Mads Jessen

The National Museum of Denmark, Prehistory, Post-Doc

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Jesús Ángel Solórzano Telechea

Universidad de Cantabria

Julian Thomas

The University of Manchester

Fjodor Uspenskij

Vinogradov Russian Language Institute

Enrico Cirelli

Università di Bologna

Florin Curta

University of Florida

Yannis Hamilakis

Brown University

Gary Feinman

Field Museum

Erman Şan

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

Alexander Fantalkin

Tel Aviv University

Eszter Banffy

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

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Papers by Mads Jessen

Miniature Chairs

Oxbow Books, Sep 15, 2024

Environment

Aarhus University Press eBooks, Jun 30, 2015

Frands Herschend: The pre-Carolingian Iron Age in South Scandinavia. Social stratification and Narrative. Uppsala Universitet, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History. Uppsala 2022. ISBN: 978-91-506-2923-1. Pris: 200 SEK

Aarhus University Press eBooks, Jan 18, 2023

Viking Age Windows

Danish Journal of Archaeology

In the last 25 years a conspicuous amount of plane glass – windowpane fragments – has surfaced on... more In the last 25 years a conspicuous amount of plane glass – windowpane fragments – has surfaced on archaeological sites from the Viking Age. These finds have not received scholarly attention as they are not recognised as a genuine prehistoric (i.e. pre-1050 Scandinavia) occurrence. This paper aims to investigate a select group of archaeological localities that all have a significant amount of glass objects and fragments, and which also serve as mainstays for continental influences, commercial trade, as well as ritual activities. It offers the study of the chemical composition of these windowpane fragments, their distribution, provenience, and discusses their potential use as windows in Viking Age Scandinavia. Based on the chemical composition of the analysed plane glass (via LA-ICP-MS) the paper argues, firstly, that the glass most likely should be dated to the 9th to 11th centuries; secondly, that there are two possible import paths of raw material with one recognized at the early e...

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The Hall and the Church during Christianization

Excavating the Mind, May 7, 2012

Editorial 1(1+2)

In the entertainment industry, there is a long-standing argument proclaiming the difficulty of ma... more In the entertainment industry, there is a long-standing argument proclaiming the difficulty of making a sequel that is just as good as or even better than a successful first. We will leave it for others, you, to judge whether this paradigm also applies to academic publications, but feel that, at any rate, the launching issue of the Danish Journal of Archaeology has been a ‘successful first’. The reasons for this success are many, not least the considerable amount of work that has been put into getting our homepage up and running, as well as with finalising the printed version. New and old readers alike, as well as our many collaborators, will hopefully find the revitalised journal to their liking. One of the advantages in having an online platform for publication and distribution lies in the possibility of getting a rapid and clear quantitative overview of the digital user behaviour; because DJA has, from the onset, published all articles following the principle of ‘Rolling Publication’, where the finished and typeset articles can be found online immediately, we have been able to monitor the traffic on our homepage at Taylor & Francis (www. tandfonline.co.uk/rdja). The amount of full-text downloads has, by the end of September 2013, reached just over 880, and there is a clear picture of progression, too, telling us that there is a steady increase in the number of readers visiting the homepage and downloading articles. One of the main reasons for this positive trend must certainly be located in the expanded distribution network, which has accompanied the relaunch, and the increased number of libraries that host the Danish Journal of Archaeology. At present, there are almost 2000 libraries worldwide, which offer online access to the journal, and several of these also already have, or plan to include, the printed version as part of their holdings. Important information can be found in the spatial distribution of download frequencies, which allows us to distinguish the geographic position of the more active locations. It can hardly come as a surprise that the libraries and institutions topping the list are Danish, and of these the Royal Library, the State Library/University Library in Århus and University of Copenhagen account for the three most active locations. Nevertheless, and most positive indeed, the following places are taken by institutions from most of Northern Europe with, for instance, the universities in Oslo, Lund, York, Utrecht and Gothenburg, as well as the Swedish Library Consortium on the list. Of course, we would have liked to see one or more German institutions represented in our ‘Top 10 list’ as well. These circumstances do, however, provide the editors with a clear incentive to increase our effort to promote the journal in this particular region, a marketing effort that started with the editorial team – with the first printed issue in hand – presenting and promoting DJA at this year’s 19th European Association of Archaeologists’ (EAA) Annual Meeting in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Speaking of presenting and promoting, the editors would like to thank the attendees for the positive feedback we received during (and after) the Book Reception held at the National Museum, a pleasant gathering, with a good number of authors, collaborators, editorial board members and reviewers coming together – and leaving with a printed copy! But let us return to the download data. The reason for the diverse geographical distribution of downloads, can, with good reason, be attributed to two main factors: first, the wide-ranging collection of subjects and periods, which can be found in DJA vol. 1(1 + 2), and, second, the geographical distribution of the authors themselves. Regarding the content, the first volume of the journal presents articles ranging the Late Palaeolithic to the High Middle Ages, and covers subject matters as varied as Neolithic swidden rotation, the production of Bronze Age swords in the light of Baudrillard’s theory on simulacra, as well as the clerical residences of the Middle Ages – a span of subject matters rivalled by only a few other archaeological journals. With regard to the authors, they together hail from seven different countries. That such a diverse group of authors has contributed to the first volume bears witness to the fact that the archaeology of southern Scandinavian holds a significant and desired research potential, but also that the Danish Journal of Archaeology has managed to fill a vacant quarter for methodological/empirical research publications, which, in the end, has invoked attention from most of Northern Europe. In this respect, it is perhaps most important to emphasise that this tendency continues with Danish Journal of Archaeology volume 2(1 + 2) once again including a varied group of nationalities amongst the authors, and that the debates and periods focused upon in the current volume are rather diverse. Substantive Research articles and Research reports in issue 1…

Kongsgård i Jelling? Et nyt kompleks fra Harald Blåtands tid

Editorial issue 2

Beretning for tilsyn og undersøgelse i forbindelse med etablering af overdækningen af runestenene i Jelling i 2011

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DIME – Digitale Metaldetektorfund: Den Danske Registreringsportal for Metaldetektorfund

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Excavating the Mind: Cross-sections through culture, cognition and materiality

Will there be a next Nordic TAG? Reflections on theoretical archaeology in the Nordic countries today

Arkæologisk Forum, 2019

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The Symbolic Use of Whetstones and Their Role in Displaying Authority over Metallurgical Processes and Trade

Viking, 2021

Whetstones of the Viking Age can have a conspicuous design, but not much is understood about the ... more Whetstones of the Viking Age can have a conspicuous design, but not much is understood about the specific use of more unusual specimens, or their place in rituals. This article proposes a new interpretation of whetstones, based on novel studies of a well-known whetstone from Lejre, and miniature pendants from Tissø. Our examination of the prominent whetstone from the Lejre hoard with an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) scan, did not reveal any metal traces, which suggests that it was unused. At Tissø, the find distribution of so-called stafflike pendants – made of iron, bronze, or silver – links them to a metal-working area, and since their morphology resembles full-scale whetstones we suggest that they may be symbolic, miniature whetstones. Finally, we argue that the overarching meaning of the ritual use of whetstones is more related to the authority over – and control of – metallurgical processes, as well as the trade of metal goods, and only by proxy to the smith himself.

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¿Residencia real en Jelling): un nuevo complejo de la época de Harald "Blatand"-"Diente azul