Der Menfch Vol 2 by Johannes Ranke - Leipzig 1894
The Iron Age was a period in human history that started between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C. During the Iron Age, people across much of Europe, Asia and parts of Africa began making tools and weapons from iron and steel.
A fascinating new study chronicles the family histories of European Bronze Age households, revealing the presence of surprising marital practices, patterns of inheritance, and the unexpected early emergence of social inequality within these homestead farms—including the possible use of slaves or servants.
The ancient Celts were various tribal groups living in parts of western and central Europe in the Late Bronze Age and through the Iron Age (c. 700 BCE to c. 400 CE). Given the name Celts by ancient...
One from our archives. Reconstruction painting by Julian Cross. To find out more about reconstructions and interact with the 3D visualisations click here.
Horned / Waterloo helmet “Iron Age, 150-50 BC; Found in 1868 in the River Thames by Waterloo Bridge in London, England. This 'helmet' was dredged from the River Thames at Waterloo Bridge in the...
www.sagnlandet.dk/Iron-Age-Village-200-BC-200-AD.302.0.ht...
The Iron Age is a critical period in human history that marked significant advances in technology, civilization, and cultural expansion. This era, primarily defined by the use of iron as the predominant material for making tools and weapons, ushered in a new epoch of human development.
Perusing the online exhibits of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I was awed by their amazing collection of Luristan bronzes. These objects were made during the early Iron Age, ca. 1250 to 700 BCE, in the Luristan district of west-central Iran. In the 1920s and 1930s several enormous cemeteries in this region were looted, and these fascinating objects flooded onto the world antiquities market. This explains how they ended up in the LACMA; as I said before about their collection of American Indian art, much of their stuff comes from private collections built up in the early 20th century, and several very wealthy Californians seems to have gone wild for this stuff when it was all the rage. The full range of Luristan material is represented here: finials or staff heads like the one one above and the three goats at the top; weapons; horse harness; chariot fittings; and pins. I love this mysterious style, and I am fascinated by the world historical processes that lead to a huge collection of artifacts from one small mountainous region, their meaning and purpose largely unknown, ending up in the hands of movie moguls 3000 years later on the other side of the world.
This weekend the Gamla Uppsala Muesum (yeah yeah, most people say Old Uppsala in English but frankly, I find it silly to translate place-names!) hold an Iron Age event and we are planning to attend together with a couple of friends. That, and a nice little phone conversation I had with Ida got me thinking about Iron Age fashion, the problems of Viking Age clothes (more specifically the female clothes) and purely practically speaking... what I should wear in Gamla Uppsala. A couple of years ago I made a couple of Viking Age outfits according to the nowadays traditional interpretation: simple, long dress in linnen underneath and an apron dress in wool worn above. Why? I'm sad to say it was just because that's what people (fellow students, archaeologists and generally crafty people) told me was most correct. Sure, I knew that there were other versions as well but to be honest, I didn't really look into them at the time. Just a few years later I listened to a very interesting lecture by Dr Annika Larsson about her interpretation of the textile finds from a certain burial in Pskov, Russia. If I was to retell all of her theory this post would be way too long, so I'll settle for showing a picture. If you're familiar with the normal apron dress-type of dress I know this looks weird and wrong, but after hearing Annika's arguments and looking at pictures of the textiles from Pskov, I gotta say that I think she's onto something... It is however very important to note that Annika never claimed that this was the only outfit used by Viking Age women. No, her interpretation is that this is an outfit for very specific events, probably ceremonial. So all those who refuse to accept this theory based on the "but that would be SO unpractical when you are working in the field" argument can just go away, please. =) What the everyday Viking woman still makes me feel highly uncertain. Flipping through my old copy of Viking Clothing by Thor Ewing I found myself once again considering the more odd possibilities. For example, have a look at this carving from Oseberg (from the cart!). "Around her neck hangs a very long double string of beads, and instead of the brooched dress, she wears a skirt and a blouse. The skirt appears to be belted at the waist and hangs in folds around the back: the front of the skirt is either covered by an apron or, more likely, hangs flat like a kilt front, and it appears to be patterned. The waisted, patterned skirt is strongly reminiscent of the shorter garment from Huldremose with its drawstring gathering." (Ewing 2006:46) I find this horribly interesting! If you've ever seen a reconstruction of this outfit then please tell me, because I'd love to see one! Now if you look at the male figure next to her... doesn't it look like he is wearing a sort of waistcoat? Either that or only the sleeves are pleated, with a smooth front. However, if you'd accept the interpretation of is as a waistcoat, then what is there to say that the woman isn't also wearing a similar garment, seeing that she too has pleating only on the sleeves but not on the front! Probably not, but I still think that there are more possibilities than the one Ewing suggests, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as well. Considering the difficulties in interpreting the female Viking Age clothes, I'm not sure I want to wear my old apron dress to Gamla Uppsala. Continuing to wear it would only solidify the general view of it as 'the' Viking Age dress, and I'm not sure I want to be a part of that... So what to wear? One possibility is to make a simple garment suitable for a slave woman, sleeveless and probably only kneelength (Rigstula describes the slavegirl as having tanned arms, suggesting a dress without sleeves, and there are pictures of simple dresses only reaching down to the knees...). Or I go for something completely different! The event isn't Viking Age, it's Iron Age! So why not come dressed in an outfit from the early Iron Age? The marvellous finds from Danish bog bodies offer enough textile remains for a good reconstruction! Then as far as I can tell, I should probably make myself a peplos or a waisted skirt like what they have found in Huldremose, Denmark. Since a peplos seems to be the easiest to make (I only have a few days and lots of other stuff to do as well!) I think that's what I'll choose. That, and the fact that I can't find ANY pictures of the other outfit where you can actually see what's worn below the cape. A tunic? A dress that stretches down below the skirt? Nothing? *giggling* Well... since my mind seems to be going around in circles I think I'll just stop this rambling. If I can just get rid of this horrible cold that's been keeping me in bed I'll go get some nice wool for a peplos. And no, I wont have time to sew it by hand, so don't even think about it! Have a great day and as usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this so feel free commenting!
Early #Germanic warriors of the Pre-Roman Iron Age (6th century BC - 1st century BC), also known as the #Jastorf culture. Modern day Denmark, northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Weapons based on the finds of the #Hjortspring boat
