Archaeology: Viking site discovery

Another major Viking site discovered in a tiny village in Annagassan - Ireland - said to be one of the most important Viking sites in the world. It seems a small rural community once housed a Viking winter base there.

We know that Ireland already has a known major Viking Settlement - Dublin - but it appears a second one was found in Annagassan site, 50 miles north of the capital. This place appears in tales, it was thought to be a myth till now; archaeologists started working on these "virgin" grounds and unearthed the truth.

 It was already confirmed that the Linn Duchaill site, beside the river Glyde and south of Dundalk Bay, was where the Vikings brought their long ships or longphorts to be repaired. It was also the base for inland raids as far as Longford and into the north all the way to Armagh. However, it was eventually abandoned as a port due to poor tides and a shallow bay;  Linn Duachaill was also a large trading town as the Vikings exported Irish slaves and looted goods. 

The site is untouched, it has not been trashed by a road and it still is a greenfield site, there is no motorway going through it and it is basically a "virgin" territory. It has been husbanded and farmed for the last few hundred years and is unspoilt. It seems to be one of the most important sites of its kind in the world, not just in Europe.

Radio-carbon dating has conclusively shown it is a site of early Viking Age. It is an enormously important discovery because it is of the very earliest period of Viking settlement in Ireland. It was founded in 841 and the Annals of Ulster tell it was used over the next 50 years continuously.

The Reindeer Antler Comb

The academically accepted date for the beginning of the Viking Age is around 793 A.D. with the sack of Lindisfarne, however, new researches suggest that the Viking age may have begun earlier. Archaeologists found deer antlers fashioned into various items, including a comb which dates to an earlier age (725 A.D.) The artefacts were uncovered in the town of Ribe in Denmark, which indicates trading connections between the Danes and the Norwegians in a period earlier than what was previously thought.

These amazing findings have certainly altered previous notions of the development of a seafaring culture in Scandinavia. Trade was an important factor to set the beginning of the Viking Age, and the attack on Lindisfarne marks the official start of that period, mainly because of the proximity to several concurring events. If we take other factors into account, the dates for the beginning of the Viking Age will differ a lot of course. However, the first attack on the christians by the Vikings was not Lindisfarne. Another raid tells us of an unfortunate encounter a few years prior to Lindisfarne in which a local official in Britain was murdered for insisting on imposing a tax on Scandinavian traders. Another example are the Raids in Frisia (modern day Netherlands) which had began as early as the 770’s.Now we have evidence that the Vikings had begun traveling for trade as early as the 720’s. What makes Lindisfarne the best candidate for the start of the Viking Age is that it was the singular most powerful event that brought the Scandinavian raids into the public consciousness of the world at that time.

The findings on Ribe raise a lot of questions, but at least we have now confirmed what scholars have theorized for several decades - the Vikings were traveling  merchants around Europe (and possibly other places of the known world at that time) long before they began raiding. There are several theories on why the Norse peoples started leaving their homeland to became merchants and raiders, such as climate changing and a great flow of populations and so on. However, the closing of ports to non-Christians by Charlemagne may have contributed to the increasing violence carried out by the Vikings, because they became so much dependent on foreign trade, and barring their way of making a living certainly brought an economic failure in the north and things got bad and the Vikings were forced to raid.

Ribe, the location where the comb made of reindeer antler was found, is one of the oldest towns in Europe, thought to have been founded in the early 9th Century. The finds indicate the town had its beginnings much earlier than previously thought. Thus, in truth, the Viking Age started with the trading of handcrafted items made out of reindeer antlers. The mercantile town of Ribe may have given the Vikings an economic incentive to sail south to Denmark. Coincidentally, these types of travels likely helped the Vikings refine and master boating and navigation skills that helped them explore the world. Merchants and other travelers from the north were visiting Ribe long before the start of the Viking Age.

Studying the items found in excavations, showed that reindeer (which isn't an animal native to Denmark), made up a number of the crafts. Reindeer did live in Norway during that time, and it's likely the Vikings brought the antlers to Denmark to trade with their neighbors. In fact, combs fashioned out of deer antlers were a sizable industry during the Viking Age, which lasted until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Other studies (not directly connected with the excavations and the findings in Ribe) have found that these type of items are commonly found in graves, which suggests that a considerable proportion of the Scandinavian population had reindeer antler combs, which served as a hygienic and aesthetic amenity.

Ascension Day

Beforehand, I would like to apologize to the readers of this blog for not writing as often as I used to. I've been very busy - and there is no need to make a list of the things that keep me occupied - so I don't have the free time I used to have to come here and write about something. I will seize these few moments of free time that I have today, to write about subjects I wanted to write before. Lets go straight to the subject of this post before my free time runs out.
The Ascension Day is a subject I wanted to write at the end of the month of May, but as I've stated before the reason why I couldn't have posted something as often as before, now I'll just have to squeeze in this May celebration in the month of June.

Once in awhile a celebration is at our doorstep. We enjoy the feasts which have been in our communities and/or country traditions for generations. But how much do we know about the origins of such celebrations? How deep do the roots of a tradition goes?

According to the christian tradition, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven after his resurrection on a Sunday during Easter - ascension Day is the universally celebration of this happening. Just like many other Church celebrations and feasts, incorporating folk traditions and pre-christian pagan beliefs, Ascension Day isn't different and has a past which was changed and given a new "look" by the Church. One of these ancient traditions during this day is beating the bounds, which is quite possible the origin of the Ascension procession (which is still carried out today in some church parishes).

When communities beat their bounds, which means going round the boundaries, the whole village would process from marker to marker (often standing stones) that determined the limits of the parish. In most cases, the stone marking the boundery was beaten with willow or hazel twigs and marked with chalk as a sign of the passing of the people. The beating reinforced the rights of the parishioners, setting the boundary of who belongs to that church, as such, could also be married and buried in the that same church and its grounds. This process marked the boundaries between the  parishioners and those who were outsiders, meaning, those living out of the village or in other villages, and those who did not participate in this process.

This tradition dates from a period before the Norman Conquest of Great Britain, so it is quite possible that it has pagan roots. The beating of the twigs in the stones, or maybe another objects, afforded the bounds between the communities and the outside wild world which was seen as the realm where gods and magical creatures dwelt. This was a process of driving out evil spirits before the land was blessed. In economical and political affairs, the procession itself may have been a means to demarcate a place of power, notifying neighbours that the boundary must not be breached just as the standing stones in prehistory did; along with many other religious and spiritual meanings, it was also to mark the boundaries of a community. Indeed, small boys often took the beating on behalf of the stone, ritually suffering to confirm the pact with the local spirits of the land. Some trees in the landscape still bear names such as Gospel Oak, showing they were part of the annual round as soon as the Church became involved in local traditions and ancient celebrations. 

As part of the church services nowadays during this celebration, the first fruits are blessed, presumably in anticipation of the harvest. This certainly replaces the earlier prayers and blessings offered to the spirits of the land at the beating of the bounds, ensuring that the soils will be bountiful in the year to come and that the next harvest will be plentiful. There are indications that the custom of blessing the land and its produce was widespread across early medieval Europe.

The modern Ascension Day feast, presumably celebrating Christ's ascending to heaven, has far older roots involving the communities' connection to the land around them, acknowledging the local spirits, and also offering thanks for the anticipated harvest to come to them and quite possible to the old gods of harvest and fertility. The spirits of the land and/or the deities, have been replaced by the son of the christian god. Ascension Day certainly has pagan roots which have been adapted and embraced by the Church.

Human Sacrifice - Northern Europe

When we talk about human sacrifices, people usually link that to an image of deep jungles somewhere in the southern areas of South America, and those semi-naked indigenous (or perhaps the Incas and Aztecs) opening someone's chest and taking out the heart, while the victim succumbs to death. But sacrificing humans to the gods or to achieve something good to the community, has always been a common practice among the cultures of Europe, far back from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age to the medieval Ages, and in some places later than that.

It may be common knowledge that in the northern european societies, (before and during the Viking Age) human sacrifices were common, and even great chieftains and kings would sacrifice themselves for their army to achieve victory.

There is an interesting place that I would like to mention here (and that is actually the main subject of this post) that was the background for human sacrifices in northern Europe. Trelleborg – in modern Sweden – it was found there, by the archaeologists, the remains of sacrificed animals and humans. Interestingly, the site contains the remains of children as well, between the ages of four and eight. The remains have been found buried within deep wells. The remains of these children indicate the importance of human sacrifice in Scandinavian culture. If the Vikings sacrificed their own progeny, then human sacrifice must have been of the utmost importance in their rituals. 

 Northern mythology tells us of Odin sacrificing his eye in the well of Mimir in order to attain knowledge and be able to see into the past, present and future; this mythic well may represent the vessel in which offerings and sacrifices are thrown to the gods. 

The sacrificial hanging was fairly frequent at a great festival which took place every nine years at Upsala. The bodies of victims, both human and animal, were hung in the grove close to the temple. Usually the human victims were war prisoners and were sacrificed to Odin. There is even an account from Ynglinga, that Idrundr and Eirikr captured Gulaugr - king of the Háleygir, and hunged him.

There are other rather disturbing sacrifices such as King Aun who sacrificed his own sons to Odin in order that he may have his life prolonged. A man might save his own life if he gives the life of another in exchange, similarly, the state must offer human sacrifices in order to ensure its own preservation and success.

Despite the findings at Trelleborg and such other places like Upsala or Leire, the practice of human sacrificing seemes to remain a contested concept among historians. Human sacrifices were in practice in the early Viking Age, and before that, by the Norse, not only in official ceremonies but also in private context.

Scandinavian Religious Leadership during the Viking Age

Unlike our European societies after christianisation, whose religious leadership is held by the church, in the scandinavian societies things were different and religion was no less important to them as it was for the early christians. Religious ceremonies and its administration was performed by the local leaders of the communities.  For instance, a Jarl* of a farmstead took on the duties of administration, not only in the Thing*, but also conducting ceremonies related religion, the seasons and harvest times, new births, accessions, deaths, and so on.

The Jarls were of course very powerful and had a very active contribution in their communities. But not only Jarls had the power to conduct ceremonies and such. There were the Hersar (sing. Hersir). The "landed men"; local chieftains with family lands and many tenants and dependants, who preside over their district Thing. Of course the Hersar were more busy in increasing their wealth, and often led raids.

Women also had a very important and active role when it came to religious administration and other related actions. Many performed acts such as telling the future, healing the sick, and worked as the shaman/seeress of the local community. Women were seen as the keepers of the magic arts and able to communicate with divinities and otherworld spirits. Of course not all women were wielders of magic, but magic was their domain. Obviously there were men practicing the magic arts, but they were too few and were seen as effeminate for their unmanly behavior.

*Jarl - Powerful regional magnates. The highest men in the land under the king. Some Jarls were as powerful and wealthier as their kings, and had bands of warriors which rivaled the size of the kings' own armies. Many led raids to increase their status and wealth.

*Thing - and assembly where laws were discussed.

The goodbye to Scandinavian paganism

In the countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, people worshiped a set of deities belonging to two different tribes of gods - the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir were the deities associated with the arts of war and were ruled by Odin, the god of wisdom, war and death. The Vanir were the deities associated with the fertility of animals, humans and the land itself. The latter, in time, became a subclass of gods within the Aesir and vs versa, all gods were important. By the 10th century, Christianity came into these countries and brought an end to the polytheistic worship of the Northern European peoples, thus creating three new realms unified under one faith, under one god.

The Christianization of Scandinavia wasn't held in one day. It was a process which took time, and a long and painful time it was indeed. It is obvious that the Scandinavians had their own conflicts, and battles were common between them, but with the coming of Christianization war took a whole different meaning. Wars in great scale, murdering for no purpose, solely for the new faith, the new god and the hatred which was spread by lies that poisened the minds of monarchs. Denmark was the most easily transformed country. The Viking raids slowly introduced the new religion, due to the christians brought as war prizes. The Danes were often in contact with England and Normandy, allowing them to continued exposure to the new religion via political interactions. At first, there was little struggle in assimilating the two faiths, and they were able to coexist under the individual decrees of the Danish tribal leaders. This assimilation began around the 930s of our common era. The baptism of war leaders and kings built a new path for the christian faith to spread, for the kings and warchiefs demanded that their subjects had to be converted as well, since the new faith was now part of their culture. The danish tribes were united under the flag of this new god. The canonization of Canute IV in the 12th century, the Christian ruler of Denmark in the late 1000s, declared Christianity as Denmark's official religion.

The earliest recordings of Christianity in Sweden were in the 700s. In the 830s, Saint Ansgar (a monk with the mission to bring Christianity to Northern Europe), came to the northern shores to spread word of the new faith at the bid of the Swedish king of that time. However, his church at Birka was highly rejected, so it was not until Olof Skötkonung, (the first Christian king of Sweden), agreed to a toleration of the two faiths in the late 900s that Christianity found a place in Swedish culture. He established the first episcopal center in Skara rather than near Uppsala in Uppland, as there is written documentation that the largest worship center to the Norse gods existed at Uppsala. This might have been a wise choice of the king, to avoid war between the followers of the two faiths. It was King Inge later, in the 1080s, who disregarded the risks of war and ended the sacrifices at Uppsala, ultimately serving as the moment of transition between Paganism and Christianity in Sweden. Although, the result of this instance was Inge's temporary exile by his brother- By the year 1130 Christianity gained a permanent stronghold in Sweden and spread to become the foremost religion in the land. 

Norway was the most difficult to transform from polytheism to Christianity, as its history was filled with rulers who constantly dictated the religion. Most of the conflict was seen during a fifty year period (from 950 to1000 CE), under King Haakon. Haakon's method was simple: temples were left to the pagans with churches built right beside them, and though he refused on his own part to sacrifice to the Aesir and Vanir, he also refused to punish those who continued this practice. Haakon was able to begin the spread of Christianity throughout this region by showing kindness to the established polytheistic religion.

King Haakon was one of a kind, unfortunately, a rare sort of man in this period of great changes. After his death, Jarl Haakon replaced him, himself being a pagan man. All the Christianization that King Haakon had established was utterly destroyed. In acting this way, not only did Jarl Haakon create a stricter war against Christianity, but in the years to come he forged a reason for the Norwegian Christians to detest the Aesir and Vanir followers. With the end of the 10th century, the Christian king Olaf Tryggvason was very much ready to eliminate every pagan follower of the old religion. King Olaf had had a very strict christian education, and pagans were seen as the evil sort of "creatures" which worshiped the devil.

However, Tryggvason only ruled for five years, (from 955 to 1000 CE), but he made certain that they were prolific years. He travelled all over Norway to enforce the Christian faith, destroying pagan areas of worship, including temples and everyone we could find. Those who refused to submit to the new religion were tortured and severely punished, ending up dead anyway. By the end of the 12th century, Tryggvason's successors saw Christianity dominating Norway.

With the rise of the new religion, there came a need for building structures linked to the faith. The first church buildings were modelled most specifically from the longships, towering structures that loomed toward the sky like the future Gothic cathedrals with dragon heads on the roof reflecting the strength and power. These churches, called stave churches because of the stars at the heart of their post and lintel structure, were the highlight and symbol of the new religion that had swept through Scandinavia and became a symbol of the unification between the three lands at the cost of many wars, bloodshed and suffering.

The Sarmatian Shaman

In 2013, archaeologists found in Kurgan (Russia) what seems to be a Sarmatian burial mound. In the southern Ural steppes this amazing finding shows some peculiar items that may suggest that the individual buried there was a shaman.

A little bit of history is needed to know who the Sarmatians were. Most people though for an age that they were natives to Europe in the region we now call Poland. However, the Sarmatians were Iranian (an Indo-European people such as the Alans/Alani, very caucasian-looking) flourishing from around the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. The burial mound found in Russia, dates to early in the range, corresponding to the Early Iron Age within the region. The Sarmatians spoke a Scythian language and later their territory corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia (mostly modern Ukraine and Southern Russia nowadays). Around 100 BC, the Sarmatian tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. The Sarmatians traded with the Mediterranean cultures to the west, although, they retained their own customs and traditions, rooted in their nomadic lifestyle.

In the burial mound, in the grave itself to be more precise, 26 golden deer statues have been found, which may have been representations of Gods or spirits to the people that put them there. Further excavations were carried out and a body was revealed. Archaeologists first found a bronze cauldron (of great size) in the entrance passage to the grave, which might have been especially made for the burial. It is definitely in the Sarmatian style as the handles are made from two griffons. Such animals are prominently features in the art of the region and may represent spirit animals since griffons are mythical creatures. 

The grave was richly furnished and, since the remains comprised those typically found with female burials, as well as a quantity of fine jewellery, the burial was concluded to be that of a woman. A small wicker case was found near the skull. It was stuffed with items including a wooden box, leather pouches, glass, horse teeth with red pigments, a cast silver lidded container, bathroom flasks, silver and earthenware and gold pectoral cages. There was also a large silver mirror that lay nearby. It was decorated with gilded stylised animals on the handle, and an embossed decoration on the back. The image of an eagle sat in the centre of the mirror, surrounded by a procession of six winged bulls. Mirrors at this time were very rare and such intense decoration suggests a spiritual use. It is common to link Iron Age mirrors to Shamanism because they were used for such purposes.

Archaeologists also uncovered equipment used for tattooing, including two stone mixing palettes and gold-covered iron needles, as well as bone spoons used to blend paints. The pens were decorated with animals. It is impossible to say whether the body had tattoos as only bones remain but, elsewhere, waterlogged kurgans reveal tattooed bodies with depictions animals such as those found in this burial mound. Tattooing at this time is often linked with shamanism and many of the other tattooed bodies contain items used in a spiritual lifestyle.

Later tests on the body revealed that the body found is not a woman at all, but actually a man. Now the items on the grave take a total different meaning.

In the Greek literature, there is an account about Enaree (a Scythian shaman described as effeminate or androgynous).Transvestite shamans in Scythian culture lived in the guise of the opposite gender. There are some details about these androgynous figures, suggesting that they received serious damage to their manhood through riding and therefore live the rest of their lives as women. Such transformation clearly marked them out as shamans. Blurring gender and sexual boundaries for spiritual practice still occurs in the area and is also found in many other parts of the world, where many male shamans live as women.

This might explain the items placed with the body in the Samaritan burial mound. This person might have been a male shaman living as a woman, and providing spiritual guidance to the local community. He was buried with his beautiful clothes and jewellery, vanity items, and also the tools of his shamanic trade. Given the wealth of grave goods, he was clearly highly esteemed by his community both during his life but also after his death.