Re: Lindbom


"mof" <moflkb@xxxxxxxxx> skrev i meddelandet
news:1188396167.783797.139370@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Following up on Wickham's book "Framing the early middle ages" and Per-
Erik Rönne's suggestion that I'd read Gyldendal's "Danmarks oldtid" I
stumbled upon a book by Peter Lindbom. The title is "Vapnen under
Wreccornas tid, 150-500 e.Kr.". It is a work about arrowheads from
those years and a must read for anyone interested in the interaction
between the continent and Scandinavia.

Lindbom says that it is possible to see effects of continental wars
upon the arrowheads from Scandinavia. To be somewhat more precise he
says that iron battleheads (I have no exact term for this, but arrow
heads designed for battle) were introduced in Scandinavia as a result
of the Markomannic wars. Lindbom traces two or three major waves from
the south. One starts round about the year 180 ad.

IEJ: the year is interesting in itself. We DID have known contacts between
Goths from Sweden and down over the Baltic Sea to an area ranging from
southern Bayern eastward-Black Sea in just that period./Inger E

mof continued: A later one appears
in the fifth century, when Lindbom finds examples of Scandinavian
replicas of eastern arrowheads, even later he distinguishes a
reintroduction of southern arrowheads into Gotland and east Sweden.
His opinion seems to be that those arrowheads might be proof of
continental germanic refugees finding a haven in Sweden. In the
context it is interesting to note some words of Prokopius and the
return of the Heruls to Scandinavia.

Another thing that is obvious from the book is the clear differences
between southern and northern Scandinavia. One Arrowhead R213 has been
found in all over Norway, but for Östfold. If I read Lindbom correctly
it seems we have a southern culture with borthers in Östfold, Värmland
Östergötland, and a northern one that also appears on Islands like
Gotland and Bornholm. A lot can be said about this, for example it
seems somewhat possible to piece together a culture of lake/bog
offerings and weaponless graves, as compared to weapongraves from
Vestlandet and Mälardalen.

From a historian's point of view, Lindbom's book is full of the usual
laughs. Lindbom talks about old sagas as if they could be read at face
value. I am no longer surprised, having had experience of many a
Swedish archaeologist with no understanding of written texts. Thus
Lindbom talks about Beowulf as if it really says anything about ages
hundreds and hundreds of years before the extant manuscript. Since
Rönne got me to borrow Danmarks oldtid I could to my delight also
laugh some about what Danish archaeologists think about history;
therefore my opinion is that one can just skip those parts of
Lindbom's book. The work about arrowheads is good enough and it needs
nothing extra.

There's a lot of interesting viewpoints in the book, for example he
doesn't mince about while discussing Danish archaeologists, and their
ideas of Danish supremacy or a Danish empire, but more of that in
another thread.

Lindbom is not stopping at this book. He will write two more about the
development of arrowheads in Scandinavia up to round about 1200 ad and
the abandonment of Eketorp III.

Marcus



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Relevant Pages

  • Lindbom
    ... between the continent and Scandinavia. ... Lindbom says that it is possible to see effects of continental wars ... upon the arrowheads from Scandinavia. ... doesn't mince about while discussing Danish archaeologists, ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Lindbom
    ... between the continent and Scandinavia. ... Lindbom says that it is possible to see effects of continental wars ... upon the arrowheads from Scandinavia. ... doesn't mince about while discussing Danish archaeologists, ...
    (sci.archaeology)