Norse, Norman or neither? Reframing the 11th-century archaeology of Scotland

Abstract

Assigning objects to periods named after groups of people has become standard convention for medieval Britain, problematic even if only meant as a shorthand. However, terms like Viking age and late Saxon have limited use in Scotland between the 10-12th centuries, where there are several regional powers. The kingdom of Alba only covers east central Scotland, but there is no clear ‘Alban’ style of objects. The effect is that objects are assigned to broad types which refer to external actors: Irish, Hiberno-Norse, late Norse, late Saxon, or early Norman. Anything falling outside these categories is left with the unsatisfying label of ‘Celtic’, with the effect that the material culture of the 11th century in Scotland is rendered invisible except for imports. New reassessment of material in the National Museum of Scotland from the 9-12th centuries is helping address this apparent gap and helps situate Scotland in its Insular context.

The Medieval Seminar Series is sponsored by the World Archaeology Section at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and the British Museum.

All meetings start at 6.15pm at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. Attendees are invited to bring news items for announcement before the start of each seminar.

• The programme for the 2019-20 Institute of Archaeology/British Museum Medieval Seminar Series is available to download here»

Seminar Series Convenors:

• Sue Brunning (British Museum)
• Andrew Reynolds (Institute of Archaeology)