Mounds & Memory, a project most dear to me, with @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Imagine your documents were marked up for editing with this guy. Terrifying! MS.B.2.25 mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/B... #marginaliamonday #medievalsky

This appears to be a rare declaration of love from the 11th century, written on a weaver’s shed knife (to keep threads separate). mun : þu * mik : man : þik : un : þu : m(e)r : an : þʀr remember/think of me, I think of you; love me, I love you (aprox) Lödöse, Västra Götaland

"I feel a personal connection to these coins thus I'm gonna sell them to the highest bidder" *clown face* What an outright ethical failure. #medievalsky

Call for Abstracts! We invite submissions for its 6th Annual Free Public Virtual Conference, Opening the Ancient World 2026, that will take place on Sunday–Monday, July 19–20, 2026 Conference Theme: Fashion Forward: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Apparel Abstract Deadline: March 31 2026

A glimpse of everyday life: a cute little duck (12 cm) made of elk or reindeer antler or bone with a hole, probably meant to be mounted on a stick and make a kid very happy. Found in Birka (again!) but in the Viking settlement, not cemeteries. #vikingsky

Archaeology in Greenland! #vikingsky My apologies for the bombastic title (the algorithm is king on YouTube ugh) youtu.be/-tHNfN55-GU

love this object! #vikingsky

Viking treasures and burials: 2025's greatest finds youtu.be/_h1lsB89cHI #vikingsky #medievalsky

#vikingsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/the-puzzle...

Northern Chaos Gods: the reception of Norse myth in Viking metal #medievalsky #vikingsky youtu.be/gP2ng7y6_mY

Creative liberties and all, but this simply looks way too bizarre youtu.be/Klhc0d_RLKc

Drinking together was a deeply social act in ancient Scandinavia too, used to affirm and shape bonds of friendship and allegiance. The impact was even more impressive if the drink was poured from an imported Roman jug or horn. Photo: horn from Östergötland ca. 0-400 AD. Historiska museet

Bronze Age bling! youtu.be/AgMD9vHOliU

Mounds & memory: the Christianisation of Viking Iceland. In this episode, Howard and I tackled the many facets of Christianisation, from Ari's description to the identification of Egil's grave, a process that was much more dynamic and convoluted than thought. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN67...

Timidly diving into some captivating bits of prehistory! youtu.be/9vM4nG3Rj78

Thinking about the age of AI and how we're being forced out of intellectual existence by the tech psychopaths.

Public lecture about Viking metal! Many thanks to the Universidade Federal de Paraiba! www.youtube.com/live/ZyCNi-a...

My study “The Monstrous agency: the social life of the Icelandic restless dead” has been published! First academic article in four years sadly, perhaps one of the reasons I like these Icelandic characters so much, very much feeling like a revenant myself. periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/sc...

Portuguese event about the reception of Old Norse literature, organized by Nucleo de Estudos Vikings e Escandinavos (Paraiba, Brazil)! The topic of my PhD (Norse myth in extreme metal) has gotten a second life in a way, although today I feel quite disconnected from it.

The beacon system in medieval Norway: youtu.be/gwXpPTwTNC0 #vikingsky #medievalsky

We’re digital peasants. We don’t own anything, and our landlords want us toiling in the digital field. You can’t just opt out and go live like a hermit (enticing though). You depend on the banking app, the public transportation app, all kinds of apps your employer requires and so on.

Substack essay shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/the-true-o... #monsters

Decoding ancient funerals (Halloween special) with @saveancientstudies.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/iWIu2tb...

Did a new one

Icelandic Mortuary Practices of the Viking Age www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDg4... @shieldofskuld.bsky.social

Just good business.

Exciting stuff with @saveancientstudies.bsky.social at the Halloween Bash! I'll be taking part in the "Banquet for the dead" panel exploring how offerings link the dead and the living and holding a masterclass on the fantastic and fantastical Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss. Let's get spooky! #medievalsky

Howard @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social and I have developed a cute little series on the archaeology and history of death and burial in the Viking age. I simply love these sessions and hope more people will discover us :D #vikingsky #medievalsky youtu.be/hi2MQG6ChXM

Whetstones! shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/grinding-i... #vikingsky #medievalsky

Hoping to be able to run this class in November! If you know anyone interested in pre-Christian religions, please do share :D blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module...

Here's academia.edu for you, folks. Quite sure this rubbish does not comply with the European GDPR. Gonna download all my papers and move to Knowledge Commons hcommons.org #medievalsky #academia

Had the pleasure of chatting about Viking music with Jens, a reenactor at the Ribe Viking centre who crafted some lovely pieces based on archaeological finds. #vikingsky #medievalsky youtu.be/jTrILHMjRyE

The marvellous objects made manifest a new elite, one that mediated between gods, ancestors, and living communities. Traditionally, they’ve been called amulets, but they may equally have served as regalia, diplomatic gifts, or even flashy status symbols. shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/stamped-fo...

New methods such as lead isotope analysis are now being deployed to figure out where Viking age silver came from. Made an explanatory video about the results of the study done on the Bedale hoard (Yorkshire). youtu.be/UJ8nSwLZzbQ

Intertwined shapes, overcoming the borders of the natural. Bronze mount from Romerike, Akershus, Norway, 800–1100 my short explanatory video about Germanic animal art: youtu.be/nR0PCsCUgPw

round and round

Very excited to announce that the recording of Prof Howard Williams' (@archaeodeathprof.bsky.social) fantastic seminar from July is now publically available. Check it out on our website at archaeologistsrfa.wordpress.com/seminar-reco... or on Youtube at youtu.be/r0fs6jD_c7k?....

The beauty of everyday objects: wooden bucket with bronze fittings and bronze handle, even bronze bands alternating with wavy ones, Irish design. Placed in a grave in the trading town of Birka, Swe (Bj 557)

Just gonna point out how medievalism underpins this far right nostalgia #medievalsky

THIS: Paws on Parchment: New Exhibition Highlights Cats in Medieval Manuscripts thewalters.org/exhibitions/... #medievalsky

Back on YouTube! youtu.be/cRFjL3w7-DU

fascinating topic youtu.be/QzshjbdjAzY

Whetstones: essential in everyday life and possibly a game-changer in Viking history youtu.be/0K5IpUF-fww

New on my Substack! shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/myth-and-m...

Intriguing find youtu.be/0_mqowohl1E

youtu.be/TWQLjbeqSok?... Love the way this collaboration with @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social is unfolding ❤️

Interested in a class about women in Old Norse society? blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module...

intro to my module on Old Norse women at Signum University youtu.be/Z0pzWLo1U_g