z**********e
发帖数: 22064 | 1 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/03/18/wh
Why was a 9th century Viking woman buried with a ring that says ‘for Allah
’ on it?
By Adam Taylor March 18 (Statens historiska museum / Christer Å
;hlin)
In the modern-era, Scandinavian countries have become known for their
sometimes awkward embrace of migrants from the Arab and Muslim world. But
the history behind that relationship goes back far further than you might
expect.
Consider the case of a ring discovered in a Viking grave in Birka, a
historic trading center in what is now Sweden. The woman in the grave died
in the 9th century and was discovered around a thousand years later by the
famous Swedish archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe, who spent years excavating the
grave sites around Birka.
The ring is unique. Made of silver alloy, it contained a stone with an
inscription written in the Kufic Arabic script widely used between the 8th
and 10th centuries. "For/to Allah," the inscription read. It was the only
known Viking Age ring with an Arabic inscription to be found in the entire
of Scandinavia. Exactly how the woman got the ring wasn't clear – she was
found wearing typical Scandinavian dress, so presumably the ring arrived
through trade.
Now, new research from biophysicist Sebastian Wärmländer of
Stockholm University and his colleagues has confirmed exactly how unique the
ring was. In the journal Scanning, the researchers recount how they used a
scanning electron microscope to investigate the origins of the ring. Notably
, they discovered that the stone in the ring is actually colored glass – at
the time an exotic material for the Vikings, though it had been made for
thousands of years in the Middle East and North Africa.
Even more notably, the ring displayed a remarkable lack of wear, leading the
authors to speculate that it had few – if any – owners in-between its
creator and its Viking owner. Instead, Wärmländer and his
colleagues suggest, it appears to show direct contact between Viking society
and the Abbasid Caliphate that dominated much of the Middle East and North
Africa. The authors write, "it is not impossible that the woman herself, or
someone close to her, might have visited — or even originate from — the
Caliphate or its surrounding regions."
While physical evidence of it is unusual, there have been plenty of accounts
of Scandinavians from this period crossing paths with the early Muslim
world. By the 11th century Vikings had become known for their lengthy sea
voyages, journeying as far west as the Americas and likely reaching
Constantinople and even Baghdad when they traveled the other way. And while
contemporary accounts of Vikings from Western Europe suggests terrifying
invaders, most accounts suggest the Vikings, likely fearful of the more
sophisticated warriors in the region, instead looked for trade when they
went east.
"The Vikings were very interested in silver, not so much in gold," Farhat
Hussain, a historian, told the National newspaper of Abu Dhabi in 2008. "It
was a status symbol for Viking men and women, they even wanted to be buried
with silver."
Still, the Scandinavians did raise some eyebrows on their journeys. In an
otherwise complimentary description of people now believed to be Vikings,
Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an emissary of the Abbasid Caliph, wasn't so sure about
their hygiene. "They are the filthiest of all Allah’s creatures," the Arab
writer wrote in the 10th century. "They do not purify themselves after
excreting or urinating or wash themselves when in a state of ritual impurity
after coitus and do not even wash their hands after food."
Exactly how the woman in Birka and the ring fit into this relationship isn't
known. It may never be known.
"I don't know if it was bought or looted and of course I wish I could know
how it all came about that this woman got it – friendly or otherwise. If
she went far from home or if someone brought it back for her?" Linda Wå
;hlander, a teacher at the Statens historiska museum who worked on the
project, explained in an e-mail. "I am an archaeologist but I sometimes wish
I was a timetraveller." | k**o
发帖数: 15334 | 2 这个就像很多老外纹身中文，不懂啥意思，但是看着挺酷 | a**e
发帖数: 8800 | 3 不见得。更可能是维京海盗的战利品
【在 k**o 的大作中提到】
: 这个就像很多老外纹身中文，不懂啥意思，但是看着挺酷
| z**********e
发帖数: 22064 | 4 那时候可没有互联网啊，阿拉伯的势力不发展到那儿去，就得是维京的海盗跑到地中海
去。
阿拉伯的势力在欧洲只占领到巴尔干东部一角和西班牙，没有发展到阿尔卑斯山和比利
牛斯山以北啊。
要说是欧洲人缴获的战利品又被维京人缴获，这也太难了。
【在 k**o 的大作中提到】
: 这个就像很多老外纹身中文，不懂啥意思，但是看着挺酷
| l*******1
发帖数: 16217 | |
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