[JimSEA]

Remarkable workmanship! It helps put the Viking civilization in context -- blunting our view of the "savages" which we get by being on the recieving end of their raids. Great posts today!

[blam]

"Great posts today!"

Thanks, good to hear from you. Merry Christmas to you and the missus.

[muawiyah]

This is pre-Viking. So no cudoes to "Viking Civilization". They had to first develop a better boat to move out of the coastal fjords and the raiding way of life. That happened along about the 8th century (700's) with the arrival of the "longship" which was very seaworthy and had a tremendous cargo-carrying capacity.

There had been a regular trade in slaves along the inland traderoutes to the Black Sea for centuries, so these pieces could very well have been produced by a Greek or Levantine goldsmith purchased somewhere on the Danish coast.

The Scandinavians didn't take over these trade routes until the 900s when they became the "Russ".

[WritableSpace]

blunting our view of the "savages" which we get by being on the recieving end of their raids. Great posts today!

I know, my Norwegian great-grandparents and my Irish grand-parents are at war within me. :)