Free (DRM-free) Things from the Town [Viking Age Market Dig Artifacts Archaeology]

[ATDrake]

Things from the Town: Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang edited by Dagfinn Skre, a Professor of Archaeology at the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo in Norway, is the 3rd volume in the Kaupang Excavation Project series, an extensive academic project from the University of Oslo about the excavations carried out on the eponymous Viking Age marketplace excavation site in Norway, this volume covering assorted uncovered artifacts and their relation to the inhabitants' daily lives and wider world, free courtesy of the Aarhus University Press in Denmark.

This is their English-language Free Book of the Month selection for December. This is another very comprehensive volume not only showcasing assorted finds of metalwork, precious jewellery, glassware, textiles, and more, but also placing them in context in the townspeoples' lives of how they were made locally or acquired via trade, etc. Three volumes in, these seem to be a bit more specialized, with less introductory backgrounder info, but there still looks to be a decent amount of explanation for the archaeologically-interested layperson. We've previously received the 1st & 2nd volumes of this series as freebies, as well.

Currently free throughout December directly @ the university's dedicated promo page (DRM-free PDF available worldwide), and you can read more about the title on its regular catalogue page.

This is a ~45 file which you probably don't want to download on a device that has data limits.

Description
In this third volume deriving from the excavations of the Viking town of Kaupang of 2000-2003, a range of artefacts is presented along with a discussion of the town's inhabitants: their origins, activities and trading connexions. The main categories of artefact are metal jewellery and ornaments, gemstones, vessel glass, pottery, finds of soapstone, whetstones and textile-production equipment. The artefacts are described and dated, and their areas of origin discussed. The volume is lavishly illustrated.

An exceptional wealth and diversity of artefacts distinguishes sites such as Kaupang from all other types of site in the Viking World. Above all, they reflect the fact that a large population of some 400-600 people lived closely together in the town, engaged in a comprehensive range of production and trade. The stratigraphically distinct layers from the first half of the 9th century allow us to put precise dates to the finds, and to the buildings and evidence of activities associated with them.

[ATDrake]

Just a reminder that today will probably be the last day to pick up the freebie, if you're interested.