Outline

The Northern Emporium project aims to explore the evolution and dynamics of the earliest urban network in Scandinavia and the transition to the maritime-based network society in the Viking Age, based on a comprehensive, stratigraphic excavation of settlement and workshop layers in a central part of the earliest Ribe, one of the richest archaeological sites of the North Sea trading world, which emerged in the eighth century CE.

Ribe contains very rare organic layers from Scandinavia's first town. This workshop brings together a number of specialists to map the potential and strategy for a zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, biomolecular and geochemical sampling and analysis programme before the excavations start.

The Northern Emporium project is an archaeological research project funded by the Carlsberg Foundation (Semper Ardens Fellowship). The project is affiliated to Centre of Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) at Aarhus University and carried out in close collaboration with Museum of Southwest Jutland. 

Participants

Matthew Collins, Copenhagen University/University of York

Sarah Croix, Aarhus University

Pieterjan Deckers, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Claus Feveile, Museum of South West Jutland

Søren Munch Kristiansen, Aarhus University

Peter Hambro Mikkelsen, Moesgaard Museum

David Orton, University of York

Eileen Reilly, independent, Dublin

Søren M. Sindbæk, Aarhus University

Morten Søvsø, Museum of South West Jutland

Mikkel Winther, Copenhagen University

Barbora Wouters, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Programme

11:00   Arrival and coffee

11:10   Søren M. Sindbæk: Welcome and introduction to the Northern Emporium Project

11:25   Claus Feveile: The site and excavations strategy

11:40   Morten Søvsø: Archaeology and archaeoscience in Ribe

11:55   Questions

12:15   Lunch

13:00   Matthew Collins: dirt-proteomics

13:15   Discussion

13:25   Mikkel Winther, Copenhagen University: dirt DNA

13:40   Discussion

13:50   Barbora Wouters: Micromorphology

14:05   Discussion

14:15   Søren Munch Kristiansen: soil geochemistry and dating of contexts

14:30   Discussion

14:40   David Orton: osteology, esp. small mammals.

14:55   Discussion

15:05   Coffee

15:30   Eileen Reilly, independent, Dublin: archaeoentomology

15:45   Discussion

15:55   Peter Hambro Mikkelsen: palynology, NPP, macrofossils, woodDownload altBing Maps

16:10   Discussion

16:20   Marcello Mannino: Isotopic studies on animal (and human?) bones

16:35   Discussion

16:45   Topical discussions and questions from the project team (chair SMS)

17:30   Snack, mingling and brainstorm

18:30   Dinner and more brainstorm

Registration

If you wish to participate in the event, please contact Søren M. Sindbæk (farksms@cas.au.dk). Seats will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis.