Dr Jane Kershaw asks: why did the Vikings set sail for silver?

photo of a silver torc from bedale yorkshire museum

Arm-ring from the Bedale hoard (image by Yorkshire Museum)

viking coins small

An Umayyad dirham, minted 710-11 (image by Ian Cartwright)

 

Why did the Vikings set sail for silver?

While we often think of the Vikings pillaging across the West, this was only a small part of their world and lives. Dr Jane Kershaw discusses how the Viking draw for silver lead to interactions from the Middle East all across the European continent. Dr Kershaw discusses the application of isotope science to this silver, and how this can unpick the story of where the silver is coming from and why the Vikings set sail for it?

Speakers: Dr Jane Kershaw

Further Reading:

http://vikingmetalwork.blogspot.com/

Listen to Jane's podcast here: 

https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/why-did-vikings-set-sail-silver