|
Winter 1999 - First Quarter
From the Editor
I've had a busy three months, but not with this newsletter! It's been a desert
for Viking Age news. So collected this bunch and tried to update the format a bit. I'll
keep looking and finding a variety of Viking Period oddities, research papers,
and news! --Birgit, editor
NEWS ON THE WEB
Dublin - 'The Cows of the Vikings'
Last newsletter reported that mitochondrial DNA studies of Wood Quay cow
bones were ongoing. The results are in and they're inconclusive; Dublin
Viking Age beef were a varied lot not comparable with modern breeds.
A print article in Nature Magazine around the first week of March should
have more details and Nature News Service
has a short mention on the internet at http://helix.nature.com/nsu/990225/990225-4.html.
A special issue of Philosophical Transactions on ancient biomolecules
is now to have the article on the DNA findings by Prof. Dan Bradley,
Dr. David MacHugh, and the Trinity College Researchers. Other articles
may also be of intrest to history buffs.
Note that since the premier issue of H&M that the
Irish Times on the web is, like many other news-paper sites, having us register
to access their pages. You'll have to look for articles of intrest -- keep in mind
this site does fairly consisitant coverage of new archaeological finds.
More from Fröjel....
The Frojel Discovery Programme has started to list a new
newsletter on their archaeology
program. These refer to some of the earlier finds from the Gotland site and
link to pages discussing the details.
Bronze Casting In Viking Age
A website, Bronze Casting
In Viking Age & Early Middle Ages, has been updated and expanded.
This site is completely new to me, it is available in English and Swedish, and confirms
that small furnaces were used.....The rest of the website includes articles and a nice
bibliography with a few links to on-line references. The Literature key will take you
to "On Bronzing Iron Objects -
Archaeological Evidence of Weight-manufacture in Viking Age Scandinavia?
by Anders Söderberg and Lena Holmquist Olausson" and "Medieval Casting Resource Books by
Robert M. Howe". I expect more interesting articles to be available here in the future.
More historical metalwork information is available from the index page via
the 'metal chain' web-ring link.
Missing Plank of Wood
Ran across note that the Daily Star in print edition (7 January 1999 p3): had a short
article on a Viking plank of wood mistakenly disposed of at the Dublin Ireland Museum.
The story,`Thick as a plank', mentions searchs at the dump were unsuccessful.
It may be just a chunk of wood, but thinking about it makes one consider the work
to make a plank of wood in those days. You couldn't go to a lumberyard and buy
dimensional lumber. Viking Heritage Newsletter No. 4 and No. 5 are printing a
few stories about the Embla boat-building project in Uppsala, Sweden. One of
these reveiws the basics of Viking Age splitting techniques used to form planks.
These newsletters will eventually be made available in *.pdf form at the
Viking Heritage Newsletter page.
Article on Waxtablets
Carolyn Priest-Dorman, with her husband Greg, has added another excellent paper
entitled
"Making and Using Waxed Tablets. Some Highlights in the History of
Waxed Tablets." to her viking resource page.
Several other well-written and well-researched papers can be found here.
Waxed tablets have been around since the Romans and may be instrumental in spreading
lettering to Northern Europe. An example is at Kulturen in Lund, Sweden and additional
information is in Section B of the Catalogue Roman Reflections in Scandinavia
Eva Björklund, Lena Hejll, Kent Andersson, et.al., 1996, published by "L'erma"
di Bretschneider, Rome [ISBN 88-7062-947-3].
MUSEUM EXHIBITION
"Full Circle: First Contact Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador."
is an International Exhibit planned to open in June of 2000 at the
Newfoundland
Museum located in St. John's. L'Anse aux Meadows finds and aboriginal artifacts
will be displayed. For more information see http://www.delweb.com/nfmuseum/viking1.htm
BOOK REVIEWS
Bender Jørgensen, Lise Bender and Christina Rinaldo, eds. (1998).
Textiles
in European Archaeology. Report from the 6th NESAT Symposium, 7-11th May
1996 in Borås.
Goteborg University Dept. of Archaeology, Goteborg Sweden.
ISBN 91-85952-74-5 SwKr 200:-
4 ravens
Another set of technical papers from the meeting of the Northern European Symposia on
Archaeological Textiles (NESAT). Another meeting should happen next year.
Selected from the Table of Contents (not a complete list) articles of intrest are:
"An Iron Age Cloak with Tablet-woven Borders: A New Interpretation of the Method of Production," Lise Raeder Knudsen
"Der Mannerkittel aus Bernuthsfeld - Beobachtungen wahrend einer Restaurierung," Heidemarie Farke
"The Textiles from Norre Sandegaard Vest," Ulla Mannering
"Ein Merowingerzeitlicher Baumsarg aus Lauchheim/Ostalbkreis - Zur Bergung und Dokumentation der Textilfunde," Johanna Banck
"Dress and Power in Prehistoric Scandinavia, c. 550-1050 AD," Anne Hedeager Krag
"Kleingermusterte Woll-und Leinengewebe aus der Eisenzeit und dem Mittelalter - Herkunft, Herstellung und Verbreitung," Klaus Tidow
"Das Tullengefass von Pfakofen, Lkr. Regensburg - ein seltener Fund aus dem fruhen Mittelalter," Antja Bartel
"Neue Materialien fur das Entwicklungsschema der Latgallischen Schultertucher aus dem 7.-13. Jh," Anna Zarina
"Textiles as Indices of Late Saxon Social Dynamics," Phillipa A. Henry
"Textile Production in Late Iron Age Scania - A Methodical Approach," Eva Andersson
"A Review of Viking-Age Textiles and Fibres from Scotland: An Interim Report," Thea Gabra-Sanders
"'When They Speed the Shuttle': The Role of Textile Production in Viking Age Society, as Reflected in a Pit House from Western Norway," Mona Mortensen
"12th Century Twills from Bergen, Norway," Ellen Schjolberg
"The Textiles from the Ruins of Hamar Cathedral," Aud Bergli and Inger Raknes Pedersen
"Polish Textiles from Coin Hoards of the 10th-17th Centuries," Marta Pytlewicz
Wild, J. P., editor (1998). Archaeological Textiles Newsletter, No.27 - Autumn 1998.
ATN Editorial Board, Manchester, England
ISBN 0-19-820526-0 2 year subscription (4 issues) 20 British Pounds
3 ravens
This issue notes the passing of Elisabeth Munksgaard in November of 1997. She was
instrumental in the reconstruction of a Viking Age Man's costume now at the State Historical
Museum at Copenhagen. There are also Reports on the reconstruction of a viking age
woolen sail, a cotton remain from a Merovingian grave, a 5th century gravefield near
Zurich, and the usual list of recent publications.
|
|