Kulturelle forskelle, sociale netværk og regionalitet i vikingetidens arkæologi

Cultural difference, social networks and regionality in Viking-period archaeology By Søren M. Sindbæk This study surveys the wealth and diversity of archaeological material which has come to light in recent decades in Denmark and neighbouring lands. It shows that prominent cultural differences between regions can be identified in this area in the Viking Period. Interpreting these differences in terms of identities, communications and social networks, it is argued that the most significant factor in forming cultural differences was not tribal grouping, resulting from barriers to contact or deliberate separation, but the impact of the gravitational fields of the most significant recurrent communicative events in Viking-Age Scandinavia: regional assemblies or thing-moots. Such occasions, at which large groups of people met with peers of their region, gave rise to shared cultural norms that were reflected in aspects of material culture. No distinctive feature of material culture can be identified whose distribution coincides even roughly with the extent of the medieval Danish kingdom. This does not imply that a common kingdom did not exist; rather that the network holding it together was constituted differently from those which sustained its provinces. There was no common assembly for the entire kingdom and thus no series of focal events to support the dissemination of common culture. As a concept and a political dominion ‘Denmark’ existed in some form throughout the Viking Age. But for most people within Denmark it meant a relatively distant and faint association compared with those within the districts or ‘lands’ where people met regularly

Historisk regionalitet på tværs af faggrænser

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Nye fund af runer i Ribe

The article deals with the excavated finds of runic inscriptions in Ribe, during the campaigns in 2017–18. The fragment of a supposed bone plate is carved with runes on one side, whereas a fragmented antler comb is carved with runes on both sides. The bone plate dates to the mid- or late nineth century, whereas the comb has a slightly earlier date to the first half of the nineth century. Suggestions for readings and interpretations of the inscriptions are put forward as well as discussions of the linguistic stage of the texts. Of special interest is the word kąbaʀ, Old Danish kambr, which includes either an epenthetic vowel or a preserved stem vowel. On the basis of linguistic analyses and contemporary Danish finds, it is argued that the inscription contains an epenthetic vowel. Finally, the inscriptions are discussed in relation to the distribution of runic inscriptions in early town environments

Population genomics of the Viking world.

The maritime expansion of Scandinavian populations during the Viking Age (about AD 750-1050) was a far-flung transformation in world history1,2. Here we sequenced the genomes of 442 humans from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland (to a median depth of about 1×) to understand the global influence of this expansion. We find the Viking period involved gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east. We observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, with diversity hotspots in the south and restricted gene flow within Scandinavia. We find evidence for a major influx of Danish ancestry into England; a Swedish influx into the Baltic; and Norwegian influx into Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial ancestry from elsewhere in Europe entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Our ancient DNA analysis also revealed that a Viking expedition included close family members. By comparing with modern populations, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the past millennium, and trace positively selected loci-including the lactase-persistence allele of LCT and alleles of ANKA that are associated with the immune response-in detail. We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial transregional engagement: distinct populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, and Scandinavia experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent

Making Place for a Viking Fortress. An archaeological and geophysical reassessment of Aggersborg, Denmark

This article revisits the archaeology of the Viking-age settlement and ring fortress at Aggersborg, Denmark, based on a large-scale geophysical survey using magnetic gradiometry and ground-penetrating radar, as well as legacy excavation data. Late 10th-century Aggersborg, the largest known fortress in Viking-age Scandinavia, commanded a key position at the narrow strait of the Limfjord, a principal sailing route between the Baltic and the North Sea. Previous excavations established that this location was on the site of an earlier settlement, which was burned-down prior to the construction of the fortress. The character and extent of this prior activity, however, have hitherto remained ill-defined. The geophysical survey identifies previously unknown elements of the fortress structures and elucidates the extent and character of the earlier settlement. The analysis is combined with a comprehensive reconsideration of primary data from early excavations, and demonstrates how this evidence can guide the interpretation of geophysical data to yield a detailed reassessment of spatial structure, and even suggest chronological phasing. The excavation trenches show dense traces of occupation with a large number of sunken-featured buildings (SFBs). Anomalies consistent with similar features are mapped in the geophysical surveys, and their distribution is shown to complement results from the excavations, demonstrating the important contribution of non-invasive survey to our knowledge of scheduled monuments. The surveys suggest that the total number of SFBs may be as high as 350, equal to or exceeding the largest number of such buildings previously identified at any site in Scandinavia. The ring fortress, by implication, must have replaced a site of particular function or importance, albeit of a very different organisation. An interpretation of the communication landscape is combined with a visibility analysis to argue that the long-term significance of the site relates to the potential of the location as a central place. These new observations transform understanding of a key site in Viking-age archaeology, and of the choice of location and the purpose behind the exceptional fortress. They offer a case for a reassessment of the much-discussed group of so-called ‘Trelleborg’ fortresses, thus adding new substance to models for understanding the political and tactical role of fortified places in Early Medieval Europe