onthree perspectives: politics, knowledge andadventure, which correspond to the

concepts of reconstruction, experiment andbringing to life where the latter two are sub-types of the overall reconstruction concept.Unfortunately here we encounter adivergence from the strict trinity in theconcept organisation.

Reconstruction can mean bothrecreating in general as well as buildingspecific objects and milieu. This leads to acertain terminological muddle. In terms ofwhat has been reconstructed and where thishas been studied, we return once again to aharmonious triad. The answers are:buildings, transportation and happenings inDenmark, Norway and Sweden respectively.

The following chapter, Stories of the

reconstructions, presents a number ofexamples of reconstructions from the 17th

century up until 1964 when what is nowcalled Lejre Forsøgscenter in Denmark wasfounded. This centre has been used as amodel for many reconstructions in ourtime. The author therefore allows thecentre’s establishment to act as a link to thethree following chapters, which are basedon thematic perspectives.

Seen from a political perspective, theViking Age is used to create an identity forthe Nordic countries vis à vis Europe andthe EU. Vikings and the Viking Age areoften seen as a common Nordic affair butat the same time the Viking is extremelynationalised. In Denmark the nation- andboat-builder is prominent, in Norway theseafarer and adventurer, and in Sweden, thebusinessman and trader. According to theauthor the national Viking can be roughlyclassified in these terms, which is clearlymanifested in the world of reconstructions.

It is interesting that the national imageof the Viking Age repeats itself in thechoice of world heritages in each respectivecountry: the Jelling monument andRoskilde cathedral emphasize Denmark as aconsummate nation with royal continuity,Urnes stave church stands for the genuineNorwegian, while the Swedish worldheritage sites, Birka-Adelsö and Visby, focusclearly on trading contacts to the east andsouth far beyond the Baltic region.

The regional identity reflects different

AAddvveerrttiissee iinn VViikkiinngg HHeerriittaaggee MMaaggaazziinnee aanndd ggeett tthhee

attention of readers inat least 27 countries!

For further information contact:

Luella Godman E-mail: lluueellllaa..aannddeerrss..ggooddmmaann@@ii..llrrff..ssee

Föreställningar om det förflutna. English title: Images of the past.

Written by Bodil PeterssonPublished by Nordic AcademicPress, Lund, Sweden, 2003.Academic thesis.ISBN 91-89116-48-8



humanistic tradition wishes to understandthe conditions people lived under and howthey acted in the past. In reconstruction, anattempt is made to present livingconditions of the past.

Time travel adventure is the third chapterwith a thematic perspective. Using

reconstruction as a means ofconveyance, the trip combinestime and space, providing aninner journey simultaneously. Thetransportation is physically,mentally and time-related all at thesame time. It is possible to roughlydivide the reconstructions into threecategories: buildings, transport andhappenings. The author’s aim inmaking the division is to show thateach category provides its own specialframing of the journey in time.

Reconstructions reflect their era. Thelonging, visions and dreams that can befound in a period are distinctly expressedin our images of the past. Bodil Peterssonhas, in an excellent way, described andanalysed the way we handle ourrelationship with and how we use the timethat has been – our past.

By Sven-Olof Lindquist,Ph.D. Associate Professor, HumanGeography, Centre for Baltic Studies,Gotland University.

Öland and reconstructions of Viking-ageboats.

Here the discussion has followed twodifferent lines of learning: a scientific and a

humanistic. The

scientificfocuses on methods,controlled experiments that can berepeated, and artefacts. The humanisticputs the emphasis on happenings, likeresidence, living and travelling. The

political aims. Hjemsteds Oldtidspark inSønderjylland lies in a part of Denmarkthat belonged to Germany from 1864 to1920. The area has a strong nationalsignificance partly due to the defeat in1864, and partly because the place becameimportant as a symbol in 1920 when thecountry was reunited. HjemstedsOldtidspark serves as a marker of theborder country’s alliance with the nation.

In southwestern Norway with Stavangeras its centre lies Rogaland, which isdesignated in tourist brochures as an area ofnational interest. Even here the nationaland regional identity work together. But inthe long, regionally divided Norway there isa need for balance, which is represented inthis case by Borg in Lofoten. Here Borg ispresented as a power centre for the mightychieftains of North Norway with theircontacts in Europe.

In Sweden the border areas of Gotlandand Scania stand out as strong regionalidentities. Contrary to Sønderjylland andRogaland, regionalism is presented inopposition to the central Swedishcentral power, which is made manifestin Medieval Week on Gotland and thereconstruction of the Viking-age ringfortress at Trelleborg.

In the chapter, Dimensions of knowledge,there is an exciting discussion concerningthe value of reconstructions in terms ofscience and conveying knowledge. Thediscussion is centred on Eketorps fort on

We offer Viking Age replica artifacts from Denmark and Sweden. TURM A/S,distinguished Danish silversmiths, makes our jewelry from moulds provided by theDanish National Museum. Our glass is from Scanglas AB of Sweden and is also inreplica, using Viking glass blowing techniques. These pieces are in many Nordicmuseum gift stores and, owing to their authenticity, have been selected by theSmithsonian and other major U.S. museums for their Viking exhibits. We shipworldwide.

A sketch of a runestone in theMoesgard Museum, Aarhus,

Denmark, depicting a fearsomemask to frighten evil spirits from afallen Viking. We offer this dramatic

piece as a brooch or pendant.

1420 NW Gilman Boulevard – No. 2105, - Issaquah, Washington 98027-5394 USAPlease visit our Website: www.vikingtrader.net * Email: [email protected]

Toll free phone in U.S. 1.800.842.1676

Arkeologi och rekonstruktion. Archaeology and reconstruction

N e w

b o o k !



The Swedish Museum of NationalAntiquities in Stockholm has recentlydistributed a multimedia compact disc,“Vikingarnas tid” (trans. Viking Age) toSwedish elementary and secondaryschools. The CD is based on the materialfrom the museum’s exhibition “Vikingar”,(trans. Vikings) that opened in 2001, andis produced by the museum with financialassistance from Fortum (a leading electricenergy company in the Nordic countries).

– Our hope is that the CD willbecome an aid in teaching about theViking Age by supplying the teachers withtexts, illustrations and films, says KristianBerg, head of the museum. This is thesecond CD we send out free to schools,and the previous CD “Vikingarnas Birka”(trans. Birka of the Vikings) was veryappreciated.

The CD is the basis for problem andpupil-oriented, multidisciplinary teaching.The material consists of texts, maps,pictures and films together with asearchable database containing almost2000 artefacts. The pupils can, forinstance, learn how runestone carving wasdone, or about various Viking routes. The“Viking Age” CD can be installed on thecomputer’s hard drive, and upgraded over

the Internet and the museum’s website incontrary to the previous one (Birka of theVikings).

In order to further assist teachers, themuseum’s Internet educational advisor hasdeveloped a Web-based guide for theteachers (seehttp://www.historiska.se/vikingar). Theguide shows the teacher how to use theCD in the classroom, for example indifferent themes.

– We are happy to be able to supporthistory teaching in school and see this asan important element of our communityefforts, says Merril Boman, Fortum’strademark manager. Of course it is a greatdelight for us to cooperate with theMuseum of National Antiquities in givingaway this complete multimedia compactdisk to the schools.

The work with the CD is a part of themuseum’s aim to reach more publicgroups through different media. Thanksto digital media technology the entirecountry can access the museum’scollection and exhibitions. The CD alsodoubles as a digital exhibition cataloguefor the visitors.Source: Statens Historiska Museum, TheMuseum of National Antiquities

TThhee uullttiimmaattee ffoorruumm ffoorr aallll tthhoosseeiinntteerreesstteedd iinn VViikkiinnggss aanndd tthhee VViikkiinngg AAggee!!

Viking Heritage Magazine,Centre for Baltic Studies,Gotland University,Cramérgatan 3, 621 67 Visby, Sweden.Tel. +46 498 29 97 43, +46 29 98 30,Fax +46 498 29 98 92vvhhmm@@hhggoo..sseehhttttpp::////vviikkiinngg..hhggoo..sseeGotland University: hhttttpp::////wwwwww..hhggoo..ssee

PPuubblliisshheerr aanndd EEddiittoorr--iinn--cchhiieeffDan Carlsson, ddaann..ccaarrllssssoonn@@hhggoo..ssee

EEddiittoorrMarita E Ekman, mmaarriittaa..ee..eekkmmaann@@hhggoo..ssee

EEddiittoorriiaall ssttaaffff this issuePeter D’agnan.

LLaanngguuaaggee aanndd ttrraannssllaattiioonn cchheecckkLuella Godman,lluueellllaa..aannddeerrss..ggooddmmaann@@ii..llrrff..ssee

SSuubbssccrriippttiioonnssSubscription rate, four issues Sweden 200 SEKDenmark, Finland, Norway and the Balticcountries 210 SEKOther countries 250 SEK

As a new subscriber you will receive theguidebook, Follow the Vikings. Highlights ofthe Viking World, as a special gift. This bookcontains 50 of the most importantdestinations in different countries, selected byan international group of archaeologist and isrichly illustrated in full colour.

SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn ccoonnddiittiioonnssFor orders outside Scandinavia we canonly accept payment in advance bycredit card (VISA, Mastercard, Eurocard).Within Scandinavia orders can be sentby mail order or payment in advance bycredit card.

SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn iinnffoorrmmaattiioonnssuubbssccrriippttiioonn..vviikkiinngg@@hhggoo..sseeTel. +46 498 29 98 29, +46 498 29 97 43hhttttpp::////vviikkiinngg..hhggoo..ssee

AAddvveerrttiissiinnggLuella Godman,lluueellllaa..aannddeerrss..ggooddmmaann@@ii..llrrff..sseeViking Heritage mmaarriittaa..ee..eekkmmaann@@hhggoo..ssee

LLaayyoouutt aanndd pprriinntteeddby Godrings Tryckeri, Visby, Sweden 2003

ISSN 1403-7319

This project is co-financed by the EU-programmeInterreg IIIB Baltic Sea Region.

V king HeritagemagazineHeritage News

A letter to our readers

What size were East-going ships?“In July 2003 , when we displayed our small ship, Viking Plym (11 m) in StPetersburg (see VHM 3/2003) we told all visitors that her size is historicallycorrect, in that they had to be small to be hauled on land past Russian rapids.

But some sources tell that they might have been a bit bigger than this – at leasttravelling as far as the Neva entrance. Perhaps the Svea Vikings arrived in ledungships? If a “hundare” had to man four ships as we are told in our sources,meaning 25 men onboard, a ledung ship must have been 12–15 m long.

If they arrived in these ships they would have had to change to smaller ones forthe river part of the voyage. This possibility is mentioned in literature.

And now my question:Have ships of this size been found anywhere – and if not WHY?”Please answer to Carl Norberg iinnffoo@@vviikkiinnggppllyymm..oorrgg

For further info wwwwww..vviikkiinnggppllyymm..oorrgg

Swedish schools receive multi-media CD about the Viking Age

THE

VIKING AGEA tiny glimpse of our line of jewelry.

MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE PAST 1000 YEARS.OUR JEWELRY HAS NOT, IT’S AS BEAUTIFUL AS EVER!

All our jewelry is made using the same

ancient techniques that the Vikings used a

thousand years ago.

HAND-CRAFTED

IN SWEDEN

K. NORMANEst. 1979

SE-930 15 BUREÅ SWEDENphone +46 910 78 19 88 • fax +46 910 78 19 98

www.guldriket.se

11//22000011TThhee VViikkiinngg wwaayy ttoo ssaaiill •• SSaaggaassaanndd SSoocciieettyy oonn IIcceellaanndd •• QQuueerrnnssttoonneess ffrroomm NNoorrwwaayy •• VViikkiinngg

mmyytthhss •• GGeenneettiicc rreesseeaarrcchh

22//22000011TThhee ffoorrttiiffiiccaattiioonn ooff BBiirrkkaa •• TThheeffiirrsstt SSccaannddiinnaavviiaannss iinn nnoorrtthheerrnn

RRuuss •• TThhee IIssllaammiicc rreeccoorrdd ooffVViikkiinnggss •• RRuunneessttoonneess tteellllss aabboouutttthhee EEaasstt •• TThhee LLuurr ooff tthhee VViikkiinnggss

33//22000011EEaasstteerrnn ccoonnnneeccttiioonnss aatt BBiirrkkaa •• SSiillvveerr ccooiinnss aass ddooccuummeennttss

•• GGaammbblliinngg VViikkiinnggss •• VViikkiinngg AAggeeIIcceellaanndd •• TThhee BBaayyeeuuxx TTaappeessttrryy

44//2200001177 aarrttiicclleess oonn VViikkiinngg eexxccaavvaattiioonnss iinn

GGrreeeennllaanndd,, IIcceellaanndd,, NNoorrwwaayy,, DDeennmmaarrkk,,RRuussssiiaa aanndd SSwweeddeenn •• GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt iinnSSccaannddiinnaavviiaa aarroouunndd 11000000 AADD •• TThhee

ffiirrsstt sshhiippyyaarrdd iinn AAmmeerriiccaa

11//22000022VViikkiinngg--AAggee wwoommeenn iinn rruunneess ppiiccttuurreess•• FFrreeyyjjaa,, aa ggooddddeessss ooff lloovvee aanndd wwaarr

•• TThhee wwoommeenn iinn wwaaggoonn bbuurriiaallss •• FFrroomm VViikkiinngg AAggee ttoo tthhee MMiiddddllee AAggeess

•• MMjjööllllnniirr,, TThhoorr’’ss hhaammmmeerr

22//22000022VViikkiinnggss oonn SSaaaarreemmaaaa ((ÖÖsseell))•• SScchhlleesswwiigg aanndd HHaaiitthhaabbuu

•• WWooooddeenn ddiisscc •• WWoooolleenn ssaaiill •• NNeeiigghhbboouurrhhoooodd ooff TTrreelllleebboorrgg

•• VViikkiinngg mmoovviieess

33//22000022IInn tthhee ffoooottsstteeppss ooff tthhee VViikkiinnggss

•• DDeessttiinnaattiioonn VViikkiinngg BBaallttiicc SSttoorriieess•• TThhee ggaammee ooff KKnnáátttteelleeiikkrr •• TThhee

ccuulltt ssiittee ooff RRöössaarriinngg •• FFiilltthhyyVViikkiinnggss?? •• VViikkiinnggss iinn FFllaannddeerrss

Prices: Issues from 2000-2002 SEK 50 per copyIssues from 1997-1999 SEK 25 per copy For orders that include all available back issues we offer 25% discount.

All prices include taxes. Postage willbe added. We can only acceptpayment in advance by credit card.Checks are not accepted.

COPIES 1/2001 2/2001 3/2001 4/2001

1/2002 2/2002 3/2002 4/2002

1/2003 2/2003 3/2003 Destination Viking

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44//22000022•• NNeeww eexxccaavvaattiioonnss iinn SSwweeddeenn aanndd

RRuussssiiaa •• IImmaaggiinnaarryy VViikkiinnggss •• DDuubblliinnnn’’ss VViikkiinnggss •• FFoorrttrreesssseess

iinn EEssttoonniiaa aanndd LLaattvviiaa •• GGuunnnnee’’ss ggåårrdd

11//22000033GGoollddeenn VVaanneess •• TThhee NNoorrtthh AAttllaannttiicc

VViikkiinngg HHeerriittaaggee RReessoouurrcceess •• MMaassccuulliinnee–– FFeemmiinniinnee –– HHuummaann –– aabboouutt aa VViikkiinngg--aaggee ggrraavvee--ffiieelldd •• TTrraannssvveessttiittee VViikkiinnggss??

•• AA VViikkiinngg--aaggee TTuummoouurr •• KKaauuppaanngg

22//22000033TThhee MMaammmmeenn ssttyyllee ffrroomm WWeessttPPoommeerraanniiaa •• VViikkiinnggss iinn RRuussssiiaa::

MMiilliittaarryy AAffffaaiirrss ppaarrtt 11 •• UUkkrraanneennllaanndd •• PPhhiillaatteelliicc VViikkiinnggss •• GGoollddeenn VVaanneess

•• VViikkiinnggss iinn MMeellbboouurrnnee

33//22000033VViikkiinngg AAggee ggllaassss bbeeaaddss ((ffiivvee

aarrttiicclleess)) •• CCuullttuurraall ttrraannssmmiissssiioonn •• CChhiillddrreenn’’ss ggrraavveess •• DDeessttiinnaattiioonnVViikkiinngg SSaaggaa LLaannddssccaappeess aanndd SSaaggaaRRoouutteess •• TTrroonnddaarrnneess •• TThhee OOrrkknneeyy

IIssllaannddss •• TTaabblleett WWeeaavviinngg

DDeessttiinnaattiioonn VViikkiinngg.. WWeesstteerrnn VViikkiinngg RRoouuttee..Inspiring guidebook to Vikingplaces in the west. Richlyillustrated in full colour, 184pages.

Price: SEK 100 per copy

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v king heritage heritage magazine...and old part 1 by birgitta linderoth wallace north americans...

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