In this episode, John and Andy sit down (virtually) with Dana Dalicsek to talk about sailing in the Viking Age, life onboard a ship, and the methodologies of modern maritime archaeologists who dive deep beneath the ocean’s surface to excavate and study the shipwrecks the Vikings left behind. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Music Credits
Opening song – Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur
Outro – Ólafur Liljurós
What happens when a few 19th century scholars, a baking powder magnate, a transcendental poet, and a pair of Norwegian archaeologist explorers start looking for the real site of Vinland? John and Andy spoke at Bridgewater State University and the Scandinavian Cultural Center in West Newton, MA to answer that question. In this live episode, we review the Vinland sagas and then explore the efforts of prominent 19th century gentlemen to locate Vinland in the Boston area. If you’ve never visited Norumbega Tower, Dighton Rock, or “Krossanes beach” in Duxbury, you’ll want to after this.
Our thanks to Bridgewater State University’s English department for helping Andy travel from Oxford, Mississippi. And to the Scandinavian Cultural Center in West Newton, MA for hosting this live event.
The presentation we used and some photos we took follow:
Music Credits
Opening song – Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur
Outro – Ólafur Liljurós
In this episode, we finally put Egil Skallagrimsson to rest. But before he goes, Egil still has a few tricks up his gold-embroidered sleeve. He’s got plans for those two chests of silver given to him by King Athelstan of England. Then, after shuffling off this mortal coil, Egil’s bones leave a lasting legacy that has people of the 12th century and modern archaeologists, physicians, and medievalists talking. We discuss those bones and the now popular theory that Egil may have suffered from Paget’s Disease of the Bone. John the possibility of Egil’s impairment from a disability studies perspective and even makes a noteworthy addition to the theory. Andy remains skeptical of a diagnosis based on a 13th century literary character and the reported assumptions of 12th century Icelanders after finding some bones they thought a bit odd looking. Finally, in true saga fashion, we take a brief look at Egil’s descendants. They’re a worthy bunch who leave their mark on medieval Iceland’s history.
If you’re interested in reading more about Egil and Paget’s Disease, we recommend the following open access articles:
“Egill Skallagrímsson: The first case of Van Buchem disease?” by P Stride
Music Credits:
Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Review Music – “Pepper Pot One Step” by National Promenade Band
Poetry Music – “Valravn” by Danheim
Outro Music – “Stormfront” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Selections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
In this special episode of Saga Thing, John sits down with Cat Jarman, bio-archaeologist at University of Bristol, for a Saga Brief about the Viking burials near Wystan’s church at Repton in Derbyshire. The graves, containing roughly 300 individuals, have long been associated with the Viking Great Army that wintered in Repton in AD 873-74. While radiocarbon dating should have confirmed that link between these graves and the 9th century Viking invaders, results from select skeletons have been frustratingly inconsistent. That’s where Dr. Jarman and her colleagues come in. Find out how Dr. Jarman helped to resolve the problem by taking into account the “marine reservoir effect.”
You can read Dr. Jarman’s article “The Viking Great Army in England: New Dates from the Repton Charnel” in Antiquity vol. 92, no. 361, pp. 183-199.
Antiquity is an open access journal, so everyone can read this one.
Also check out these sites recommended by Dr. Jarman:
lidarfinder.com – This site lets you explore Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) images of England.
finds.org.uk – The Portable Antiquities Scheme website. You can search the database there for artifacts, Viking or otherwise, found by amateur archaeologists and detectorists.
Music Credits:
Opening song – “Rúnatal” by An Danzza
Introduction – from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur
Neil Price’s Reconstruction of Birka Bj 581
Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson is a researcher in the department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University in Sweden. You might recognize her name as the lead author of the recent article, “A Female Viking Warrior Confirmed by Genomics,” which identified the famous Birka warrior of grave Bj 581 as a woman. It’s no surprise that this revelation attracted a lot of attention from both scholars and fans of the Viking Age. In this special Saga Brief, Andy sits down to talk with Dr. Hedenstierna-Jonson about medieval Birka, grave Bj 581, and the exciting implications of this revelation.
Download this episode (right click and save)
Music Credits:
Opening song – “Rúnatal” by An Danzza
Introduction – from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur
Saga Thing 