On diverse arts: crucible metallurgy and the polymetallic cycle at Scandinavia’s earliest Viking town, Ribe (8th–9th c. CE), Denmark

Orfanou, Vana; Birch, Thomas; Sindbæk, Søren M.; Feveile, Claus; Barfod, Gry H.; Lesher, Charles E.

doi:10.1007/s12520-021-01308-1

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…While fine metalworkers and their products have received much attention (e.g. Armbruster, 2004Armbruster, , 2012Feveile, 2006 ;Ambrosiani, 2013;Pedersen, 2016Pedersen, , 2017Orfanou et. al., 2021), the working of iron (blacksmithing) and the way the blacksmiths' roles and skill sets were integrated in this milieu have attracted less notice (see, however, Ottaway, 2019).…”

Section: The Metalworkers In Towns Marketplaces and Farmsteadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Armbruster, 2004, 2012; Feveile, 2006; Ambrosiani, 2013; Pedersen, 2016, 2017; Orfanou et. al., 2021), the working of iron (blacksmithing) and the way the blacksmiths’ roles and skill sets were integrated in this milieu have attracted less notice (see, however, Ottaway, 2019). The extensive excavation campaigns of 1998–2003 at Kaupang did not reveal any in situ traces of ironworking or interrelations between different types of metalworking.…”

Section: The Metalworkers In Towns Marketplaces and Farmsteadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tools of Different Trades? Merging Skill Sets in Metalworking at Viking Age Kaupang

McGraw,

Mjærum

2024

Eur. j. archaeol

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In Old Norse poetic literature, the smiðr was a master of the arts, able to control and shape multiple materials into various kinds of objects. While the mythological smiðr has been regarded as separate from the real-world blacksmiths and metalworkers of gold, silver, and copper alloys, the archaeological evidence recovered in towns and workshops of the Viking Age, as well as medieval written sources, provide a different perspective. In 2015, a hitherto unknown, well-preserved workshop was excavated in the Viking town of Kaupang in Norway, containing evidence of complex metalworking requiring the skills of blacksmiths and workers of soft metals. In this article, the authors venture beyond the Old Norse myths, into the world of the proficient smiths as multi-crafters and their tools of the trade.

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Section: The Metalworkers In Towns Marketplaces and Farmsteadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Metalworkers In Towns Marketplaces and Farmsteadsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tools of Different Trades? Merging Skill Sets in Metalworking at Viking Age Kaupang

McGraw,

Mjærum

2024

Eur. j. archaeol

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Forging a New World Order? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Management of Metalworking and Ideological Change in the Late Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

Orfanou

Sava

O’Neill

et al. 2022

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The Carpathian Basin was a highly influential centre of metalworking in the 2nd mil. BC. Nevertheless, despite the abundance of metal objects from the Late Bronze Age, the scarcity of contextually associated metalworking remains representing distinct phases of the metalworking cycle from this region is striking. Here, we explore Late Bronze Age metalworking through the lens of a uniquely complete metalworking assemblage from the site of Șagu from contexts spanning the sixteenth to early thirteenth century BC. This material provides insights into changes in craft organisation following socio-political change after the collapse of Middle Bronze Age tell-centred communities. Our approach combines analytical and experimental data together with contextual analysis of technical ceramics (crucible, mould, and furnace fragments) to reconstruct the metalworking chaîne opératoire and place Șagu in its broader cultural context. Analyses demonstrate clear technological choices in ceramic paste recipes and strong interlinkages between metallurgy and other crafts practised on site, from domestic pottery production to building structures. Experimental replications reveal important intrinsic and experiential aspects of metallurgical activities at Șagu. Evidence on the spatial organisation of metallurgical workflows (routine sequence of actions and decisions) suggests they incorporated a high degree of visibility, which marks a distinct change in the use of craft space compared to the context of densely occupied Middle Bronze Age tells nearby. Combined, our archaeometric, experimental, and contextual results illustrate how changes in metalworking activities in the Late Bronze Age Carpathian Basin were deeply embedded in an ideological shift in the aftermath of the breakdown of Middle Bronze Age tells and the emergence of new social structures.

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A multi-proxy geochemical and micromorphological study of the use of space and stratigraphy of a Viking-age house in Ribe, Denmark

Trant,

Wouters,

Croix

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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High-definition approaches are currently revolutionizing our understanding of the archaeology of urban archives. Multi-proxy studies at a high spatial resolution offer especially an opportunity to capture their high data potential. Here we present a study of complex floor layers from an occupation phase dating to c. AD 790–830 uncovered in the Viking-age emporium Ribe, Denmark (c. AD 700–900). In order to better understand stratigraphy and the use of indoor space, mapping for soil geochemistry (portable X-ray fluorescence analysis, pXRF) on a high-resolution grid (0.25 × 0.25 m, n = 1059), was combined with targeted sampling for soil micromorphology and artefact distributions. The results show that the studied occupation phase was composed of several short-lived floor phases belonging to two consecutive houses that had been sampled in conjunction, and which exhibited a complex stratigraphy. The older house phase had a primarily domestic function, where ten functional areas could be defined, and are interpreted as designated spaces for food preparation, storage, sitting or sleeping, and weaving. A younger house phase contained a metal workshop in addition to domestic functions. Methodologically, a number of new, potentially anthropogenic, elements of archaeological interest, such as arsenic, manganese and sulfur, were identified that may contribute to interpretations, while the multi-proxy approach elucidates the refined scale at which we can understand a complex stratigraphic sequence and the integrity of its units. This study shows how the various aspects of Viking-age urban life (craft production, domestic life) were integrated, and sheds light on the dynamics of urban occupation.

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On diverse arts: crucible metallurgy and the polymetallic cycle at Scandinavia’s earliest Viking town, Ribe (8th–9th c. CE), Denmark

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

Tools of Different Trades? Merging Skill Sets in Metalworking at Viking Age Kaupang

Tools of Different Trades? Merging Skill Sets in Metalworking at Viking Age Kaupang

Forging a New World Order? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Management of Metalworking and Ideological Change in the Late Bronze Age Carpathian Basin

A multi-proxy geochemical and micromorphological study of the use of space and stratigraphy of a Viking-age house in Ribe, Denmark

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