När vikingatiden kommer på tal, leds tankarna ofta osökt till Birka. För även om Birka låg på en ö i Mälaren, så var det allt annat än isolerat. Istället ingick Birka i ett komplext nätverk som täckte såväl nära bygder som fjärran stränder. Därav följer att nyckeln till vår förståelse av Mälardalens vikingatid ofta finns i Birka. Men även det motsatta gäller, och ibland behöver arkeologer titta åt andra håll för att uppnå en bättre förståelse av Birka. Detta ömsesidiga förhållande ska illustreras med hjälp av ett båtgravsfynd från Turinge i Södermanland. / <p>Övriga forskningsfinansiärer:</p><p>Berit Wallenbergs stiftelse ("Transformationer inom vikingatidens djurornamentik"), Helge Ax:son Jonsons stiftelse ("3D-laserskanning som verktyg vid vikingatidsstudier")</p> / En förlorad värld? - Turinge re-visited / 3D-laserskanning som verktyg vid vikingatidsstudier / Transformationer inom vikingatidens djurornamentik

13 individuals from the Viking Age trading place in Fröjel, Gotland, were examined for this thesis. The aim was to gain a deeper knowledge about the individuals, and the main focus was to study their health. Three men, eight women and two children were examined. The age of the two children was estimated to around birth, and was no longer relevant for this thesis. The age distribution showed that two individuals were young (10-24 years), seven individuals were adults (18-44 years) and two individuals were middle-aged or older (35-79 years). The estimated height of the individuals was a little bit greater than the average for this time period. Various pathologies were observed during the analysis, for example osteoarthritis, Schmorl’s nodes and osteomyelitis. Dental diseases such as caries, calculus and periapical changes were also present. Nine of the eleven adults were tested for osteoporosis, all with good results. Traces of activity were seen in some of the individuals. Fractures were observed and X-rayed, and some of them showed traces of infections. One individual, the man in grave 03504, showed trauma related to violence. Over all, the results from the material from Fröjel were expected, and similar changes can be observed in material from the same era, as Birka and Fjälkinge, and from the early medieval towns Lund and Skara.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed 7 May 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Centre for Medieval Studies, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2004; thesis submitted 2003. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Ridanäs was an important port of trade on the island of Gotland, Sweden, in use during the 7-11th centuries, AD. Excavations have revealed the presence of two Viking Age (800-1070 AD) graveyards containing over 80 individuals. This study examined the remains of 60 of these individuals buried in the Viking graveyards. Strontium isotope analysis was used to determine whether they were local or non-local to the trading port. It was hypothesized that the Ridanäs population would consist of locals and non-locals who came to Gotland to take advantage of its successful trade economy. 13 archaeological fauna samples were analyzed in order to define the local bioavailable strontium isotope baseline range. Results showed that only 4 of the 60 individuals were non-local to Gotland, indicating that non-locals did not seek long-term residency at this port of trade.

This essay discusses the roles of women from different perspectives during the Viking Age. It will show the strong and powerful women but also the unfortunate ones and women in their everyday life. The issue of the strong cementation of the Viking Age and the Viking age men and women that was made by the archeologists, the scientists and the writers in the 19th century will follow through this essay. The material used for this study is mainly literary sources that focus on the Viking age society. The geographic places, and the archaeological material that I focus on, is from East Blekinge, Köpingsvik on Öland and in Hedeby in Denmark/Germany.

No

In The Battle of Maldon, the valor of the English who fight is never in question. The infamy of the cowards who flee is evident. The way the poet views the Vikings, however, is slightly less obvious. The poet treats all characters who act within the contract of battle with a sort of biased equanimity—of course, the English are portrayed as more heroic and sympathetic, but the Vikings are referred to in a practical manner as seafarers or warriors. It is my contention that the Maldon poet treats the Vikings as natural parts of the battlefield, as if they had their own maxim pairing and were acting according to expectation. By defining how maxims function in the Old English corpus, illustrating the prevalence of Viking violence leading up to the battle, and presenting literary evidence of a Viking maxim in Maldon and The Battle of Brunanburh, I will define what I believe to be the integral parts of the "Viking maxim" and clarify how its presence in The Battle of Maldon informs the poem overall. / Master of Arts

The study's problem was whether five major newspapers that covered Viking produced informative, educational, interpretive, and credible stories. Indexed, microfilmed articles from January, 1975, to November, 1976, were analyzed. Conclusions: no newspaper gave the landings the greatest percentage of coverage; every newspaper devoted the largest percentage of coverage to interpretation; science writers used analogy most often; adequate explanations of Viking's implications were not found; four of five newspapers had more references to named than unnamed sources; only two newspapers utilized their staffs more than outside sources. Recommendations: covering a science event should be planned to include preliminary coverage, follow-up, and analysis; writers must interpret the facts, use educational writing techniques, explain implications, and have specific attribution; newspapers should assess their capabilities for science coverage.

Three-dimensional (3D) laser scanners are becoming increasingly more affordable and user-friendly, making 3D-modeling tools more widely available to researchers in various countries and disciplines. In archaeology, 3D-modeling has the particular advantages of facilitating the documentation and analysis of objects that are fragile, rare, and often difficult to access. We have previously shown that 3D-modeling is a highly useful tool for shape analysis of archaeological bone material, due to the high measurement accuracy inherent in the latest generation of 3D laser scanners (Sholts et al. 2010; 2011). In this work, we explore the utility of 3D-modeling as a tool for Viking Age artefact analysis. To test the usefulness of 3D-modeling when analyzing artefacts with a very complex morphology, we chose highly ornate Viking Age baroque shaped brooches as study objects. These baroque shaped brooches constitute a group of dress ornaments mainly encountered in eastern Viking Age Scandinavia. Due to their large cast and/or attached bosses they obtain an almost baroque appearance, hence their name (cf. Jansson 1984: p. 81). They appear in two major versions, i.e. circular or equal armed, and in two kinds of material, i.e. silver- and copper-based alloys. Because of the position of bronze brooches in burial contexts, it appears they were used to fasten the cape or shawl in the female dress (cf. Jansson 1984: p. 75ff., Aagård 1984: p. 96ff.; Neiß 2006, figs. 3, 4; Capelle 1962: p. 106). For the present work a recently excavated brooch from Denmark was analyzed, together with three Russian brooches with nearly iconic status in the field of Viking Age studies. In the three case studies, we investigated possible uses of 3D-modeling for artefact analysis, artefact reconstruction, and tool mark and motif analysis. Exploring the usefulness of 3D-modeling for these purposes allowed us to draw conclusions regarding how 3D-analysis can be best incorporated into future artefact analysis. In addition, the case studies allowed us to gain new insights about the baroque shaped brooches and their uses. / <p>Forskningsfinansiärer: Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse, Svenska institutet (Visby-programmet), Kungliga vitterhets historie och antikvitets akademin (Montelius minnesfond); Svenska fornminnesforeningen</p> / 3D-laserskanning som verktyg vid vikingatidsstudier

Ce travail offre une révision sociohistorique du processus de formation étatique fondé sur les prémisses du marxisme politique. C'est une relecture des thèses de Robert Brenner et sa théorie des relations sociales de propriété (TRSP) permettant de résoudre les limites internalistes de son approche. Inspiré des travaux de Benno Teschke et de Justin Rosenberg, ce travail élargit le spectre analytique de la TRSP à l'égard des régimes d'appropriation politique. Le concept d'hybridité interactive y est élaboré de manière à attribuer à la médiation géopolitique un rôle causal central dans le procès de formation de l'État. À la différence de Teschke et de Rosenberg, le concept positionne ce processus dans une perspective interrégionale plutôt qu'internationale, une subtilité analytique primordiale dans l'analyse historique de régimes prénationaux. Il permet ainsi de considérer la limite typifiante d'une conceptualisation sous forme de régimes d'appropriation et de souligner la diversité qualitative des régimes d'accumulations politiques. Empiriquement, ce travail extirpe le contexte de formation étatique de l'Angleterre de l'analyse strictement centrée sur la relation anglo-normande - à l'issue de l'invasion normande de l'île en 1066 -. L'unicité politique de l'Angleterre est plutôt resituée dans une perspective régionale, un point démontré par l'entremise d'une analyse de l'impact géopolitique des invasions vikings sur le processus de formation étatique en Angleterre entre le 9e et 11e siècle. Il est postulé ici que les stratégies d'accumulations scandinaves, avec ses expéditions vikings en Europe, ont eu un impact nécessaire sur la trajectoire de développement étatique anglais. Sans les multiples débalancements des relations sociales que leur présence a provoqués en Angleterre, l'invasion normande subséquente n'aurait pas pu avoir un effet politique aussi centralisateur. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : sociologie historique, marxisme, accumulation politique, État, féodalisme, viking, Angleterre, Danelaw, Scandinavie, international, capitalisme