Wiva seminare series, Mars 14th

Vikings across Eurasia: Early Indian Ocean networks in the growth of trans – continental ‘supply lines’ to Scandinavian lands (1st – 10th century CE)

The key theme of the workshop ‘Vikings across Eurasia’ alludes to the spread of Scandinavian exchange networks across a vast area from western Europe to Central Asia between 800 – 1000 CE, driven by the desire of Viking communities to acquire exotic goods from far lands. Among the trade artefacts recovered from excavated Viking settlements such as those in southern Sweden, are materials sourced from the Indian Ocean world, a maritime area stretching from the Red Sea to the South China Sea, incorporating the Arabian, Persian, Indic and Southeast Asian littoral regions. The artefacts from Late Iron Age and Viking sites comprise thousands of cowrie shells, wound and drawn glass beads, stone beads of carnelian, garnet and rock crystal among other items. It is argued that the movement of these materials, mainly through intermediaries in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions, involved long established Indian Ocean maritime networks. I will emphasize the point that the Indian Ocean connections with Scandinavian lands in the Viking Age need to be understood in deep time, in terms of the expansion of sea-land ‘supply lines’ through the first millennium CE into Eurasia. In this context, I propose to give an illustrated talk, with my point of departure being the Roman sea trade with India and Indian Ocean lands in the first century CE.

Day: Mars 14th

Time: 10:15-12:00

Place: Uppsala Eng/2-2033

Lecturer: Dr. Sunil Gupta