Revealing the invisible dead: integrating bio-geoarchaeological approaches in an apparently "empty" Viking-Age equestrian burial

Conference 26 - 27 May 2022 Microarchaeology: making visible the invisible archaeological record through high-resolution integrated approaches Coordination: Marta Portillo (IMF-CSIC), Aroa García-Suárez (IMF-CSIC), Juan Francisco Gibaja (EEHAR-CSIC) & Antonio Pizzo (EEHAR-CSIC)In 2017, a team of archaeologists and specialists investigated the apparently empty and partly disturbed Viking-Age equestrian burial of Fregerslev II, Denmark. This did not only provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to excavate such an elite grave, now with much more modern techniques than during earlier excavations of similar graves, but also to develop a novel multi-scale and multi-method analysis of burial and post-burial processes. To overcome the limitations of poor preservation and the lack of a clear macrostratigraphic sequence, multi-proxy analyses of organic and inorganic materials were combined to study the burial and its spatial organization as well as post-depositional processes. Techniques applied includedsoil chemistry (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry - ICPMS, portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer - pXRF), soil micromorphology, analysis of faecal lipid biomarkers and analysis of wood, botanical macroremains, phytoliths, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs. This presentation will present the highlights of the results of the various analyses, showing the potential and relevance of integrating high-resolution approaches for the analysis of poorly preserved burial contexts

Crossing the Maelstrom: New Departures in Viking Archaeology

Abstract This paper reviews the achievements and challenges of archaeological research on Viking Age northern Europe and explores potential avenues for future research. We identify the reemergence of comparative and cross-cultural perspectives along with a turn toward studying mobility and maritime expansion, fueled by the introduction of biomolecular and isotopic data. The study of identity has seen a shift from a focus on collective beliefs and ritual to issues of personal identity and presentation, with a corresponding shift in attention to individual burials and the “animated objects.” Network ontologies have brought new perspectives on the emergence of sea trade and urban nodes and to the significance of outfield production and resources. Field archaeology has seen an emphasis on elite manors, feasting halls, and monuments, as well as military sites and thing assembly places, using new data from remote sensing, geophysical surveys, geoarchaeology, and metal detectors. Concerns over current climate change have placed the study of environment as a key priority, in particular in the ecologically vulnerable North Atlantic settlements. Discussing future directions, we call for alignment between societal/economic and individual/cultural perspectives, and for more ethically grounded research. We point to diaspora theory and intersectionality as frameworks with the potential to integrate genomics, identity, and society, and to ecology as a framework for integrating landscape, mobility, and political power