Given online by the Iceland Society of Archaeologists on February 3, 2022
Abstract: Boats form a subset of grave goods increasingly found in Viking Age burials, which have been the subject of much scholarly debate, especially from the 19th century onwards. Since the Middle Ages, it was generally known that Scandinavian people used to be buried in boats before the Christianisation, since mentions of this custom are found in the Icelandic sagas and in ibn Fadlan’s account.
This talk aims to present an overview of the research made in this field. First, the primary sources will be discussed in order to examine their content in light of the archaeological record. Then, I will move on to present the debates which have been prominent in this field. We will look at how scholars have approached boat burials, and how these burials have been identified and recorded. Moreover, the several theories regarding the interpretation of the boat burial custom will be presented and discussed. This study of the history of research of boat burials is part of my PhD project which seeks to offer a new interpretation of this custom and to analyse boat burials, in order to compile them into a comprehensive catalogue, which will serve as a useful tool to facilitate future studies and research in this field.
Viking Age boat burials: a history of research
Paper by Luna Polinelli
Given online by the Iceland Society of Archaeologists on February 3, 2022
Abstract: Boats form a subset of grave goods increasingly found in Viking Age burials, which have been the subject of much scholarly debate, especially from the 19th century onwards. Since the Middle Ages, it was generally known that Scandinavian people used to be buried in boats before the Christianisation, since mentions of this custom are found in the Icelandic sagas and in ibn Fadlan’s account.
This talk aims to present an overview of the research made in this field. First, the primary sources will be discussed in order to examine their content in light of the archaeological record. Then, I will move on to present the debates which have been prominent in this field. We will look at how scholars have approached boat burials, and how these burials have been identified and recorded. Moreover, the several theories regarding the interpretation of the boat burial custom will be presented and discussed. This study of the history of research of boat burials is part of my PhD project which seeks to offer a new interpretation of this custom and to analyse boat burials, in order to compile them into a comprehensive catalogue, which will serve as a useful tool to facilitate future studies and research in this field.
Luna Polinelli is a PhD student at the University of Iceland. Click here to follow her on Acadamia.edu
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