Thousands of objects discovered in Scandinavia's first Viking city

Phys dot org ^ | September 13, 2018 | Soren M. Sindbaek for ScienceNordic

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeologists from Aarhus University and Southwest Jutland Museums (Denmark) have been excavating... down to three metres... Thousands of items discovered beneath the streets of Ribe... everything from beads, amulets, coins, and lost combs, to dog excrement and gnawed bones... a piece of a lyre (a harp-like stringed instrument), complete with tuning pegs. This discovery alone gives the Viking trading city of Ribe a whole new soundtrack.Another extraordinary find is the discovery of runic inscriptions...The people who lived here weren't primarily farmers for household purposes but were craftsmen, seafarers, tradesmen, innkeepers, and maybe even lyrists...The early period of Ribe is a riddle: How was the city established in a part of the world where no one had ever lived in a city before? That is the question our excavation tried to answer. Clues from earlier excavations were difficult to interpret, and scientists discussed whether Ribe was simply a seasonal market town for generations before people started to settle there more permanently.

[SunkenCiv]

The bead-makers of 8th century Ribe used pieces of glass gathered from old Roman mosaics as their raw material. They didn’t have access to newly manufactured glass. This is one of the many details that tells us about the city’s network. Credit: Museum of Southwest Jutland

[SunkenCiv]

Analysis of the glass used by the bead makers shows that the glass originated in Palestine and Egypt. However, it was already several centuries old when it arrived in Ribe and so it must have been taken from old Roman mosaics, probably in Roman cities such as Cologne or Trier.

Nope:

• Report: Ancient Roman graveyard found in suburban Copenhagen [2007]
• Bone trove in Denmark tells story of 'Barbarian' battle [2018]
• Roman drunkard found on Danish island [2015]
• New finds suggest Romans won big North Germany battle [ Maximinus Thrax ] [2010]
• Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany [2014]
• Archaeologist: We have evidence of the presence of Roman legionaries in Poland [2018]
• Crystal Amulet Poses Question On Early Christianity (Denmark - 100AD) [2007]
• Graves Hint At Contact With Romans (Sweden) [2006]
• Buddha statue from 6th c found in Viking hoard in Helgo, Sweden [2005]
• Treasure trove reveals Iron Age town [Sweden] [2013]
• New Iron Age Sites Discovered in Finland [Roman era] [2014]

[BenLurkin]

Very cool.

“Analysis of the glass used by the bead makers shows that the glass originated in Palestine and Egypt. However, it was already several centuries old when it arrived in Ribe and so it must have been taken from old Roman mosaics, probably in Roman cities such as Cologne or Trier.

“We also found a roman carnelian gemstone decorated with the picture of Venus, which had been forcibly removed from the gold ring it must have decorated.

“Apparently, the gemstone was of no interest in Ribe. But the gold was. The raw material of the first goldsmiths in Ribe was very likely comprised of objects like these looted from Roman graves.”

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-09-thousands-scandinavia-viking-city.html#jCp

[pepsi_junkie]

This period, a couple of centuries after the fall of the western Roman empire, presents an interesting situation for those living in it. They lived in a world of small, wooden structures. Yet all around are still examples standing of magnificent architectural and artistic achievements by the Romans, achievements they cannot hope to duplicate. Massive aqueducts, domed temples, impossibly straight roads stretching to the horizon, intricate mosaics and paintings in vibrant colors. So many things. What must they thought of the people who had created them? That they were they a race of gods? I don’t think they thought that but it must have seemed as if they were magical somehow. On the one hand, it must have been awe inspiring to walk into a place like London and see still intact Roman walls and villas, yet at the same time must have been a bit of a bummer to know that they were crumbling and your civilization lacked to skills to even maintain what your ancestors built.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Are you aware of the viking archeology blog?

http://viking-archaeology-blog.blogspot.com/

(A little slow right now. It’ll pick up again soon.)

And please help yourself here. FREE Viking Stuff.

My 3 Volume Alternate History Viking High Adventure Series

Yours for the taking. No lists, no money, No nothing but FREE. Here’s the download links for all 3 of them.

http://wulfanson.blogspot.com/2017/05/viking-hunter-heroic-fantasy-trilogy_17.html

Available in .mobi or .epub formats. (.mobi should DL right into your Kindle reader pgm.)

[Hugin]

Yep. Much like the Myans after the fall of their classical civilization. In some cases they tried to put monuments back together but put the stones upside down because nobody knew how to read the writing any longer.

[Rockingham]

This dig is apparently using painstaking new methods of excavation and analysis to wring greater information out of the dig. As these methods spread through the profession, we can expect a wave of new insights about the past.

[Monkey Face]

*mouth open in awe*

This stuff makes a very good breakfast! Thanks!

:o]

‘Face

[ExGeeEye]

Someone paid the Iron Price.

[barbarianbabs]

Uffda

[Chewbarkah]

Sort of a Detroit situation.

[bgill]

Sure, first Viking city... until they find the next first city.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

Thanks, SunkenCiv!

[Chode]

a couple good reads by a guy i know... Robert J. Mrazek

Valhalla, a contemporary thriller involving the discovery of an ancient Viking ship and its crew beneath the Greenland Ice Cap, was published by Penguin/Random House in 2014.

The Bone Hunters, the sequel to Valhalla, also published by Penguin/Random House in 2014, tells the story of the search for the legendary fossil, Peking Man, which disappeared during the Japanese occupation of Peking in December, 1941, and has never been found.

[colorado tanker]

Ribe was the seat of the first Christian bishop in Scandinavia. It appears the Christian community coexisted with the Vikings while they were still pagans.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks all!

[Chode]

good stuff

[Monkey Face]

Ditto that!

Hi, Chode!

:o]

‘Face

[Chode]

hi doll... how ya doin