viking heritage magazine 1-05

V king HeritageV king Heritage

1/20051/2005

magazine

DESTINATIONVIKING Hgskolan p Gotland

Gotland University

www.hgo.se/viking 2

Viking Heritage Magazine 1/05

The coward believes he will live forever

If he holds back in the battle

But in old age he shall have no peace

Though spears have spared his limbs.

From Hvmal(Words from The High One)

AAbboouutt tthhee ffrroonntt ppaaggee

The reconstructed boathouse at Avaldsnes on the island of Karmy, Norway. Read more about it on page 37. Photo Karl Johan Gundersen.

Drawing by Lou Harrison, tthhuunnddeerrhheeaarrttssttuuddiiooss@@yyaahhoooo..ddkk

EditorialRECONSTRUCTION of pre-historic remains is always a hot topic with variousangles of approach being put forward. Several articles in this issue continuethis interesting discussion.

Lets start with the very special reconstruction of the boathouse atAvaldsnes in Norway, see photo on the front page. The discovery of theexceptional remains of a Viking-age boathouse in 1990 opened up a newdiscussion concerning prehistoric boathouses. Here two articles allow youto follow the reconstruction process and the thinking behind it.

A Viking-age boathouse needs Viking ships! This time we are glad to beable to treat you with two stories of two famous Viking ships namelyslendingur and Havhingsten fra Glendaloug. slendingur is the replica ofthe Gokstad ship that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to North America inthe year 2000, and now the captain let us take part in that voyage. Readalso some personal impressions from the launch of Havhingsten in Roskildelast September.

Closly related to reconstruction is experimental archaeology, which is anacademic "hands-on" method used especially to find out more about howobjects were produced in ancient times. New research regarding Viking-agetechniques of bronze-casting has lately been realized in Denmark. We arevery proud to be the first to publish the results of these experiments.

So questions concerning quality, authenticity and purpose are mostimportant when it comes to re-creating and displaying prehistoric objectsand facts. And Viking Heritage Magazine will continue to cover this themein issues to come.

I wish you all an enjoyable read!

MMaarriittaa EE EEkkmmaannEditor

Email: [email protected]

MIL

J

M

RK

T

34

14

87

TR

YK

SA

K

GO

DR

ING

S T

RYC

KER

I,Vis

by 2

004

IN THIS ISSUEThe Building of a Boathouseat Avaldsnes on Karmy 3355

Reconstruction of a Viking-age Boathouse on the island of Karmy 6677

CastingTrefoil Brooches 881133

The Gotlandic Althing and theCistercian monastery in Roma 11441177

The history that disappeared 11771199

HHEERRIITTAAGGEE BBOOOOKKSS 1199,, 22993300,, 33333355

Braslav Lake District in the Viking epoch 22002211

DDEESSTTIINNAATTIIOONN VVIIKKIINNGG

Vikings join in Iron-ageChieftains Feast 22222233

The Viking Ship Icelander 22442277

The Viking Age which period are we referring to? 22882299

Living Vikings join other Living History museums in a new liveARCH project 3300

The Launch of the Viking Longship Havhingsten fraGlendalough at Roskilde in Denmark on Sept 4, 2004 33113333

HHEERRIITTAAGGEE NNEEWWSS 33663399

Heritage News

PlanningIn connection with, and as partof the Viking farm at Avaldsnes,it was decided that theboathouse from Rennesyshould be reconstructed andplaced on the shoreline adjacentto the farm.

An archaeologist and buildingengineer, Jochen Komber, whoworked at the Archaeological Museum inStavanger at the time, was engaged tobegin planning and drawing thereconstruction.

3 www.hgo.se/viking

The original boathouseThe original boathouse was discoveredduring construction work at Rennesy inRogaland.

The area consisted of two banks notseen so easily on a grassy plain some2,53 m above sea level. In 1991 aninvestigation was carried out reaching theconclusion that this was the remains of aboathouse dated to between 10301220.Evidence pointed to this being aboathouse constructed to hold a largewarship, part of a nationwide defence ofthe coast.

Jochen is an experienced archaeologistspecialising in building construction, andhas a long history of both working withand drawing plans for several buildingsfrom the Viking period in Scandinavia.

This project was exciting, as it wouldincorporate several groundbreakingbuilding techniques. A row of angledposts on the outside of the building wereto be used as roof timbers giving thebuilding the very special form of aninverted boat hull, and this is in fact theimage which is experienced when seeingthe building for the first time.

Building responsibility Once the plans were ready, the projectwas presented to four constructioncompanies who then discussed variousmethods of construction based upon thesedrawings. The Didrik Heried buildingcompany, certified by the Norwegian

Viking Heritage Magazine 1/05DESTINATIONVIKING

The Building ofa Boathouse at

Avaldsneson Karmy

Text and photos:

Karl Johan Gundersen and Andrew Peter

De-Martine

In the waters between Karmy and the mainland ofwestern Norway lies a small island. Over the past eightyears, a Viking farm has been reconstructed here atAvaldsnes comprising a collection of buildings from theViking Age. During 2004 a new reconstruction hasemerged; a large boathouse some 32 by 15 meters nowstands finished by the sea.

Map of Karmy

Map of Scandinavia

Model of theboathouse.

www.hgo.se/viking 4

Riksantikvar (Central Board of NationalAntiquities), was given the project and sothe building could commence.

The first job was to construct a scalemodel, which would help with thebuilding process.

The first part of the constructionprocess was carried out at the firms ownsite. This was then taken apart andtransported to the island by boat. Thismethod saved a good deal of time andexpense during the project.

At several points during the project,meetings were held to discuss details ofthe process as there was a great deal ofpressure to construct a building asauthentic as possible.

Tours were made to several oldbuildings in West Norway to studytechniques and methods that could helpin the project.

In the beginning it was decided thatthe roof timbers should be curved prior toassembly. This was to be achieved bysteam bending.

The process was discussed at length,and eventually it was decided that itwould be both too time-consuming andexpensive. The final decision was taken touse thin trunks of straight grown pine,which were left round in section and bentinto shape with ropes.

This method proved to be successfulwith the result that only two of the trunkssnapped during the process. We did not

achieve the degree of curvature that wasplanned in fact, although the end resultwas satisfactory.

The sections were then anchored toeach other using wooden plugs.

RoofThe roof is covered with horizontal planksof pine, the evidence of this techniquebeing the roofs of old Norwegian stave

churches. On these the first roofing layeris constructed this way and there isevidence that this was indeed the originalouter roofing of these buildings.

The planks overlap one another andare secured with galvanised boat nails.Here we could have used handmade nailsbut, again, the cost would have beenexcessive.

The underside of these planks had their

Viking Heritage Magazine 1/05 D E S T I N AT I O NVIKING

The roof planks overlap each other and are secured with large boatnails.

The doors are to small to allow a largeship to enter, but the entire front can be

removed to let the ship in.

The rafters were bent using ropes.

5 www.hgo.se/viking

growth wood removed so that only theheartwood would be exposed to theelements.

Between the planks and joins, a strip offelt was inserted, which had been dippedin tar to ensure a watertight join. Thelengthwise joins of these planks were sawnat an angle in two planes. This was amethod we found used in a medievalchurch in Hordaland. Finally the buildingis treated with a coat of tar, a well-knownancient technique for both roofs andwalls.

At ground level a row of stones werelaid out vertically, the reason being that agreat deal of water gathers at this pointand this will greatly increase the life of thebuilding.

UsageNow the building stands finished we canlook forward to using it. To date we haveno Viking ship to fill this space, but thismay change in the not-to-distant future.As of today, we are in possession of areconstruction of the largest of theGokstad ship follow-boats, and this willoccupy the building during the winter.

The entrance doors were originallyplanned to be large enough to allow alarge ship to enter, but later this wasredesigned and now it is possible to

remove the entire front of the building toallow access for a large Gokstad-size ship.

The buildings primary use will bearranging events like Viking banquets andother activities such as exhibitions andconcerts. The building has great potentialwith a calculated seating capacity ofaround 250.

A modern kitchen has been installed atone end of the building ensuring thatmodern food and hygiene regulations canbe observed and followed.

AdjustmentsThere have been some variations inconstruction that do not follow traditionalmethods from the Viking period. Forexample the posts of the building werenot dug into the ground as was theoriginal. This was done to combat theproblem of the posts rotting. The areaaround this building is constantly wet as itlies barely above sea level.

As an alternative they were placed onlarge stones, however this is hidden in thefinal construction and thus not

detrimental to the aesthetics of theconstruction.

The decision was also taken, onfinancial grounds, not to axe the surfacesof the roof planks again. The planks wereused as delivered, with a rough sawnfinish.

Under the wooden floor at either sideof the building, a metal pipe system hasbeen installed. This will be connected to asmaller building, which will house a diesel-burning heating unit with the capacity todeliver around 80kw of warm air into thebuilding. This has been installed to allowfor a greater use of the building duringthe autumn and winter months.

At the north end of the building wehave chosen to install a modern kitchen.This is hidden from the main hall by awall, and is of course necessary in abuilding, which is to have the possibilityof serving food. Being self-contained fromthe main hall will make the life of boththe cooks and serving staff much easier.


The northend of theboathousehas a smallextensionaccordingto theexcavationreports.

TheAvaldsnesViking-agefarmsteadwith theboathouseseen fromabove.TThhee rreeccoonnssttrruucctteedd VViikkiinngg--aaggee

ffaarrmmsstteeaadd aatt AAvvaallddssnneess is an open-airmuseum situated in the municipalityof Karmy on the southwest coast ofNorway. The farmstead consists of adwelling house, two pit houses, aroundhouse, a cook-house, a hall, aboathouse, a service building andother smaller sheds and storagebuildings.

The farm is situated in an areawith many archaeological remains. Wealso have a new history centre nearbywhich is to be opened in April 05.

Activities for all ages focus onschool classes and are aimed atbringing pre-history to life. The Vikingfarm at Avaldsnes is operated andfinanced by the municipality ofKarmy.

For further information:Karl Johan GundersenVikinggardenPostboks 10244294 Kopervikwww.vikinggarden.noE-mail:[email protected]

www.hgo.se/viking 6

IntroductionIn 1990 remains of a boathouse werefound on the island of Rennesy close tothe city of Stavanger in Norway.According to datings this boathouse hadbeen in use during the Viking Age and inearly medieval times. Its ground planshowed a surprising interestingfeature.This was the first time that outerbuttresses were reported from an Iron-ageboathouse in Norway.

This discovery opened up a newdiscussion of the problems ofreconstruction of prehistoric boathousesin general. Considering the shape ofknown prehistoric Iron-age boats,transverse beams connecting andstabilizing the construction from theinside could not have been used.

The roofSome boathouse digs reported two rows ofinner roof-bearing posts, but these at adistance of up to between 5 and 6 meters,which was quite a lot for a three-aisledbuilding from that period.

In most cases roof-bearing posts wereabsent and the roof was assumed to havebeen held up by only the outer walls.Therefore, the Iron-age boathouses were

generally assumed to have beenconstructed with a simple rafter roofwithout any transverse beams.

The main problem in this respect,however, is or was how we (or the Iron-age architects) could handle the enormouslateral forces at the lower end of the roof.

Excavations of several Iron-ageboathouses revealed up to two-meter-thickearthen walls outside the outer walls.There is a certain possibility that thepressure from the roof was transferred tothese earthen walls, either by the roofresting directly on these walls, or by theroof resting on wooden walls which intheir turn leaned against these earthenwalls. In either case, the earthen walls hadto be considered as necessary staticelements in boathouse construction.

This is a rather primitive constructionconsidering the level of craftmanshipreported from other archaeological dataand it is also contradictory to the generalassumption that the Iron-age buildings inScandinavia were purely wooden buildingswhich in themselves were statically stable.

All outer walls, whether built of stone,turf or earth were interpreted as beingpurely elements of insulation and wereassumed not to have had any static

purpose whatsoever. In this view theconstruction of prehistoric boathousesremained a mystery.

A stable constructionIn view of the results of the Rennesy dig,we could solve the problem ofreconstruction of a purely woodenbuilding for the first time.

The actual space for the boat waslimited by two rows of roof-bearings postswhich formed a trapeziodal ground plan,6 meters wide at the entrance andnarrowing to 5 meters at the rear end ofthe building. The two rows of outerbuttresses followed extremely convex lines,resembling a kind of spiderweb or fan.

At both ends these buttresses stood atan angle of 50 in relation to the mainconstruction, while in the middle of thebuilding the buttresses were perpendicularto the line of the roof-bearing posts.

Beyond the rear end of the actualboathouse there was a kind of annex witha triangular ground plan ending in apoint. This annex had no outer buttresses.Seen from above, the ground plan of thisboathouse resembled more a projection ofan insect than a house.

Without a doubt this fan of buttresses


Reconstruction of a Viking-ageBoathouse on the island of Karmy

The two rows ofroof-bearing posts.All photos: KarlJohan Gundersen

By Jochen Komber

In this article thearchitect of theboathouse reconstructiondiscusses the thinkingbehind the building andissues concerningreconstructions ingeneral.

7 www.hgo.se/viking

reflects an extremely stable construction.Such a measure might have been necessaryconsidering the size of the building andthe climatic conditions in that area.

Furthermore, 90% of the buttressespointed directly towards a roof-bearingpost. This fact makes it very conceivablethat each buttress together with a roof-bearing post formed a constructional unit.Completed by a horizontal beam at theirlower ends, these three elements in turnformed statically stable triangles. Theexistence of these horizontal beams ishighly likely due to the absence of culturaldeposits in the lateral aisles of thebuilding.

DiscussionFrom an engineering point-of-view theassumed buttresses should meet the mainconstruction as high as possible above theground. The quest was to find areasonable explanation for the fan-formedsetting of outer buttresses in relation tothe more or less rectangular main room.There is none.

As long as we interpret this fan-formedarray as traces after buttresses, theirconvex arrangement in relation to astraight roof makes absolutely no sense. Itis therefore more reasonable to assumethat the convex formation mirrors theplacement of the roof rafters which in thisinterpretation extended down to groundlevel.

Furthermore, assuming that this wasthe case, we could not use straight rafters,

but have to imagine that they were bentinwards. Otherwise the ridge would lieunreasonably high above the ground andwe would end up with a concave ridgeline.

Bending the rafters inwards towardsthe house, the ridge line will be convex,thus reflecting the convex lines on theground. In this view the bent rafters willform a double curved shell which requiresonly modest dimensions but neverthelessmakes a very stable construction.

Shell constructions like this are not, asmany might assume, a modern inventionbut were built by many pre-industrialcultures all over the world. In view of therather primitive tools these cultures haddeveloped, it is also more natural toassume that they preferred to use lighterelements in their house construction.

The roofing is assumed to follow therafters down to the ground. In this caseinner walls are not necessary. Walls wereonly needed in the triangular annexbehind the real boathouse. The horizontalbeams connecting the lower ends of theroof-bearing posts and the rafters could beimagined to have supported a woodenfloor a few decimeters above the bottomof the boathouse, serving as a dryplatform on which to work and place thecargo from the boat, when drawn insidethe house.

ConclusionThe interpretation of the archaeologicaldata thus resulted in a special constructionindeed, which provided much space byusing only very few constructionalelements and which was very resistant tothe hard weather prevailing in that area.In addition the architects also managed tore-shape the main house form inherent tothe Viking culture in this boathouse.


The interior of the boathouse.

Seen from the sea.

The Original MaterialHow these brooches came to Scandinaviain the first place in the late 8th centuryAD is in itself a fascinating story. But onthis particular subject I will refer to mycolleague Iben Skibsted Klses articleTransformation in Viking Heritage4/2000.

Findings of moulds for trefoilbrooches are much rarer than originalmoulds for other contemporary jewellery.Well known examples are the aboundantfinds of used moulds for tortoisebrooches in Ribe (Denmark) and theBlack Earth (Svarta Jorden) in Birka,

Sweden. The best known

finds regardingmoulds for trefoilbroches are fromHedeby inSchleswig. But inthe more recentyears mouldfragments have alsoappeared in theNorwegian Kaupangexcavations. From

In this article, for the first time, newresearch results regarding the Viking-age technique of casting are published.Among them are some of the materialsused for the production of masters, mouldsand crucibles. And actually how difficult wasthe making of the Tingelstad brooches?

Original trefoil brooche (2/3) type JP 98 afterJan Petersen. Vikingetidens Smykker 1928. The

first master was probably done in wax or wood later transformed into a lead or bronze masterfor massproduction. Retouched photo from J. Petersen 1928

www.hgo.se/viking 8


IntroductionFor more than fifteen years I have beenworking with prehistoric bronze-castingtechniques. In this article I willconcentrate on the Viking-age trefoilbrooches. It is my goal to give those whoare considering to work with Viking-agemetal casting encouragement and, forthose who have already started, help insolving some of the problems involvedwith this work.

At the end of the article I would alsolike to call attention to an almost totallyneglected prehistorical raw materialresource.

Hedeby we also have excellent finds ofmasters for trefoil brooches.

The few moulds by no means indicatethat the trefoil brooches were not acommon Viking-age brooch type. As amatter of fact in its time it was the mostcommon female cloak brooch, togetherwith the straight-armed brooch, and weknow them not only from numerousfinds but also in astonishingly manyvariations, sizes and, not least, qualities.

Making a MasterIf a Viking-age bronze caster decided thathe wanted to start producing trefoilbrooches he would have to start byconsidering what material he shouldmake the master in. Now the easiest wayto solve this problem would be to get atrefoil bronze brooch from the hands ofanother bronze caster and copy thisbrooch by pressing it into fine slightlydamp clay and then pouring moltenbeewax into this matrix.

Modern man would call it cheating!But it was an accepted way to proceed inthose days. However the copies wouldalways be considerable smaller than theoriginal as not only the beewax and theclay moulds shrink but even metalshrinks as it solidifies. Add to this thatthe more delicate ornamental details ofthe copies would seldom look as good asthose on the original. This method hasits limits.

But in order to make a new variationor an enlarged trefoilbrooch a newmaster is needed. I will here list some ofthe options and the pro and cons:

Beewax: Plus can be shaped in amazing ways often the only possibililty for very plastic

Casting TrefoilBroochesBy Ken Ravn Hedegaard

Boxshaped 8th

century AD broochfrom Gotland.Created from bonemotif pattern viamoist claymatrixesand beewax. Broochcast using lostwaxmethod. Replica-work by author.

9 www.hgo.se/viking

work. Combines well with certain othermodel materials like wood and leather in this way a master can be furtherdetailed and given raised ornaments but at the same time retain a solid overallstructure. Minus no good for pressing or cuttinglarge surfaces of delicate entrelacpatterns. A bit difficult to remove themaster from wet loam without damage.Breaks like glass when too cold, goes softand sticky when too warm.

One can choose to let a complete wax-master remain in the mould and use thelost wax method. But as the name of themethod indicates, your waxmaster willmelt away due to the later firing of themould! However by sacrificing awaxmaster you can create a very usefulbronze-master!

Bone/antler: Plus can be reused again and again as amaster. Lets go of the wet loam withouttoo much trouble. Finds with bone-motifpieces tells us that bone was indeed useda lot. Minus just one small error in cuttingthe master means you have to start allover. The shapes of bone puts somelimits on what you can make. Does not

combine that well with beewax.

Wood: Plus easy to work with andwoodworking was a strong feature in theViking culture. Combines well withbeewax. A wooden trefoil brooch masterwould be perfect for regular sand-casting,however there is no proof of the use ofthis casting technique in Scandinaviabefore 14th century AD. Minus It can be a bit tricky to removefrom the half-dried loam-mould. Themaster is prone to swell.

Leather: Plus very easy to work with. In no timeyou can press complicated entrelacpatterns as leather can be made ductile.Leather was a favorite master materialamong the Anglo-Irish metalworkers.Will combine well with beewax. Minus not very durable. Might swellafter some use blurring out thedecorations. Used alone it gives only flatornamental backgrounds.

Lead: Plus lead masters are easy to removefrom multipiece moulds. Several originallead masters are known to us. Minus lead is very poisonous. Thegreasy lead does not combine well withbeewax. To make a elaborate lead masteryou have to cast it so you are back tothe problem what to make the firstmaster out of?

If I were to make a master for a verysmall trefoil brooch with flat but delicateornamentation, bone would be my firstchoice. If I intended to produce less thanfive small to medium-sized brooches withflat uncomplicated geometricornamentation like Jan Petersens type93, I would go for leather or maybewood. But for a medium-size or largebrooch with flower/plant/animaldecorations, in more than five copies; Iwould try to create a lead master or evena bronze master. For large multipiecetrefoil brooches like the Tingelstad types(JP type 115) I would have to make atleast the small very plastic-shaped animalfigurines in wax. I could get away withmaking the backplate in wood. It wouldalso be easy to make in wax.

Nearly all the masters I have madeduring my time making trefoil broocheshave been in wax. But this is honestlydue to wax being a material that I amused to working with. An exception wasthe backplate of my first Tingelstadbrooch, which was a combination ofwood and wax.

But after having experimented withlead masters for JP type 89 I have toconclude that because of the flat outlayof trefoilbrooches this must be seen ina Viking-age context lead masters aremuch more preferable. Mainly ifmassproduction was the aim. For uniquesingle production I think the lost waxmethod would be the preferred way toproceed.

Set up for massproducing type JP 88brooches. Here in coloured wax. By author.

Replica rawcastings in two-piece moulds. Type JP 89 (left) and type JP88. One brooch still embedded firmly in lower part of mould. By author.


www.hgo.se/viking 10


Moulds and CruciblesCasting a crude trefoil brooch in asoapstone mould is not impossible. Butno finds so far would indicate that thiswas done. Nor do we have any finds ofsolid bronze moulds for trefoil brooches.What we do know though is that theywere cast in mainly two-piece claymoulds.

Actually the main content of thesemoulds was horse or cow dung, freshfrom animals at pasture. I prefer horsedung, but I am sure cow dung was usedmore in the Viking Age. You also needhair horsehair is good, but human hairworks fine too. The clay has to be freefrom lime and as fine-grained as possible.

Then you need some chamotte totemper the mixture. Here you reuse oldused moulds (crushed pottery when noold moulds are at hand). I normally gofor a mixture of 50% dung, 3540%clay, 812% chamotte and some 3% hair(ca. volume). If in doubt, add more dungand hair, not more clay.

After this is mixed (bare feet do thejob best) you take out a small portionwhich you mix with an equal amount offine clay. This new portion is for the thininner layer (ca. 2 mm thick) in themould that is to take the impression ofthe finer ornamentations (ornament-loam). The first mixture is referred to asregular mould-loam. You also need athird portion of mixed loam. In this caseit may contain coarser clay and sand.This last portion is for joining(armouring-loam) the multipiecemoulds together later on.

It is best if the new loam-mixtures areallowed to mature in a pit for a day ortwo. But it has to be used and fired

within three weeks. Any longer and toomuch of the organic material might havedecomposed. The idea with the organicmaterial is to have a highly porous mouldafter the burn-out. These moulds do notneed any airvents for the metal gases, andindeed all the original finds show noairvents.

To make the crucibles much less

organic material is needed (max. ca.25%), but a lot more chamotte. Thechamotte should come from crushed oldused crucibles; as much chamotte as onepossible can mix in must go into the clay.If there are no old crucibles around, sandcan be used. The high content of sharp-edged crucible-chamotte will make itdifficult to shape the crucibles and these

Replica Viking-age crucibles allused except the top one. On theright a triangular open cruciblefrom Killmainham a Viking sitein Ireland. Ingots andscrapbronze for meltdown amount 165 gram. By author.

Authorcasting.Stone andturf linedmelting pitwithsoapstonetuyere.Noticemouldfragments infront ofauthor.

11 www.hgo.se/viking


must have as thin sides as possible. In the Viking Age this problem was

solved by forming a small ball of grass orhay. This was pressed into the half-finished wet crucible with a finger. At thesame time the bottom of the wet crucibleis held in the slightly rounded palm ofyour other hand. This grass-cushiongreatly helps to give the lower sides andbottom of the crucible an even thickness.Traces of grass can be seen on theinside of the original crucibles.

Many original crucibles have atap on the side. This will be ahelp when the crucible is held bya pair of (thin almost tweezer-like) thongs for the casting.

But the taps have moreimportant functions! First theyhelp stabilize the crucible in aslightly slanted position in themelting pit. The tap must pointtowards the opening of thetuyere. The bottom of a Viking-period crucible is always roundand is likely to tip when theglowing charcoals start to shift.Secondly the tap will disperse theheat applied to the crucible, sothat welding-holes can beprevented (or at least delayed).

These clay crucibles are nottruly fire-resistant! Sometimesthey will have to be repaired witha new layer of loam after just onecasting, but normally you can getthree to four castings out of onegood crucible.

Forming the MouldsThe masters are put on a flatpiece of wood. If these mastershave incorporated taps forneedle-rest and holder, then holeswill be drilled into the wood totake these taps. It helps to drawthe general outline of the planned mouldwith charcoal.

If the lost-wax method is planned onefirst builds up a layer of fine ornament-loam right unto the fixed wax model andthen later mould-loam. But with a solidlead or bone master you first form a22,5 cm thick plate of mould-loam andinto this you rub 23 mm of fineornament-loam. Let the plate dry for afew hours it should not be too soggy and then press it down carefully over themaster.

Next day turn over this new mouldpiece with the master still embedded in

it. Cut or press some negative guide tapsalong the edge of mould piece. Now youbuild up the other part of the two-piecemould. A little ashes between the twomould pieces will prevent the layersfusing together.

After another day (depends on size ofmould and the weather) the half-driedmould pieces can be taken apart and the

master removed. Here we must notforget the sprue. Using the lost-waxmethod one should have a well-fixedwax-sprue on the model from the start.Using a solid master you have the optionof cutting the sprue in the half-driedmould later. The sprues are conical. Butseen head-on they must have a flat-to-oval cross section.

The mould pieces are now joinedagain and armoured with the third andlast layer of loam. The moulds now haveto be dried, always in the shade, for 4-5days.

CastingThe most important factor for theViking period bronze-caster was thequality of his charcoal. Badly burnedcharcoal can have too much resin in it,which will produce sparks and you willhave a hard time getting the temperaturethat you need.

The quality of the metal is naturallyalso an issue. From the relatively few

metal analyses made so far oncopper-alloy material from theViking Age we see that brass waspreferred. But this brass oftenhad a content of tin, lead andeven a little silver too.

The following alloy is a goodexampel of what a Viking-agebronze-caster would have tried toobtain. But remember that heonly had colour and ductility ofthe metal, the colour of the metalgases and a set of scales to go by!To get this rather exact alloy atevery casting was impossible for abronze caster in the 911th

century AD.

85% Cu, 7% Zn, 4% Sn, 12% Pb, 12% Ag restcould be FeThis alloy would be good forcasting the thin tortoise broochesor trefoil brooches. Ancommonly used alternative wouldbe an alloy richer in zink. Quite afew trefoil brooches were cast insilver.

To establish a Viking-agemelting workshop does not call

for much. Castings were done inthe open, sometimes protectedfrom rain by a makeshift shelterwith just one or no wall.

At the Fyrkat Ringcastle inDenmark a melting pit had been

set up inside one of the long houses. Butit does not appear to have been used forwork over a prolonged period.

You need a normal-sized openfireplace to burn the moulds and thecrucibles in. Here you use regular smallchopped logs. In such a fireplace youshould be able to reach 700 degreesCelcius. It helps if you fan the fireplacenow and then. Moulds for trefoilbrooches will have to fired for 4 hours.

Then you need a melting pit. I like towork with pits lined with fist-size rocks.My pits are normally ca. 30 centimeteracross and some 20 cm deep. At one side

Bronze-casting team at work inside longhouse (Trelleborg.Denmark). Raised stone-lined melting pit and circular stone-lined fireplace for burning the moulds. In between sandpitfor placing moulds just prior to casting. Notice size ofbellows.



the tuyere or avlsten is placed. This canbe made from the same loam mixturethat is used for the crucibles, butsoapstone can and was also used astuyures.

Air from two bellows are led into thepit though a conical hole (end-diameter2,53 cm) in the tuyure. Each bellowmust be able to take a minimum of 50liters of air. More is better. You need amelting pit that can produce 1200Celcius. To reach this temperature aprolonged steady flow of air and goodquality charcoal are needed.

An average medium-sized Viking-agecrucible would take 140 to 180 grams ofliquid copper-alloy more than enoughmetal for casting a trefoil brooch type JP89 including sprue, maybe even twosmaller brooches. However with thissmall amount of brass/bronze you onlyhave ca. 510 seconds at your disposal todo the actually casting!

A tiny sandpit to place your mould injust prior to casting is also a good idea.

A good bronze-casting team requiresthree people. One to tend the melting pitand to do the casting. One to tend to thefireplace with the moulds and to preparethese for casting and one poor soul towork the bellows. The first meltdown ofa working day (due to cold pit) willtake some 15 minutes, later you can do itin less than 10 minutes.

There is much more to casting thanthe above. The only way to learn itproperly is to have somebody withexperience show you how to do it. Basiccasting is not hard to learn, but it canonly be taught in the field.

ColdworkIt is easy to cold-work the surface of atrefoil brooch using the punsels,engravers etc. This is because of the flatbacks of these brooches, flat backs givegood support for your work and there isalways coldwork to be done after yourcasting. But the coldwork subject I willleave for another article or anotherauthor.

The Tingelstad BroochesThere were attemps to make moreelaborate trefoil brooches. Some wereguilded and tinned. Some have nielloinlays. Inspired by the double-shelledtortoise brooches there were alsoattempts to have the ornamentsseparately casted and then riveted ontolarge trefoil brooches later. I think here ofthe group of Tingelstad trefoil brooches(JP type 115). But a closer look at thesereveals that all have very shabbily-madeornaments, compared to other trefoil

brooches like the JP type 95 or JP type98!

The Tingelstad brooches meant morecastings to finish just one. But it seems tome that they did not demand specialskills of the average craftman, just moreof his time and raw materials. But oncethe ornaments are riveted on; theseTingelstad brooches do appear fantasticbecause of the contrast between theraised perforated ornaments and thesometimes guilded flat surfaceunderneath. But remove the attachmentsfrom the backplate and the magicdisappears.

Reusing MouldsYou can only cast once in a multi-piececlay mould! The better the casting themore you have to smash up the mould toliberate the raw casting. After just someten castings the bronze caster is kneelingamong a mess of broken mouldfragments and one to three dischargedcrucibles. To clear working space one hasto get rid of this.

The crucibles are like stoneware andcould in theory survive lying on theground for another thousand years. Butthe light and porous mould fragments arequickly trampled into small fine grains,unless these were dumped into moist pitslike what happened in Ribe and theBlack Earth in Birka. Some of the oldmoulds and crucibles are put aside forreuse as chamotte in new moulds andcrucibles. But we are still left with a heapof fragile mould fragments!

In 2004 I conducted an experimenttogether with my colleague Jana Kruse.She is an expert in making Tatinger ware.We had long suspected that old usedmoulds would make a top gradegrog/chamotte for tempering pottery. Itwas tried out at the Viking Museum atBorg on Lofoten and later again at theMuseum at Trelleborg in Denmark.

The results were amazing! The fineporous grains from the broken mouldsbinds so well with any kind of clay andgives a smooth workable loam. That thegrains have been fired, but only briefly,

Assembled big trefoil brooch typeTingelstad JP 115. Replica byauthor.

Disassembled big trefoil brooch type Tingelstad JP 115. Replica by author.



Jana Kruse testing the quality of potterytempered with chamotte produced fromused bronzecasting claymoulds.

LLiitteerraattuurree::Arrhenius, B. 1973: Gjutformar og

Deglar, ptrffade i Birka, Birka,Svarta Jordens Hamnomrde,arkologisk underskning 197071.

Bencard, M. 1984: Ribe Excavations1970-76. Vol.2.

Capelle, T und Vierck, H. 1975: WeitereModeln der Merowinger undWikingerzeit. FrhmittelalterlicheStudien. Band 9.

Hedegaard, K.R. 2002:Stempelornamentik i yngregermanertid teknik og forml.Skrifter fra Odense Bys Museer. Vol. 9.

Lnborg, B. 1998: VikingetidensMetalbearbejdning. Fynske Studier 17.Odense.

Floinn, R. 2001: Irish andScandinavian Art in the Early MedivalPeriod. The Vikings in Ireland.

Skree, D, Pil, L and Pedersen, U. 2000:The Kaupang Excavation Project.Annual Reports 2000. University ofOslo.

About the authorKen Ravn Hedegaard is anarchaeologist from Denmark. He hasspecialised in prehistoricexperimental bronzecasting.E-mail: [email protected]

We offer Viking Age replica artifacts from Denmark and Sweden. TURM A/S,distinguished Danish silversmiths, makes our jewelry from moulds provided by theDanish National Museum. Our glass is from Scanglas AB of Sweden and is also inreplica, made with 1000-year old glass blowing techniques. These pieces are in manyNordic museum gift stores and, owing to their authenticity, have been selected by theSmithsonian and other major U.S. museums for their Viking exhibits. We shipworldwide.

A sketch of a runestone in theMoesgard Museum, Aarhus,

Denmark, depicting a fearsomemask to frighten evil spirits from afallen Viking. We offer this dramatic

piece as a brooch or pendant.

1420 NW Gilman Boulevard No. 2105, - Issaquah, Washington 98027-5394 USAPlease visit our Website: www.vikingtrader.net * Email: [email protected]

Toll free phone in U.S. 1.800.842.1676

up to ca. 10001100 Celcius during theactual casting gave the pottery temperedwith mould-grog an extra fire resistance.Add to this that old moulds are less workto crush than ordinary pottery or burnedstone.

We should regard old moulds as apotentially desired resource of rawmaterial for a prehistoric potter. Alas thedomestic production of pottery in earlyViking-age Scandinavia was not at all asextensive as it had been in the precedinghistorical periods. With moreenterprising potters around in 9th centuryRibe, for example I am sure that muchless mould fragments would have endedup in pits. Lucky for us who are studyingthe Viking-age casting techniques!

All photos are by the author, except theoriginal trefoil brooch type JP 98.

Gotlandicthings with the

things mentionedmarked as part of

Roma monasteryproperty on the cadastral

map from 1699.

Gotlandsdivision into

20 things (dashedline) and 6 settingar(solid line). The townof Visby lay outsidethe thing division.Map after Ersson1974.


By Majvor stergren

The organisation of the Gotlandic societyThe organisation of the Gotlandic societyduring the Viking Age and early MiddleAges was based on things (20 in total),three tredingar (thirds) and six sttingar(sixths). The highest governing body wasthe Althing or Gutnaltinget, whichconsisted of 20 thing judges presided overby a chief judge and, following theintroduction of Christianity, even thethree tredingar deans.

Prior to Christianisation the Althingwas not only the highest judicial andadministrative unit but also the highestreligious body, which means that the placewhere the Althing was held would alsohave been the mostimportant cult

place. Thus Gotland constitutes aparallel to the Icelandic socialstructure during the correspondingperiod. Possibly both go back to anall-Germanic structure with certainregional differences but commonbasic features.

The Swedish royalty and theBishop of Linkping diocese seem tohave had a relatively little effect onGotland and the Gotlanders. Forexample there were no royal officialson the island. Gotland was notincluded as part of the kings royaltour of the country either. TheBishop in Linkping did not have theright to certain taxes that he had on the

mainland nor part of thetenth either. The tax burdenwas low. Moreover Gotlanders had

their own mint, introduced about1140 AD and which was clearly

implemented under the auspices of theAlthing. The leading social class consistedof the independent farmers and it is mostlikely that the Gotlandic thing decisionsoriginated exclusively from this socialclass.

The Althings location at RomaThe Althings location in Roma parish issupported by a German translation ofGutasagan from 1401 (see VHM 4/2004eds. note) and has been generally acceptedby researchers, just like the view that theAlthing was of vital importance for theestablishment of the Cistercian monasteryin Roma.

However there has never been anyconcrete proof that the Althing had itsmeeting place in just Roma. Not before1990, when the author noticed someinteresting information on the cadastralmap of Roma parish from 1699, at thesame time as a couple of archaeologicalsurveys shed new light on the history ofthe Roma monastery.

On the cadastral mapthere are two meadows on

Roma monasterys domain calledBurs Tingsngen and Krklinge

Tingsngen. Moreover there aretwo big bogs, located in direct

connection to each other, calledNordermyr or Rute, Endre, Lina, Dede

and Forsa Tingsmyr and Wallgirdemyr orBurs, Garda and Halla Tingsmyrrespectively. Burs Tingsngen lies on theboundary between Bjrke parishapproximately three kilometres southwestof Roma monastery, while KrklingeTingsngen and the two bogs lie directlyadjacent to, southeast and straight east ofthe monastery respectively.

Burs, Krklinge, Rute, Endre, Lina,Dede, Forsa, Garda and Halla are allnames of nine of the 20 Gotlandic things.Four lie in Nordertredingen (of seven),three in Medeltredingen (of six) and twoin Sudertredingen (of seven).

It is quite likely that the names on the17th century map stem from at leastmedieval if not pre-historical name use.The names can hardly have been addedafter the Reformation in the 1520s, whenthe Roma monastery in practice was puton equal footing with a Kings demesne.

It is also highly probable that thesething-names are connected with thelocation of the Gotlandic Althing, whichthereby can certainly be considered havebeen located in Roma parish. The area atRoma monastery, later Roma Kungsgrd(a royal desmene), is an excellent strategicchoice of location in the middle of theisland close to important communicationroutes, both waterways and roads. Thething-names imply that the individualthings owned or had the right to use


The Gotlandic Althing and the Cistercianmonastery in Roma

Roma



special land areas adjacent to the Thingsite.

The Althing was probably held aroundmidsummer every year and would havecollected a big number of people and evenanimals that were brought along, e.g.horses. People gathered to discussimportant matters of common concern,made sacrifices, and decided aboutmarriages, planned trading voyages andengaged in trade.

It is tempting to compare this with thedescription of the Icelandic Althing,where the equivalent to the GotlandicThing, godordet, had their own specialhouses sheds for accommodating theirthing-men. These sheds were owned bythe godarna the equivalent of theGotlandic Thing judges but rich andotherwise influential persons could havetheir own sheds. According to thedescription in the Icelandic Sagas, thesesheds were located at a certain distancefrom each other.

It might seem rather odd that thethings also had a share in the bogs at theAlthing place, but on one hand, thewetlands have always been important forgrazing and the animals also neededpasture while the Thing was being held,while, on the other hand, the bogs canalso have provided straw thatch for thethings sheds. Moreover during the VikingAge, the bogs were actually lakes, forminglarge connected water systems, which

meant that they were also important asnavigable water routes.

The archaeological surveysIn the spring and the autumn 1990 acouple of archaeological surveys wereundertaken with the aid of metaldetectors in the fields around RomaKungsgrd. In the so-called Gold FieldGuldkern (the field got its name during19th century, when three gold coins werefound there) northeast of the monasteryand north of the ancient Krklinge Thingmeadow a find was discovered whichindicated that the place must have had aspecial function. It was not a typical findfrom a ploughed-over Gotlandicfarmstead. Instead it gives the impressionof having originated from a trading place,reinforced by the way the objects werespread out in the field. The objects havebeen found scattered over an area of 200 x300 meters with certain concentrations.

However the presumed trading placedoesnt seem to have had any great extentof the activities so typical for these places,like bronze casting. There are few bronzesmelts and casting cones are missing. Onthe other hand, several parts of pieces ofsilver were found, a small silver bar, a bentfinger ring of silver, just over 20 silvercoins (mainly fragments of Arabic coins)and just over 40 weights. The weights areof varying shapes and age but most ofthem are polyhedral (multi-sided).

It is fully possible that the find materialfrom Guldker is a sign of a trading placelocated directly adjacent to the GotlandicAlthings meeting place during the VikingAge. The finds indicating trade (likefragments of coins and weights) originatemainly from the 10th century.

Yet another survey was carried out in afield that was earlier part of the KrklingeThing meadow. Here, in a concentratedarea, Viking-age objects of a differentnature than the objects in the Guldkernwere found. The find material canprobably be linked to the remains of atypical Gotlandic settlement from mainlythe Viking Age, but also the VendelPeriod. Among the objects are twofragmentary silver coins, a piece of meltedsilver, whole and parts of bronze jewellery,bronze bars, a bronze casting cone and 12pieces of melted bronze, that is a relativelyrich trace of remains from making bronzehandicrafts.

Linking the Althing to Roma monasteryIt is probably no coincidence that theThing names exist just within Romamonasterys domain and that themonastery is situated right next to theThing names.

The monastery was probablyestablished in the year 1164, according toYrwing, on initiative of or in consultationwith the Gotlandic Althing, and for thatvery reason was situated at the thing site.

Map from the 1699cadastral map of thearea between Romachurch, Roma monastery,Bjrke and Hallachurches, with indicatedthing meadows andbogs.Drawing, StefanPettersson and HelenaDuveborg.



divided between the Althing and thetown, while the county council wasgradually weakened. Finally, during 15th

century, the Althing in Roma had had itsday. The power now lay completely withVisbys burghers and the Danish sheriff inVisborgs castle.

The Gotlandic Althings meetingplace common land? It is possible that the area at the presentRoma Kungsgrd has served as a kind ofcommon ground, where the 20 things hadthe right to use certain special land areasas well as parts of the bog. Within theseareas named after the things there waspasture for the horses and houses built foraccommodation while the thing was insession. From the Icelandic Sagas, weknow that each farm was represented withseveral persons at the Thing. Thereforethere could have been several thousandpeople who gathered at Roma every year .

However it is possible that the thingsdid not each have an area with their ownsheds. Since only Burs and KrklingeTingsngar are known, it might very wellbe that only the Sixth (sttingar) (Bro,Burs, Hejde, Hoburg, Krklinge, Rute)had areas with sheds and that the thingswithin each stting had to share the areas.

The Cistercian monastery ought tohave been erected on the Althingscommon land and probably in closeproximity to the site for the Thingproceedings. Exactly where the Thing site

A selection of the objects found in the so-called Guldkern on the property of the Romamonastery. Drawing Pelle Fahln.

Possible scenario at the Gotlandic Althing site. Drawing Pelle Fahln.

The Althing was not onlythe highest administrative andjudicial body, but also the highestreligious body. It seems natural thereforethat, after the introduction ofChristianity, it is also the Althing thattakes the initiative in building a church(which is clear from the Gutasaga) andestablishing the monastery.

Moreover Gotland with its leadingposition within the eastern sea tradeought to have been of particular interestto the Cistercian order. The Cistercianswere known to be great innovatorsinvolved in the most important

enterprises in the regions wherethey established themselves.

Yet another strong link between theAlthing and the monastery is the name ofthe monastery itself. The original namethat the monastery received whenconsecrated was obviously Guthnalia,which is a latinisation of Gutnalting,meaning the Gotlanders Althing. Themonastery would hardly have receivedthat name had it not been located in rightnext to the Althing meeting place.

During the Middle Ages, concurrentwith the development of the town ofVisby, the political power on Gotland was



lay is difficult to decide today. Howeverthe Althing meeting place ought to haveexisted within Roma monasterys lands, asthey are marked on the cadastral mapfrom 1699, since the Thing names occuronly here.

Moreover it seems quite natural thatthe monastery has gradually expanded itsproperty mainly within Gutnaltingetscommon land, at the same time aspolitical developments gradually made theThing and its activities redundant. Due tolater extensive cultivation of the meadows,the landscape and land use around themonastery was changed. Certain areaswere given new uses and names and onlya few of the old Thing names werepreserved until 1699.

This article was first published in Swedishby the County Museum of Gotland in theannual book Gotlndskt Arkiv 2004, thisyear called Gotland Vikingan (GotlandViking Island).

Literature Fornnordiska sagor. Bearbetade psvenska av A. Ekermann. Nyutgva 1983,reviderad av E. Stenborg.Holmbck, & Wessn, E, 1946.

Svenska landskapslagar. Fjrde serien:Sknelagen och Gutalagen.

Olsson, Ingemar, 1994. Gotlndskaortnamn. Visby.

Revisionsbok fr Gotland 1653.1. Sudertredingen (Gotlandica 1).2. Medeltredingen (Gotlandica 18).3. Nordertredingen (Gotlandica 19).Utgivna 1974, 1979 och 1979. Visby.

Yrwing, Hugo, 1978. Gotlndsk medeltid.

The backdropArchaeology and history draw upondifferent sources when creating theirimages of the past. Sometimes they painta picture and fill in colours where thecanvas seems pale. This cooperation increating The Great Norwegian Past hasbeen supervised by historians. Writtensources have had supremacy.

The Viking ships from Gokstad andOseberg are famous, but that theyoriginate from barrows in Vestfold is notthat well known. Barrows of turf and claypreserved these two marvellous ships, but

About the authorMajvor stergren, Ph.D. andarchaeologist, formerly MuseumDirector (County Museum of Gotlandand Norrbottens Museum). For manyyears she was employed by theNational Board of Antiquities with aspecial project investigating sites ofViking-age silver hoard finds onGotland. The results of theseinvestigations were the basis of herdissertation in 1989. She is nowworking for the CountyAdministration of Gotland.Email: [email protected]

The history thatdisappearedSearching for the Viking-agehistories in Vestfold, Norway

The Oslo fjord. Vestfold is in west of thefjord.

By Terje Gansum & LarsUeland Kobro

The Viking ships fromGokstad and Oseberg areknown worldwide. Thesefinds were incorporatedinto written history andmany believed that theinterpretation was safeand sound. But a silentrevolution took placeinside academia andhistory was rewritten.The old and well-knownhistory disappeared. Howdo we deal with thisexperience in Vestfold? Isit really a loss?

The map presents names of regions whichhosted leaders who played central rolesin the changing power structures around900 AD (After Myhre & Gansum 1993:98).The networks of loyalty were personaland death and change of interests madethe social system instable. Investment indeath rituals may be seen as one strategyto rearrange the network.



not all barrows preserved equally well. AtBorre the ship had decomposed due topoorer conditions for the preservation ofwood.

It is evident that these barrows withships represent aristocracy in one way oranother. Such graves are not randomlyspread in geography or situated justanywhere in topography. Therefore itseemed natural to search for kings in thewritten documents and sagas after thegraves were excavated in 1852, 1880 and1904 and combine the sources whencreating the national history.

The story that was told for ages andalso presented by Sveaas Andersen in1977, was that Harald Finehair started hiscampaign in Vestfold, the home of hisfather Halvdan the Black. The sagas,especially Snorri Sturlusons Ynglingasaga,give Vestfold a prominent place in thebuilding of the Norwegian kingdom.

After World War II, the Nazis use ofsymbols and their narrow interpretationof heroic histories led knowledge of theViking Age into discredit. Much of thescientific work on major political issues inthe Viking Age was tuned down.Archaeologists studied artefacts andhistorians did not spend much effort onthe Viking Age. The period was ahistorical backwater until the late 1980s.

Ironically the old national historysynthesized by Andreas Holmsen, pre-World War II, was kept and reproducedin schoolbooks and in university literatureuntil the mid 1990s. How can we explainthat? Part of the answer is that the oldstory was celebrated and escaped scientificcritique because of the vital position theYngligasaga and the Ynglingatal poemfulfilled in the mythological origins of themaking of Norway.

In 2005, Norway celebrates its 100-year anniversary as a sovereign nationalstate. Seen in a long-range perspective,100 years is a short period. Many connectNorway with an ancient history beginningwith the Vikings. This shows us thathistorians and archaeologists successfullylaunched the building of national identityin the period 18801939. An importantpart of this history has been analysing theconquest, focusing on how one warlord,King Harald Finehair, got control over thecoast called Norway (the route to thenorth). He became The King and hisfamily the only one that could recruitkings.

The revolution from withinIn the late 1980s scholars of history andarchaeology started to question the oldhistory. Did Harald Finehair really start

his campaign in Vestfold? Claus Krag, a history professor,

analysed the Ynglingasaga and theYnglingatal poem and concluded thatHaralds stronghold was on thesouthwestern coast of Norway. Kragformed a maxim: The younger the writtensources were the more Harald becameimplanted in the history of Vestfold. Theolder written sources told quite a differentstory of Harald and his forefathers,linking them to Sogn and Rogaland.

Krag was not the first to interpret thesources in this way, but suchinterpretations were ignored andmarginalized until the late 1980s. Therewas no mental room for this alternativestory, which questioned and thereforeoffended the accepted national history,with a capital H.

At the same time, early 1990s,archaeology professor Bjrn Myhrewanted to find out if the chronology ofthe barrows did in fact match thechronology of the written sources. Heconcluded that there were reasonabledoubts as to whether Haralds sons wereactually buried in the barrows in Vestfold.

Some of the grounds for the old storywas weakened, and scholars raised morequestions concerning the process ofunification of the areas that were to

One of the monumental barrows at Borre(After Myhre & Gansum 1993:72-73).

Much has beenwritten about the

Norwegian connectionsto the isles to the west,

but archaeology has notfocused on eastern connections

obvious in written sources. In thefamous find from Borre there are several itemsthat have eastern parallels, amongst them thedraught harness and the scabbard confiscation (After Myhre & Gansum 1993:28-29, 35).

About theauthors

Terje Gansum Fil.dr. Archaeologistat Midgard Historic Center atBorre. He has written books andarticles on different topics dealingwith the Viking Age. [email protected]

Lars Ueland Kobro is managingdirector at Midgard Historic Centerat Borre, where he is engaged inheritage development and culturalidentity in Vestfold [email protected]

Midgard Historic Center at Borre isan observer member of theDestination Viking Sagalandsprojects.



become the kingdom of Norway. And,not surprisingly, critical voices were raisedin the southwestern part of Norway. InRogaland scientists were invited to comeand contribute to new perspectives on theViking-age period, which resulted in aseries of books. The internationalapproach widened the narrow nationalexcesses in interpreting only writtensources, and transformed the regionalhistorical identity by moving the royalfamily of Harald Finhair to Rogaland andHordaland.

Even in Vestfold there was a criticalexamination of the barrows and whatroles they were given in the interpretationof Viking Age. Much effort was put intoinvestigating how the old story couldsurvive in academia. The mythical originsof the Norwegian kingdom had to bepolitically protected against criticism,because mythical logic cannot withstandthe critique based on scientific logicbecause these types of logics areincommensurable. The Norwegian historywas to be pure and simple, easy to grasp,so people could be proud and quote theirpoems and sagas.

The backlash of national historyVestfold lost the story of Harald Finehairwho led the conquest of Norway andbecome sovereign king. Vestfold lost themajor role in the creation of Norway, andeven worse, much of the time Vestfoldwas part of Denmark during the VikingAge. Could it be worse?

Oh yes, the latest news is that Kaupangwas founded by a Danish king and thatthe Osebergship, our national pride wasprobably made in Denmark! The Danishkings are now given a central role in theinterregional history of Viking Age insouthwestern Scandinavia.

How do people in Vestfold reactto the fact that the history theyknew and believed in hasdisappeared? The old andexperienced audience isshocked and feelmisguided. Alltheir

knowledge seems worthless. Teachers atschools are torn between the loyalty togood old books (the truth...) and theauthority of the scientists who tell newstories.

Changing times changing frameworksLets be frank, the old story did notdisappear. It just moved from Vestfold toRogaland. The story got a new homeand new material facilities and is beingwell taken care of. The grand history isbased on a historical framework, andarchaeological material has been added tosupport and materialize the story.

Seen from Vestfolds point of view, thegrand history is gone, but thearchaeological finds are still here and needto be explained. In Vestfold we have tocreate as much knowledge about theViking Age as possible and, especiallywith regards the extraordinary shipsgraves, to tell stories based on anarchaeological framework instead of thehistorical one.

There seems to be a great challenge totell stories of Viking-age Vestfold in theyears to come. New investigations of theoriginal documentation and scientificresearch into towns, settlements, ships andgraves give us input to writethe new interregionalhistory placing Vestfoldin a Europeancontext.

Njls sagaNjls saga is the longest of theIcelandic sagas, probably originatingin the 13th century, but its names andhappenings still influence present-dayIcelandic names and culture.

Here the saga is revised and retoldwith a focus on its principalcharacters and main happenings. Theclassic lines and pungent saga tonehave been preserved andcomplemented by colourfulillustrations, and spiced withinteresting facts and glossaryexplanations. Learn about ancientmanuscripts, weapons, burialmounds, social aspects of Vikingsociety and many other tidbits ofinformation from Njls period.

This book is meant for a youngeraudience but makes an excellentintroduction to the world of Icelandicsagas for the uninitiated adult reader!At present it is available only inIcelandic (www.ebba.is) and Swedish(www.berghsforlag.se).

LG

Retold by BrynhildurThrarinsdttir Illustrated by Margrt E.LaxnessTranslated from Icelandic toSwedish by John Swedenmark

N e wb o o k !



Braslav districtThe Braslav district is located northwestof Belarus on the border of Latvia andLithuania. Its relatively small territory ofabout 2,200 square kilometers ischaracterized by the contrasting changesof relief from the flat area in the southto the hills in the center and north. Itsgreatest attraction is the numerous (over200) picturesque lakes interconnected bysmall rivers, which comprise the WestDvina river basin.

This region was inhabited in theMesolithic period but there were fewStone-age settlements. The hilltopsettlements appear in the late Bronze era. route although they are not evenly

distributed along the West Dvina. Thegreatest number of dirhems was found inthe vicinity of the towns of Vitebsk andPolotsk.

But there are no such treasures furtherwest towards Braslav. According to V.Ryabtsevichs supposition, this is explainedby the absence of big trade and craftcenters in that district, meaning that themerchants passed by that part of the routewithout any stops.

Only three dirhems have been found inthe Braslav district. Two of them werediscovered accidentally in 1869 near theVidzy Yard estate. Both of them wereminted during the rule of the Abassiddynasty. One of them bore the stamp ofcaliph Kharun Al Rashid (who ruled from786 to 809), and the other of his soncaliph Al Masun.

The only dirhem with a preciselocation and layer was found duringexcavations near the hilltop settlement ofRatunki. Unfortunately it has only one-side averse coinage, which had beenpoorly preserved. Nevertheless it can besupposed that the dirhem were minted inSamarkand during the rule of theSamanidis around the second half of the9th century, according to Ryabtsevich.

Viking-find placesSeveral facts can prove that the Vikingswere not just traveling along the WestDvina but were actively investigating andexploring the Braslav Lake district.

Cremation remains in a pottery urncovered with an iron neck hoop wereinvestigated in one of the burial moundsnear Uklya Lake, 24 km west of the West

The Ratjunki hilltop. Photo J. Latushkova.

Braslav Lake District in the Viking epoch

Nespish Lake. Photo K. Shidlovski.

By Alexander Yegorejchenko

Dirhem fromthe Ratjunkihilltop. Photo E.Zagorulski.

The Maskovichi hilltop. Photo K. Shidlovski.

They are the only type of settlementsfound until the first century AD. In theViking period they ware often used as akind of lookout to control waterwaysaround the West Dvina, which wasknown as part of the route from theVaragians to the Greeks.

DirhemsSome hidden treasures of Arab coins,dirhems, were discovered along this trade

Dvina. An ivory pierced amulet with thestylized head of a beast was found nearthe urn.

Another grave, presumably that of aViking, was discovered near the settlementof Opsa. A buckle, a knife and four smallweights were found near the crematedbones.

The hilltop settlement of MaskovichiThe most sensational discoveriesconnected with the Vikings were made byL. Duchits during the investigations ofthe hilltop settlement of Maskovichisituated on the shore of Dzerba Lake

Bones with figures from theMaskovichi hilltop. DrawingSh. Bektineev.



which is part of the system of Braslavlakes connected with the West Dvina bythe Druika River. That hilltop settlementappeared during the Stone Age but mostof the discoveries are related to the10th13th centuries including numerousjewelry ornaments, items of Christianworship, arms and work tools.

More than 100 animal bones withcarved runic drawing and signs have beenfound there. Alongside the drawings ofseparate people, fighting men as a rule,there are some descriptive scenes as well.One of them depicts twomen fighting with swords.The second one portrays aman in a chain armor andhelmet with a sword in theright hand and a shield inthe left one. In thebackground you can see aboat with a man-of-armsnearby. The third boneshows a boat with twostylized figures separatedfrom the group of peopleby a cross.

Judging by somecharacteristics, specialistsdefine the bones with lettersigns as a young medieval runic alphabetfrom the 11th14th centuries. It issupposed that these inscriptions were leftby the descendants from Scandinavia whobecame Slavonic.

Other finds from the 10th century givedirect evidence of the presence of Vikingsat the hilltop settlement of Maskovichi.The most impressive is a shoulder fibula.

The fortified settlement of RatjunkiThe fortified settlement of Ratjunki is 4km south of the hilltop settlement ofMaskovichi. It is situated on the hill 6 mabove the level of the surrounding area.The excavations done there by L. Duchitsin 19791981, discovered one morecarved bone among other things. Anequestrian is depicted on the one side of itand a man standing with widely spreadarms and fingers on the other.

An expedition from the BelarusianState University has been conductingexcavations of this hilltop settlement since

1999. A series of old Russian items notbelonging to ordinary people have beenfound alongside the findings from the lateBronze and Iron Ages, which dominatehere, including a bronze writing

instrument, some glassbracelets, and ivory chessfigures. One more carvedbone with the runic lettereither M or Rscratched on it isconnected with the Vikingepoch. It was discovered inthe same layer as the Arabdirhem.

The Zazony settlementsAn interesting complex,including a hilltopsettlement and an adjacentsettlement, is situated nearthe village of Zazony. Its

excavations were also carried out by theBelarusian State University expedition.

The hilltop settlement existed at theend of the 2nd century BC to thebeginning of the 1st

century AD. Peoplecontinued living inthe settlementduring the 5th10th

centuries and used thehilltop settlement as arefuge.

For the first timeon Belarus territorya perfectly preserved14-sided little weight

was discovered right under the turf duringthe investigations. It is made of a non-ferrous alloy and its weight is 4,25 grams.In the center of each triangular side thereis a single hollow, and the rectangularsides contain a dot contour on the edgeswith 6 imprints on each. OutsideScandinavia similar exsamples have beenfound in Old Ladoga in the 10th centurylayer.

Writing instrument from the Ratjunkihilltop. Photo E. Zagorulski.

TheZazonyhilltop.Photo K.Shidlovski.

Bone with figure from theRatjunki hilltop. Drawing N.Molchanova.

Bone with the rune. Photo Y. Krasovski.

The little weightfrom the Zazonyhilltop. Drawing P. Kazej.

About the authorAlexander Yegoreichenko, PhD inHistory, is the Head of theDepartment of Archaeology andspecial historical subjects in Minsk,Belarus. His area of expertise is thearcheology of the late Bronze Ageand Iron Age in the forest zone of theEastern Europe. He is the author ofone monograph, two volumes of thefour-volume set of Archaeology ofBelarus, more than 70 scientificarticles and 69 encyclopedia articles.Email: [email protected] (375-172)26-01-75

ConclusionThe excavations in the Braslav Lakedistrict show that the Vikings activelyused its tributaries to the left penetratedeep into the territory of the northernBelarus while traveling along the WestDvina. Purchasing furs might have beenone of the purposes of such campaigns.


By Geir Sr-Reime, Projectconsultant for Destination Viking projects

Not only people of today areinterested in the past, a fewweeks ago a whole party ofViking re-enactors arrived atthe Iron-age farm of Gene innorthern Sweden toparticipate in a re-enactedIron-age party!

The fifth partner meeting of theDestination Viking Sagalands project It was quite a spectacular experiencehaving re-enactors dressed in Vikingcostumes meet other re-enactors dressedin Iron-age costumes at the reconstructedMigration-period farm of Gene close tornskldsvik in northern Sweden.

We, the guests, were taken on horse-drawn sledges over the frozen lake acrossto Gene. There the Chieftain of Genegreeted the visiting Viking chieftains andwe were all invited to take part in the bigfeast in the great hall of the longhouse.

Here we were served excellent food anddrink, and throughout the evening storieswere told. The local chieftain and his wifeeven performed a juggling act withcandles on the ice.

The reason for all this is that GeneFornby is a partner of Destination VikingSagalands project, and the fifth partnermeeting of that project was being held inrnskldsvik.

Although Gene is not a Viking village,they have focused primarily onstorytelling and creating local sagas intheir public presentations.

Gene Fornby The reconstructed farm itself lies belowthe original site. The original site wasexcavated from 1977 until 1989.

Prior to the excavation of the site it wasthought that Scandinavians colonized theSwedish province of ngermanland onlyduring the Viking Age. This sitedemonstrated that colonization had takenplace some 800 years earlier.

Due to the remarkable elevation of theland, around 1-centimetre annually, theoriginal site, which was once located closeto the shore, now lies far from theseashore. The sea was 18 metres higher


DestinationVikingDestination Viking is a concept forpresenting the Vikings and the VikingAge. It includes museums, visitorcentres, prehistoric villages, re-enactment groups etc., and isworking with research, presentationand the development of a trans-national tourist destination.

Destination Viking includes anumber of separate projects, currentlythe Destination Viking Living History(former Baltic Stories), funded by theInterreg IIIB Baltic Sea Regionprogramme and the DestinationViking Sagalands project, funded bythe Interreg IIIB Northern Peripheryprogramme. An application forInterreg IIIB North Sea Region fundingfor a Destination Viking Waterlinksproject was submitted in March.

The Destination Viking projects areco-publishers of Viking HeritageMagazine, and Viking Heritage is apartner of Destination Viking.

Project consultant for DestinationViking projects:

Mr Geir Sr-Reime, Senior AdvisoryOfficer, Rogaland County Council ggssrr@@rrffkk..rrooggaallaanndd--ff..kkoommmmuunnee..nnoo

Project manager Destination VikingLiving History:

Mr Bjrn Jakobsen, Director,Fotevikens Museum bbmmjj@@ffootteevviikkeenn..ssee

Project manager Destination VikingSagalands:

Mr Rgnvaldur Gudmundsson,Director, Tourism Research &Consulting rrooggnnvv@@hhii..iiss

Co-ordinator of Destination Viking +Viking Heritage partnership:

Mr Dan Carlsson,Associate Professor,Gotland University ddaann..ccaarrllssssoonn@@hhggoo..ssee

These projects are co-financed by the EU Interreg IIIBBaltic Sea Region programme and Northen Periheryprogramme and NORA.

Games at Gene Fornby. Photo Agne Sterberg.

Vikings join in Iron-age Chieftains Feast


when the farm was in use. The reconstruction was placed close to

the current shore, however, so that youcan feel the close relationship betweenfarming and fishing that once prevailedhere.

The prehistoric farm is run by afoundation of national, regional and localparties. Today the living history aspect isprobably the most prominent and visible,but throughout its history Gene has alsobeen a site for experimental archaeology.Experiments are still being carried out.Quite recently, the pit house for flaxweaving was completely rebuilt, based onexperiences from actual use. The newconstruction is much lighter and moreopen than the first attempt.

The reconstruction of the farm started1991. Today the farm consists of alonghouse, a barn, a large smithy and thepit house.

Sagalands as a marketing brandThe Sagalands meeting itself addressed anumber of vital questions. The mostimportant ones concern the future andthe continued development of thenetwork and its products. Sagalands isgradually emerging as a powerfulmarketing brand. The new Sagalands mapwill strengthen this, as will the Sagalandsbook to be published soon. The projectintends to present these products at theupcoming West Norden Travel Mart inCopenhagen later this year.

The project also addresses the questionof product quality. Here, both re-enactment and saga and storytelling are

important elements, and the groupincludes a number of specialists in theseareas too.

In connection with the meeting, thegroup also visited the High Coast, an areawith the highest elevation of land in theworld. This area became a World Heritagearea in 2001.

We also visited the Regional Museumof Vsternorrbotten County. Here wewere guided through a new andinteresting exhibition on the subject ofland elevation. Mr Bertil Nordin from therock-art centre at Nmsforsen gave us anintroduction into this exciting world ofStoneand Bronze-age carvings.

Summing up the resultsThe time is now approaching to sum up

the results of the Sagalands project andtake a look at the future.

The project has been working alongthree main lines

living history and establishment ofSaga trails

revival of story telling marketing of the Sagalands as a

concept and tourist destination.

Several partners run reconstructedViking-age villages, and a number ofmeasures have been taken to ensurecontinuous quality improvement there.Several partners have also signposted Sagatrails in their areas. In addition, severalpartners have produced leaflets andbooklets to promote understanding ofimportant sagas.

There have been a number of story-telling courses, story-telling events andeven storybooks published.

The marketing of the Sagalandsconcept is well underway. An illustratedSagalands map is under production, as isan illustrated Sagalands book. The latterdescribes all partner areas, departing froma Saga story and linking it to places andlandscapes in the area.

For each of these three priorities,separate working groups have beenestablished, and they will present updatedsuggestions for the future development ofthe network and the Sagalands concept atthe upcoming project meeting on theFaroe Islands in July 2005.


Storytelling. David Cooper from ShetlandIslands. Photo Rgnvaldur Gudmundsson

The delegates on Skuleberget on theHigh Coast. Photo Agne Sterberg.



The Viking ship Icelander wasfirst put to sea off the coast ofReykjavk, Iceland, on March 16,1996. It was built to sail acrossthe Atlantic Ocean to NorthAmerica in the year 2000, incommemoration of the 1000-year anniversary of BjarniHerjlfsson and LeifurEirkssons discovery of the NewWorld.

The By Gunnar Marel EggertssonBuilder and captain of the ship

The Icelander in New York. Photo Einar Falur

slendingur(Icelander)sailing by thewest coast ofIceland. Photo RafnHafnfjr


A replica of the Gokstad shipThe Icelander is a replica of the Gokstadship, which was discovered in Norwayand is believed to have been built aroundthe year 870. It is 23 metres long and5.25 metres wide at midship, and its hullis 1.96 metres deep. The construction ofThe Icelander took roughly one year.

During the Viking Age, it only took asingle winter, or 7-8 months, to buildsuch a ship, no matter how large it was. Aship of this size is referred to as 16 sessur a 16-seater in the Icelandic sagas,referring to the 16 pairs of oars it

Settlement and are introduced to theIcelandic sagas in their history classes.

The millennium voyageOn 17 June 2000, the Icelander set sailfrom Reykjavk and embarked on its longjourney to Vinland, now known asNewfoundland. It was fitting thatReykjavk should be the point ofdebarkation, as it is believed thatReykjavk was indeed the place whereIcelands first settler, Inglfur Arnarsson,set foot on land in the year 874.

The Icelanders millennium voyage tothe New World began, however, with asail to Leifur Eirkssons birthplace inHvammsfjrdur fjord, on the west coastof Iceland, in order to pay well-deservedtribute to Leifur and his people.

After this stop in Hvammsfjrdur, theIcelander departed en route to Greenland,and the journey westward to NorthAmerica began in earnest. The author ofthis article, Gunnar Marel Eggertsson, thebuilder of the Icelander, served as captain,and I was accompanied by a crew of nineexperienced sailors. The voyage wentexceptionally well. The ship and crewwere blessed with good weather, and wemet with only three or four stormyperiods all the way to New York.

Sailing a Viking shipIt may come as a surprise to the laymanthat passengers aboard a Viking ship enjoyan unusual amount of comfort at sea.Under all but the most extremecircumstances, the ships do not lean whenthe sail fills with wind. The Icelanders sailmeasures 130 m2. When navigating underfull sail, the sail actually helps to hold theship upright and still so that it will notheel over.

In general, Viking ships are structuredand designed to sail downwind. Thisnotwithstanding, it is a mistake to assumethat Viking ships are unable to sail intothe wind. The Gokstad ship, for example,has many features that prove its ability tosail upwind.

The Icelander makes excellent progressat a 45-degree angle into the wind,achieving speeds of up to 6-8 knots in a20-knot wind. But it is most pleasant to

sail downwind, for when the wind isbehind the ship the air on board isvirtually still.

As is well known, the hull of a Vikingship is open all the way down to the keel;there is no deck as such, only a networkof loose planks and crossbeams. I am ofthe opinion that Viking-age shipwrightshad the specific aim of designing theirboats so that they would keep the sea out.Indeed, this is exactly what happens if thecrew handles the ship properly.

In my own career, I have had extensiveexperience in sailing Viking ships on theopen ocean, having sailed the equivalentof two trips around the globe. During allthese journeys, my crews and I have beenfaced with all sorts of conditions, but theship has never been flooded with seawaterto any degree that could be consideredremotely dangerous, though an inevitablespray drizzles over all ships as they sailinto the wind.

And on a humorous note, they say thata frightened sailor with bucket in hand isthe best pump that one can have onboard! Actually, rain is the seamans worstenemy and has always been so, but I willcome back to this later in the story of theIcelanders voyage westward.

GreenlandThe Icelanders journey to Greenland waseventful and anything but trauma-free.When the ship approached the southerntip of Greenland, we were locked in byice. This could be chalked up to amisunderstanding among the crew, thathad to battle for a good 10 hours, withlife and limb at stake, in order to get theship out of the ice unscathed.

The Icelander ran aground on icebergs,rocking up and down intermittently insuch a way that I suspected holes hadbeen punctured in the hull, and I wasafraid that ship and crew were about tosink into the ocean then and there.

But then it was revealedincontrovertibly that the man whodesigned the Gokstad ship over 1100years ago knew exactly what he was doing.To watch this age-old hull design buckle,bend, twist, and more or less bounce upand down in its life-and-death dance with


Viking Ship Icelander

accommodated. Its crew numbered some70 men.

An educational vesselThe Icelander was operated as a sort ofeducational vessel until the year 2000. Atthat time, 11-year old school childrenwere invited, in groups of 2550 studentsat a time, for a two-hour sail out into thebay off the coast of Reykjavk.

All in all, some 1800 school childrensailed with the Icelander on these educationaltrips, which included lectures on the shipitself, Viking ships in general, and thehistorical background of the Viking Age.

This hands-on experience provided astimulating and timely addition to thechildrens school curriculum, as 11-yearold Icelandic pupils study Icelands Age of


that ancient enemy pack ice wassimply unbelievable. And it was a proudcaptain who discovered, after a detailedinspection, that the ship had emergedfrom the crisis virtually as sound as theday it was built.

The Icelander was entirely undamaged merely bruised, if one can call it that after this battle that demanded theunstinting skill and tenacity of both shipand crew. To survive such an ordeal on avessel designed in the year 870 by a geniuswhose name, unfortunately, we will neverknow was an experience that is nothingshort of awe-inspiring.

There was an elaborate ceremony whenwe arrived at Brattahld, the farmbelonging to Eirkur the Red and his wife,Thjdhildur, who were the parents ofLeifur Eirksson and his siblings. Anumber of dignitaries including

Greenlands home-rule governor, JonatanMosfeld, and his wife; Queen Margareteand Prince Henrik of Denmark; andIcelandic President lafur RagnarGrmsson boarded the Icelander andembarked on a two-hour sail aroundEirksfjrdur fjord after the receptionceremony.

Prince Henrik, who is well known forhis skill at handling modern sailboats,asked to be allowed to take the helm andwas astounded at how close to the windhe was able to sail the ship.

On the morning of the Icelandersdeparture from Greenland, the crew wentto Thjdhildarkirkja Thjdhildurschurch and had a quiet moment thereto pray for good weather and good sailingon the way to Vinland.

The church is a replica of the oneEirkur the Reds wife, Thjdhildur, had

built after she converted to Christianityaround the year 1000. According to afamous legend, Thjdhildur refused tosleep with her husband unless he alsoconverted. Eirkur the Red took a dimview of such an ultimatum, however, anddug his heels in.

The church itself is so small that itrequires a stretch of the imagination evento call it a church. The word chapel maybe a more accurate term, though perhapsit doesnt matter much to God whatpeople call their houses of worship. (Readmore about Thdhildurs church in VHM4/04, Eds.note.)

LAnse aux Meadows In the Icelanders case, it seemed as thoughthe crews prayers were heard because,immediately upon our departure from thecoast of Greenland, impeccable weatherand wind conditions met the ship. Anorthwest wind of 1520 knots followedus all the way to LAnse aux Meadows inNewfoundland, some six-and-a-half daysaway. Another celebration, with a crowdof spectators 25,000 strong, met theIcelander in LAnse aux Meadows.

Never before had such a large group ofpeople congregated in this secluded place.Among the guests at the ceremony were alarge number of dignitaries from theparticipating countries.

The Icelanders subsequent ports of callin Newfoundland included 10 harbours,where the crew and ship received anunforgettable welcome. By the time weleft the island and continued on our wayto Nova Scotia, we had met so manywonderful people that it was with heavyhearts that we stepped on board to set sailfor Halifax.

While we were in Newfoundland, acrew of 45 people with trailers containing


Reykjanes Peninsula

On Reykjanes peninsula, about a 20-minute drive from Icelands LeifurEirksson International Airport, ruins of aSettlement-age farmstead have recentlybeen discovered. It is considered quitelikely that this farmstead belonged tothe great-grandfather of BjarniHerjlfsson, the first European to seteyes on the American continent.

It will be certainly intriguing to keepabreast of developments as this site isexcavated this site that probably

played a vital role in Europeansdiscovery of North America.

In fact, Reykjanes is a very interestingplace for many reasons. Very near theairport lie the geological boundarieswhere the American and Europeantectonic plates meet. The city ofReykjanesbaer has erected a bridgespanning the boundary between the twoplates, thus enabling the visitor to walkfrom Europe to America in a minutestime.

An interesting aside is that the newlydiscovered Settlement-age farmbelonging to Bjarni Herjlfssons great-

grandfather is on the American side ofthe boundary!

The Viking ship Icelander is housedabout 10 minutes from the internationalairport. Visitors to Iceland cannot avoiddriving past the building where theIcelander dwells, as the road toReykjavk passes right by. Those whoare interested in seeing the ship arewelcome to contact the author using thephone number or e-mail address below.

This year, construction will begin ona building where the Icelander will bethe centre of attention, surrounded bythe Viking exhibition that the

The crew of the Icelander in Eiriksstadir replica farm, Haukadalur valley, Iceland. PhotoMagns Hjrleifsson


a portable stage andaudio gear hadfollowed us to all 10harbours and set uptheir equipment every place we stopped.As a result, we made friendships whosebonds will never be broken. As a matterof fact, one of our own crewmembers metand recently married a woman fromNewfoundland!

Our voyage gave us the opportunity toforge anew an acquaintance with the landand people of the New World a bondthat perhaps was never truly broken afterall, despite the passage of a thousand yearsafter Leifur and Bjarni set foot on land inVinland.

I personally experienced a strong senseof

viking heritage magazine 1-05

Documents