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R. D. Simpson
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 Posted: Thu 18 Sep, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject: Shield Discovery in Denmark |
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I ran across this article and though the rest of you folks might be interested:
1,000-year old Viking shield found in Denmark
Gloria Virtutem Sequitur
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Tim Lison
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| Posted: Thu 18 Sep, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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Wow! I'm amazed that the wood held up for so long! It looks like it's in pretty good condition too. Neat little article! Thanks for posting it.
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Joe Fults
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| Posted: Thu 18 Sep, 2008 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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Going to be very neat to see what they can learn from it.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Bruno Giordan
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Nathan Keysor
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 6:21 am Post subject: |
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Interesting pics, Bruno. It seems like the shield is somewhat bowed. Do you think this is caused from it's burial in wet earth for 1,000 years or an intentional attempt to improve its deflective capability?
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
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Jeroen Zuiderwijk
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 6:54 am Post subject: |
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| Nathan Keysor wrote: | | Interesting pics, Bruno. It seems like the shield is somewhat bowed. Do you think this is caused from it's burial in wet earth for 1,000 years or an intentional attempt to improve its deflective capability? |
Most images I've seen from psalters from around the same time show pretty strongely curved shields (see f.e.: http://tinyurl.com/4gghws), so it may even have been flattened a fair bit.
Thanks for the links with images! 
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Ville Vinje
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 9:06 am Post subject: |
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To my knowledge there is no evidence that curved shields were ever used in the 10th century viking Denmark.
The article tell us almost nothing at all. It will be interesting to follow the progress of the archeological work of the shield (if it is a shield?)
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Bill Tsafa
Location: Brooklyn, NY Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 599
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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I would like to know the thickness of that shield and what type of wood was used. I would like to use that info to get an approximate weight.
No athlete/youth can fight tenaciously who has never received any blows: he must see his blood flow and hear his teeth crack... then he will be ready for battle.
Roger of Hoveden, 1174-1201
www.poconoshooting.com
www.poconogym.com
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Sean Manning
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting find, since there are only a few Viking shields known (other than the Goksted finds which were probably made cheaply for burial). People interested in the Viking Age might have to wait five years or more for the publication, though! The article said that it was made of fir.
I think there is a debate whether domed shields were used in early medieval Europe, but Norse shields seem to have been flat.
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Jim Adelsen
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Fri 19 Sep, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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Not much can be said from the pics. Wonder how they know it is for sure a shield rather than a wheel or something.
www.viking-shield.com
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Ville Vinje
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| Posted: Sat 20 Sep, 2008 3:24 am Post subject: |
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| Jim Adelsen wrote: | | Not much can be said from the pics. Wonder how they know it is for sure a shield rather than a wheel or something. |
I made the same observation.
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Richard Hare
Location: Alberta, canada Joined: 15 Mar 2008
Posts: 135
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| Posted: Sat 20 Sep, 2008 6:27 am Post subject: |
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I would say it looks far too thin to be a wheel, and a bit small for that matter.
Bit too big, (and thin) for the top of a berrel, so a shield seems most likely.
Time will tell!
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This is a standard topic