Aannestad, Hanne Lovise & Spangen, Marte (2014). Dyrestilen forteller, I: Cecilia Gustavsen (red.), Hauglagt - vikingenes gravskikk på Gulli. Vestfoldmuseene. Kapittel 4. s 30 - 37

Viking Age Archaeology, VIking-Age ritual and religion, Vendel Period and Viking Age Art and Archaeology, and Animal Ornamentation

The paper discusses the decorated swords of the Viking Age. Based on the descriptions in the Norse literature, the sword was the male jewellery par excellence of the Viking Age with several passages referring to decor... more abstractThe paper discusses the decorated swords of the Viking Age. Based on the descriptions in the Norse literature, the sword was the male jewellery par excellence of the Viking Age with several passages referring to decorated swords, swords with gilded and silvered hilts and blades that shine of beauty and death. The mythical sagas tell of magical swords forged by dwarfs. The creation of myths around the art of the blacksmith and the making of high-quality swords may be related to the fact that few people mastered the art. The production of metal objects of high quality may have been a form of hidden knowledge unavailable to most people. This gave the objects a magical aura. The many similarities between the swords in the archaeological record and the descriptions of swords in Norse and Mediaeval literature suggest that ontology of the ornate swords in the latter had roots in the Viking notions of the power, magic and ritual aspects of swords. The way swords are referred to in the sagas suggests that the sword is an important bearer of the identity of the warrior. A sword reveals the warrior’s social status, his position of power and his strength. The Viking Age was a period of great social upheaval. At times like that, certain symbolic objects may play an important role in negotiating social positions. There is much to suggest that certain swords became inalienable objects, as representations of the status and power of the warrior and his clan. The swords are featured not only as symbolic markers of status, but as powerful objects that contains magic and potential.

Historical Archaeology, Viking Age Archaeology, Viking Age Scandinavia, and Ancient Weapons and Warfare

Archaeology, Folklore, and Cultural Heritage Management

More Info: Unpublished thesis in Archaeology, University of Tromsø, Norway

Publication Date: 1999

Viking Age Archaeology and Viking Age Scandinavia

Viking Age Archaeology and Viking Age Scandinavia

This article aims to analyze the symbolic aspects of the keys found in graves from the Late Iron Age and Viking Age in Scandinavia. The relationship is discussed from the archaeological evidence and early medieval wri... more abstractThis article aims to analyze the symbolic aspects of the keys found in graves from the Late Iron Age and Viking Age in Scandinavia. The relationship is discussed from the archaeological evidence and early medieval written sources. Keys appear for the first time in graves in the migration period and are found throughout the Iron Age. Archaeological evidence shows that in Late Iron Age/Viking Age there are two main categories of keys, plain iron keys and bronze keys. The latter are almost exclusively linked to female graves. From 11th to 13th century written sources we know that keys were associated with the social role as housewife and the ritual of marriage. Bronze keys were probably carried as visual symbols of the housewife’s power within the Iron Age household.

Viking Age Archaeology and Women in the Viking Age

Journal Name: Viking LXVII

Do all Roads lead to Kaupang? On exchange and transport along the Numedalslågen river in the Viking Age. This article presents objects from two graves from the 9th century in Buskerud, Norway. Both graves contain obje... more abstractDo all Roads lead to Kaupang? On exchange and transport along the Numedalslågen river in the Viking Age. This article presents objects from two graves from the 9th century in Buskerud, Norway. Both graves contain objects of non-Scandinavian provenance and this indicates a connection with oversea trade networks in Viking Age Scandinavia. The graves are used in an argumentation for the existence of non-permanent trading site in a network of the exchange of products from the high mountain area of Hardangervidda and the upper valley of Numedalen to Skiringssalskaupangen. In the study of trade and exchange in Viking Age Norway the focus has to a large extent been on the role of international trade and trading networks. However, the inland trade must have been extensive, and both the control of primary production in high mountain areas and the control of trading routes must have been important economical factors in the establishment of chiefdoms and the process of early state formation.

Archaeology, Viking Age Archaeology, and Viking Age Scandinavia

More Info: Published in "Viking", Vol. LXXIV, 2011.

Hillforts and Folklore. Ancient monuments are considered to have cultural value, consisting of a multitude of meanings that both past and present generations have ascribed to them. The folklore surrounding archaeologi... more abstractHillforts and Folklore. Ancient monuments are considered to have cultural value, consisting of a multitude of meanings that both past and present generations have ascribed to them. The folklore surrounding archaeological monuments is an essential part of their cultural value. Even though there was some earlier interest in the relationship between folklore and archaeology, this became more important within the post-prosessual theories of the 1990s. One theoretical implication of these newer approaches is that cultural meaning does not lie within objects; it is rather created in a specific object-subject situation. By collecting and interpreting folklore connected to hillforts, I show that these places have been significant in the physical as well as in the cognitive landscapes of Norway. Finally, I argue that an archaeology more open to different kinds of meaning, thus reconsidering its interpretative supremacy, will form a good basis for dialogue with the general public.

Archaeology, Folklore, Cultural Landscapes, and Folklore Archeology

More Info: Published in "Primitive tider", vol.6, 2004.

Transformations. The use and reuse of imported objects in Viking Age Eastern Norway English summary: The Viking Age is characterized by an increased contact between Scandinavia and the British Isles, continenta... more abstractTransformations. The use and reuse of imported objects in Viking Age Eastern Norway English summary: The Viking Age is characterized by an increased contact between Scandinavia and the British Isles, continental Europe, Russia and the Baltics. The imported objects found in Scandinavia give evidence of this contact. A majority of the imported objects preserved in the archaeological record have been used as dress accessories. This includes both objects originally produced as dress accessories, and morphologically and functionally altered objects. This study seeks a comprehensive understanding of the imported objects in Viking Age Eastern Norway by using different theoretical and methodological perspectives. The movement of material culture involves a transformation of the meaning and significance of an object. The study examines how material culture is assigned with different meanings in different cultural contexts. Through being appropriated into existing material and cultural practices in Scandinavia, the objects were invested with new meanings. Various aspects of these transformation processes are discussed in a cultural and historical context. The analysis of the transformation and use of imported dress accessories provides new knowledge of the changes in the Scandinavian Society in this period. The appropriation of imported objects can be seen as a culturally, socially and ideologically situated practice that reflects different aspects of the relationship between Scandinavia and overseas during this period. The objects represented a form of materialized prestige whose meaning was rooted in the Old Norse worldview. The increasing tendency to accumulate imported objects, coins and precious metals in graves and depots from the mid-800s reflects an increasing stability in the international interactions. During the Viking Age, more permanent exchange networks were established. The developments in the appropriation and use of imported objects also illustrate a cultural and ideological assimilation between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe in this period. equipment costume gives an extended insight into change processes Sammendrag norsk: Vikingtiden kjennetegnes blant annet av en økt kontakt mellom Skandinavia og De britiske øyer, kontinentet, Russland og Baltikum. De mange importerte gjenstandene som er funnet i Skandinavia vitner om denne utviklingen. Et flertall av de bevarte importgjenstandene ble benyttet som draktutsmykning. Dette omfattet både gjenstander som opprinnelig var produsert som draktutstyr og gjenstander med andre funksjoner som ble omarbeidet til draktutstyr i Skandinavia. Importgjenstandene ble innlemmet i eksisterende materielle og kulturelle praksiser. Appropriasjonen av import innebar både morfologiske og funksjonelle endringer av gjenstandene og transformasjoner av gjenstandene som meningsbærende objekter. I avhandlingen blir ulike aspekter av disse transformasjonsprosessene diskutert. Gjennom å studere materialet fra ulike metodiske og teoretiske perspektiver etterstrebes det en helhetlig forståelse av innlemmelsen, bruken og betydningen av disse gjenstandene. Innlemmelse av importgjenstander i draktutstyret kan ses på som en kulturelt, sosialt og ideologisk situert praksis som reflekterer aspekter av forholdet mellom Skandinavia og gjenstandenes opprinnelsessteder. Gjennom hele periode representerte importgjenstandene en form for materialisert prestisje hvis betydning var forankret i det norrøne verdensbildet. Analysen av omforming og bruk av importert draktutstyr gir også en utvidet innsikt i endringsprosessene i vikingtid. Den økende tendensen til akkumulering av import i graver og depoter fra midten av 800-tallet reflekterer en større stabilitet i utenlandsforbindelsene gjennom at enkelte aktører, ætter eller grupper etablerer mer varige utvekslingsnettverk. Utviklingen i omforming og bruk av importerte gjenstander viser også en kulturell og ideologisk tilnærming mellom Skandinavia og utlandet i løpet av vikingtiden.

Viking Age Archaeology, Vikings in the North Atlantic, Viking Age Scandinavia, Viking Age Scandinavia and the North Atlantic, and Material Culture of the Viking age

More Info: Ph.d theses in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo

Publisher: Universitetet i Oslo

Publication Date: 2015

Archaeology, Viking Studies, Viking Age Archaeology, Conferences, Viking Age, and 1 more