Thursday, May 31, 2018

Viking Grave-Goods Book

Casemate Academic is having a 20% off sale on certain Viking Age-related titles from now until June 30, 2018.

Of particular interest to me is the following book:
Harrison, Stephen J. & O'Floinn, Raghnall.  Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ireland. 
National Museum of Ireland (2015).
Casemate Academic's page describes the book this way:
The volume is the first comprehensive catalogue and detailed discussion of over 400 artifacts from more than a hundred furnished Viking graves in Ireland, many published for the first time. The volume includes the first detailed study of the archives of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy and of the Irish Antiquities Division of the National Museum of Ireland, key resources for those interested in the history of museums in Ireland and in 19th and 20th century collectors and collecting. The grave-goods (both Insular and Scandinavian) are the subject of detailed examination, with separate sections devoted to weapons, dress ornaments and jewelry, tools, equestrian equipment and miscellaneous artifacts. The volume also contains a discussion of grave distribution, form, orientation, ritual and contents. While much of the text is given over to the Kilmainham-Islandbridge burial complex - now confirmed as by far the largest cemetery of its type in the Viking west - the monograph also includes details of the Viking graves from elsewhere in Dublin, and from the rest of Ireland.
At this point, I cannot afford even the $60 USD sale price for the book, but if it's really good I will try to obtain it through interlibrary loan.  So I ask my readers:  Have any of you had a chance to read/look at this volume?  Is it well illustrated? Does it have interesting things to say about jewelry and clothing/textile related finds, both Irish and Scandinavian?  Please let me know in the comments.

3 comments:

  1. I haven't read it, though it sounds good. It would be very interesting to see comparisons between Irish viking graves, and graves from Scandinavia. Like you, however, I find US$60 a bit steep.

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  2. I have it and can send you some photos of what it is like when I get home tonight! It is a massive tome of a book.

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