Dagfinn Skre

• Baug, Irene; Skre, Dagfinn; Heldal, Tom & Jansen, Øystein James (2018). The beginning of the Viking Age in the West. Journal of Maritime Archaeology.  ISSN 1557-2285. . doi: 10.1007/s11457-018-9221-3 Vis sammendrag

  During the Viking Age, Arctic Scandinavia was a source of exquisite furs, down, walrus ivory, and other commodities that met with high demand in England and on the Continent. Hitherto, the earliest firm evidence of this trade has been Ohthere’s account c. 890, but in light of this paper’s findings, its history may be pushed further back in time. Geological analyses of whetstones retrieved in eighth- to early ninth-century Ribe, south-western Jylland, in present-day western Denmark, demonstrate that the majority were quarried near the aristocratic manor Lade (‘loading/storing place’) in Trøndelag, present-day central Norway, some 1100 km by sea to the north. Because of their high numbers and durability, whetstones retrieved in Ribe and other urban sites may be regarded as a proxy for long-distance seaborne trade from the Arctic. The peak in this trade on the threshold of the Viking Age invites a reconsideration of the coinciding and conflicting interests of Scandinavian long-distance traders, kings, and Vikings. It is argued that coalitions and conflicts that arose from these interests, and new constraints and opportunities that emerged for these three types of agents, provide keys to understanding why and where Vikings raided overseas up to the mid-ninth century.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Aristocratic Presence along the Karmsund Strait 2000 BC–AD 1368, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  27.  s 749 - 764 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Pursuing the ARM research strategy (Ch. 4), this chapter summarises, analyses, and contextualises the evidence on aristocratic presence at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait presented in previous chapters in this book. In SP I (2000–350 BC) aristocratic presence was introduced and long-distance overseas connections to southern Scandinavia were established. In SP II (350 BC–AD 200) these connections were maintained, warrior burials were introduced, and agrarian production increased,probably leading to population increase. In SP III (AD 200–600) major changes occurred.Princely graves were entombed in the ancient Flaghaug mound, a prominent stone monument was raised, a monumental hall building, a boathouse, and a longhouse were erected;most of these buildings and monuments are without parallel in western Scandinavia, while the stone monument and one of the graves are unique in the whole of Scandinavia. The evidence for aristocratic presence is strong in SP III’s first two centuries, somewhat weaker in its latter two centuries. Features are few from SP IV (AD 600–900), the most substantial of which are remains of a palisade, which indicates external threats and hostilities as well as local military capabilities. Near Avaldsnes, the Salhus mound from early SP IV and the Grønhaug and Storhaug shipgraves from late SP IV provide evidence for aristocratic presence in this period. In early SP V (AD 900–1250) food-processing activities in the farmyard increase, and around the turn of the millennium a building appears to have been raised on the location where the hall building stood in SP III. Doubts regarding the historicity of literary evidence for royal residence at Avaldsnes in the 10th–early 11th century are counterbalanced by the surprising consistency among the sources. The archaeological evidence contributes somewhat to this assessment.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Exploring Avaldsnes 1540–2005, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  2.  s 11 - 34 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Avaldsnes, Kormt, and the Karmsund Strait are frequently mentioned in the Old Norse written sources, often referred to as the residence and burial site of kings. The site has attracted the attention of scholars since the 16th century, first by the humanists who began to study the Old Norse texts; subsequently by historians and antiquarians, from the mid-19th century academic historians, and from the early 20th century joined by archaeologists. In this chapter, the significant contributions from this range of scholars are summarised. The literature on Avaldsnes tends to adopt one of two perspectives: some scholars focus their analysis on evidence from the site itself, while others situate the site within discussions of broader societal or political issues. Summarising scholarship of the first type, this chapter traces how various types of evidence became available at different times and how scholars have shifted in their assessment of the evidence. Discussions of the second type of scholarship identify the continuities and changes regarding the contexts in which Avaldsnes has been situated. One thread in particular has been winding its way through these 450 years of Avaldsnes research: the problem of why kings preferred to reside on the modestly fertile and windblown island of Kormt, rather than the lush densely populated regions further inland and along the fjords. The most significant shift in the scholarship is seen in the integration of Avaldsnes within the research into the rikssamlingen (‘the unification of the realm’). The unification process has a long research history, but one that before the early 20th century did not consider Avaldsnes’ location on the outer coast. In the 1990s the scope of this research shifted from a national, narrowly 9th–10th-century perspective to a regionally North European, long-term perspective. This literature review of Avaldsnes scholarship forms the foundation for the research strategy employed by the current research project, detailed in Chapters 4 and 5.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Monetary practices in early medieval western Scandinavia (5th–10th centuries AD). Medieval Archaeology.  ISSN 0076-6097.  61(2), s 277- 299 . doi: 10.1080/00766097.2017.1374096 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  A SOCIAL APPROACH TO MONETISATION shifts the attention from the classic money media — gold and silver — to the dissemination of two social practices: valuing and paying. When these two monetary practices first became widespread in western Scandinavia during the gold rich migration period (in the 5th to 6th centuries ad), they were not introduced in the sphere of trade, but instead were features of traditional or customary payments, such as weregeld (atonements for murder or offences against the person) or marriage dowries. By the Viking Age, in the late 8th to 10th centuries ad, despite flourishing commodity production, precious metals were used as payment in trade solely in towns. Even in towns, this commercial use seems to have been adopted late, and was employed only occasionally. This paper reviews the changing approaches to money and monetisation, and draws attention to the potential for regarding monetisation as the spread of a set of social practices.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Rethinking Avaldsnes and Kormt, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  1.  s 3 - 9 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Scandinavian monetisation in the first millennium AD – practices and institutions, In John Moreland; John Mitchell & Bea Leal (ed.),  Encounters, Excavations and Argosies. Essays for Richard Hodges.  Archaeopress.  ISBN 9781784916817.  Kapittel.  s 291 - 299 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Sea Kings on the Norðvegr, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  Ch. 29.  s 781 - 799 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  In this chapter, Avaldsnes and the land along the Karmsund Strait are considered in a west-Scandinavian context. Was the manor one of a kind? Why did aristocrats reside there, and what may be inferred about their activities? Topographic, archaeologic, and Old Norse literary evidence is analysed to discuss these questions. In western Scandinavia, Iron Age settlement is found in the rather small patches of rich soil, primarily along the sea, especially where valleys meet the fjord. Only two larger areas of continuous fertile soil exist: Jæren and Trøndelag. However, through the whole 1st millennium AD, settlement also thrived in less fertile areas in highland valleys and in islands on the outer coasts. Unsurprisingly, 33 aristocratic manors are found in the lush inland regions between Rogaland and Møre; less obvious is the existence of 13 Iron Age manors on the outer coast. The latter are found in two zones, one in Rogaland and Hordaland, the other in Møre and Romsdal. Lying in the former zone, Avaldsnes is the site with the richest finds, most numerous monumental mounds, and the longest continuity. The mountainous landscape presents travellers, especially those with cargo, with few alternatives to sailing along the coast by the sea route known as the Norðvegr, which is protected from the open ocean by thousands of islands and skerries. The need to secure traffic along this sea route, vital to travellers from the whole of western Scandinavia, is identified as the reason why aristocrats settled on the islands. Emerging in the 3rd century AD, the martial character of these island communities is testified in literary evidence regarding the Viking Age. Indeed, Haraldr hárfagri appears to have emerged from this sea-king milieu, probably in Rogaland and Hordaland.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). The Avaldsnes Royal Manor Project’s Research Plan and Excavation Objectives, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  Ch. 4.  s 53 - 61 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  This chapter provides an outline of the scholarly problems that the Avaldsnes Royal Manor Project was designed to address, the central theme explored being the political institutions and processes in the first millennium AD. The research plan was developed during the 2007–9 pilot project phase, and was adjusted and supplemented during the 2011–12 excavations and the research and publication phase in the subsequent years. The first of the research plan’s two sections, the results of which are presented in the present volume, deals with Avaldsnes, Kormt, and the Karmsund Strait. The research plan included a series of selected themes, taking as a point of departure the rich and varied research strand on so-called central places. The central-place approach informed the choice of objectives for the 2011–12 excavations at Avaldsnes alongside a corresponding excavation and sampling strategy. Relevant specialists were invited to join the project. The second section of the research plan addresses the first-millennium history of political institutions and processes in the south-western coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The first results from this research are presented in this volume’s final chapter, which discusses Avaldsnes in a western Scandinavian context. The preliminary results presented in that chapter will be further developed in the next volume from this project.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). The Raised Stones, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  Ch. 23.  s 639 - 664 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  The spectacular raised stone north of the St Óláfr’s Church at Avaldsnes, the so called Jomfru Marias synål (Virgin Mary’s Sewing Needle), is the most prominent preserved prehistoric monument at the site. Before its height was reduced c. 1840 from approximately 8.3 metres to the present 7.2 metres, it was the tallest in Scandinavia – the others rarely surpass 5 metres. A similar stone, about 6.9 metres tall, is known to have stood on the southern side of the church until the early 19th century. A 12th–15th-century runic inscription on one of the two stones was described in 1639 but has not been identified since. The stones were mentioned by Snorri in Heimskringla, and have received copious scholarly attention from the 17th century onwards. In this chapter, the existing evidence is reassessed, and the original number of raised stones at Avaldsnes, their sizes, and the location of the runic inscription are discussed. With the aim of arriving at a probable date and original number of stones, the monument is compared to stone settings in the same region and elsewhere in Scandinavia. It is concluded that the runic inscription was likely incised on the southern stone, which was severely damaged in 1698 and finally was taken down in the early 19th century. Probably, the two existing stones were originally corners in a triangular stone setting – a monument of the 3rd–6th centuries AD. An assumed third stone would have stood in the southeast and would probably have been removed prior to the mid-17th century, possibly around 1300 when masonry buildings were erected there. The stones were raised in the period when a hall building was erected and prestigious graves were entombed in Flaghaug, one of the two Bronze Age mounds at Avaldsnes. All four monuments were situated along the eastern edge of the Avaldsnes settlement plateau, evidently to communicate the site’s past and present prominence to those who sailed the Norðvegr.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). The Warrior Manor, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  Ch. 28.  s 765 - 779 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  During many of the 3,400 years prior to the royal manor’s waning following the fire in AD 1368, aristocratic presence is evident at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait (Ch. 27). What was the nature and context of that presence, and did it change from c. AD 200 and into the 11th–12th centuries AD? Focusing on this period, this chapter, as indicated in the ARM research plan (Ch. 4), explores these issues from a central-place perspective. Centrality may be perceived from two perspectives, either from the centre or from outside. From an outside perspective a site is identified as a centre if it serves certain communal functions. Regarding Avaldsnes’ centrality from the perspective of a local aristocracy, the following questions need to be addressed: what use did aristocrats make of the Avaldsnes manor and its surroundings, and what type of authority did they exert over the adjacent land and waters? The main result from these discussions is that there is little or no evidence to indicate that Avaldsnes had communal functions of the types found in the south- and east-Scandinavian central places. Given that such functions are the basis for identifying a central place, Avaldsnes does not appear to have been a site of that type. Regarding centrality from an aristocratic perspective, late Viking Age Avaldsnes appears to have been the manor of a vast estate comprising about 70 farms in northern Kormt and across the Karmsund Strait. Some 3–4 centuries later, the land rent from the farms in the estate will have sustained 120–170 men, probably not much fewer in the 10th–11th centuries. Through most of the period, Avaldsnes residents deliberately built up the manor’s monumental appearance facing the sailing route. The land along the narrowest section of the Karmsund Strait has been used for similar purpose: two monuments in particular, one on either side of the strait, may have connected the site with Þórr, the god that protected society from destructive beings, and the world tree Yggdrasil. Supplied by yield from the estate and bolstered by myth and monuments, military dominance of the sailing route appears to be the primary rationale for aristocratic presence at Avaldsnes and along the Karmsund Strait in the first millennium AD. Thus, Odd Nordland’s characterisation in 1950 of Avaldsnes as ‘the warrior manor’ (krigargarden) seems appropriate.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Viking-age Economic Transformations. The West-Scandinavian Case, In Ann Zanette Tsigaridas Glørstad & Kjetil Loftsgarden (ed.),  Viking-Age Transformations: Trade, Craft and Resources in Western Scandinavia.  Routledge.  ISBN 978-1-47-247077-5.  Chapter 1.  s 1 - 27 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2016). De friville detektoristene - våre gode allierte, I: Jes Martens & Mads Ravn (red.),  Pløyejord som kontekst. Nye utfordringer for forskning, forvaltning og formidling.  Portal forlag.  ISBN 978-82-8314-073-6.  Kapittel.  s 107 - 110 Vis sammendrag

  Recreational detectorists - our allies

• Skre, Dagfinn (2016). Money and Commodities in Viking Age Scandinavia, In Val E. Turner; Olwyn A. Owen & Doreen J. Waugh (ed.),  Shetland and the Viking World. Papers from the Seventeenth Viking Congress, Lerwick.  Shetland Heritage Publications.  ISBN 978-0-9932740-3-9.  Chapter.  s 287 - 292
• Skre, Dagfinn (2016). Norðvegr – Norway: From Sea Kings to Land Kings, In Tatjana N. Jackson (ed.),  Ancient Rus’ and Medieval Europe: the emergence of states. Древняя Русь и средневековая Европа: возникновение государств.  Dmitriy Pozharskiy University.  ISBN 978-5-91244-147-9.  Kapittel.  s 179 - 192
• Skre, Dagfinn (2015). From Kaupang and Avaldsnes to the Irish Sea, In Emer Purcell (ed.),  Clerics, kings and Vikings. Essays on medieval Ireland in honour of Donnchadh Ó Corráin.  Four Courts Press.  ISBN 9781846822797.  Kapittel 20.  s 237 - 246
• Skre, Dagfinn (2015). Post-substantivist production and trade. Specialized sites for trade and craft production in Scandinavia c. 600-1000 AD, In James H. Barrett & Sarah Jane Gibson (ed.),  Maritime Societies of the Viking and Medieval World.  Maney Publishing.  ISBN 9781909662797.  Chapter 12.  s 156 - 170
• Skre, Dagfinn (2014). Fri er den "som fri kommer til verden". Om friheten i vikingtiden, I: Svein Harald Gullbekk (red.),  Ja, vi elsker frihet.  Dreyer Forlag A/S.  ISBN 978-82-8265-093-9.  Kapittel.  s 172 - 179
• Skre, Dagfinn (2014). Norðvegr - Norway: From sailing route to kingdom. European Review.  ISSN 1062-7987.  22(1), s 34- 44 . doi: 10.1017/S1062798713000604
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Money and trade in Viking-Age Scandinavia, In Mateusz Bogucki & Marian Rębkowski (ed.),  Economies, Monetisation and Society in West Slavic Lands 800-1200 AD.  Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences,.  ISBN 978-83-63760-16-8.  Kapittel.  s 75 - 88
• Skre, Dagfinn (2012). Markets, towns and currencies in Scandinavia c. 200–1000 AD, In Sauro Gelichi & Richard Hodges (ed.),  From one sea to another. Trading places in the European and Mediterranean Early Middle Ages.  Brepols.  ISBN 978-2-503-54527-1.  Kapittel.  s 47 - 63
• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). Centrality, Landholding and Trade in Scandinavia c. AD 700-900, In  Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early medieval Scandinavia.  Brepols.  ISBN 9782503531311.  Kapittel.  s 197 - 212
• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). Commodity Money, Silver and Coinage in Viking-Age Scandinavia, In James Graham-Campbell; Søren Michael Sindbæk & Gareth Williams (ed.),  Silver Economies, Monetisation and Society in Scandinavia AD 800-1100.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779345850.  Chapter 3.  s 67 - 91
• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). Introduction, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  Chapter 1.  s 13 - 15
• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). Kaupang: between East and West; between North and South, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  Chapter 17.  s 443 - 449 Vis sammendrag

  In this final chapter, certain key threads from the concluding chapters of both the present and the previous two volumes in the Kaupang series are drawn together. From Volume 1 comes the political perspective: Kaupang was founded by the king of the Danes, close to the northern border of his realm and in Skiringssal, the central place of a dynasty of petty kings, the Ynglings. From Volume 2 comes the economic perspective: the economy of Scandinavia expanded in the 8th century. Through greater craft production, the establishment of market sites, and both the plundering of and trade with areas outside of Scandinavia, many trade goods became available to a wide population, not just the elite as hitherto. These two threads are plied together with those that have been spun out in chapters 15 and 16, which deal with activities and identities amongst the visitors to Kaupang and the settlers of the town, and with their trading links. The two political motives that the Danish king had for founding Kaupang were probably to consolidate his kingdom against growing Frankish pressure and to protect it against pirates from the coasts of western Scandinavia. His economic motives are also considered to have been two: access to goods from western Scandinavia and control of navigation to the British Isles, especially to Ireland. Objects from the Irish Sea zone found at Kaupang show contact from the earliest phase of the town onwards, and it must have been Scandinavians who were responsible for these contacts. The fact that Kaupang belonged politically to southern Scandinavia is very clearly shown by the trade routes and the origins of the inhabitants in the first half of the 9th century. Goods and people from Frisian and Slavic lands must have arrived via the Danish waters and territories, and the presence of southern Scandinavian settlers, including craftsmen, can be traced. There were, however, visitors and inhabitants from western Scandinavia too. In the second half of the 9th century the Frisian trade came to an end, probably because Dorestad had been abandoned, and Slavs gradually stopped coming to Kaupang too. However contact with the Irish Sea zone not only continued but strengthened, a phenomenon that agrees nicely with the fact that at the end of the 9th century Kaupang became part of the westerly-oriented Norwegian kingdom. Kaupang also maintained and intensified its participation in the Baltic trade, which was flourishing in this period. The currency that was used in that zone, silver and specific types of weight, occur in great quantities at Kaupang, but are much less frequent elsewhere in western Scandinavia. In the second half of its functioning life, down to c. AD 930, Kaupang thus lay in a border region between a western Scandinavian economy lacking market sites and a silver currency and a southern and eastern Scandinavian economy that involved silver, markets and towns. The economic and social differences between these two zones probably had roots right back to the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, and can be traced onwards as far as the Late Middle Ages.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). The Inhabitants: Activities, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  Chapter 15.  s 397 - 415 Vis sammendrag

  By analysing the artefactual finds and building evidence, together with the composition of the occupation deposits from the MRE of 2000–2002, the early 9th-century activities both within buildings and on open plots can be mapped. Most evidence reflects domestic activities and a range of crafts, but also possibly trade. In the earliest phase (SP I) activity was concentrated on Plots 1A and 3A/B. There is evidence that people prepared and consumed food on these plots, and were occupied in metalcasting, making glass beads, blacksmithing and polishing amber. Evidence of all of these activities has been found on Plot 1A, and it would appear that a different group of craftsmen took over the plot each year. The six buildings of SP II can, on the basis of structural features, be divided into two groups of three, one group earlier than the other. Both the finds and the style of construction indicate that the earlier group of buildings were for seasonal use, although year-round occupation cannot be ruled out. In two of these buildings there was evidence of a range of crafts. In the three later buildings there is much less evidence of craft-activity than in the earlier group, and no building housed more than one craft. Combined with the structural arrangement of the buildings, and much more prominent evidence of domestic activity, this shows that these buildings had the same occupants for an extended period: possibly their entire life-time, which must have been two or three decades. Textile production for domestic use shows that there were women resident in all three cases, and each building was probably home to a family. There is very little continuity in the crafts practised on particular plots from SP I to SP II, and no such continuity between the earlier buildings and the later. There would thus appear to have been substantial changes in the people who used any one plot until the later houses were constructed and settlement became permanent, which was probably in the 820s. It is not certain whether this development in the types of activity and settlement applies only to the area excavated or to the town more widely. Evidence from other parts of the town hints at the latter.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). The Inhabitants: Origins and Trading Connexions, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  Chapter 16.  s 417 - 441 Vis sammendrag

  In order to try to identify the areas of origin of the inhabitants of Kaupang and the trading contacts of the town, the imported goods in Kaupang are divided into personal possessions and traded goods. Personal possessions may reveal where the inhabitants had come from when they settled in Kaupang, and the traded goods can show which regions the town had regular trading connexions with. In the first half of the 9th century, it appears that visitors and settlers came from southern and western Scandinavia, as well as from western Slavonic and Frankish/Frisian regions. The settlers from Frankish regions came mostly from the area between the Seine and the Rhine, and from Frisia, while the Slavonic seem to have come from the coastal lands around Rügen. Many of the Frisians, perhaps also the Slavs, appear to have been craftsmen and traders. In one of the six buildings excavated there was a permanent household of Frankish/Frisian merchants, in another, probably, a Danish household. Western Slavs were present from the beginning through to the end of the 9th century. However, permanent settlement of western Slavs cannot be demonstrated, and it is possible that they were only present for limited periods. No certain traded goods from western Slavonic regions have been identified. The trade links with the Frankish/Frisian regions remained comprehensive until the middle of the 9th century. After that date, trading connexions came to an almost complete halt, and there were no further settlers from there. The trading contacts with the lands bordering the Irish Sea, possibly also Nothern Brittain, seem to have continued throughout Kaupang’s history. There is no secure evidence of people originating in these regions having visited or settled in Kaupang, and the finds do not have the same ethnic implications as the Frankish material. It is probable, therefore, that Scandinavians were responsible for the trading contacts with these areas. Both grave finds and settlement finds show that most of the population of Kaupang was from Scandinavia. Personal equipment shows that in the earlier period these were primarily from the South although there were some from the West too. After c. AD 850 there is an increased ratio of types of jewellery that are common in western Scandinavia, implying that settlers from that quarter were more common amongst the population of the town. Iron may have been one of the trade goods that attracted non-Scandinavian merchants to Kaupang as early as the beginning of the 9th century, but they could also have been after goods that are not represented in the surviving archaeological finds, such as slaves or furs. All of the identifiable trade goods from western Scandinavia may have come from the Opplands – i.e. the interior of eastern Norway – but it is not impossible that goods came from western and northern Norway that we are unable to trace archaeologically.

• Skre, Dagfinn & Pilø, Lars Holger (2011). Introduction to the Site, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  Chapter 2.  s 17 - 26
• Skre, Dagfinn (2010). Centrality and places. The central place at Skiringssal in Vestfold, Norway. Studien zur Sachsenforschung.  ISSN 0933-4734.  1, s 220- 231
• Skre, Dagfinn (2010). Comment on Lars Jørgensen: Gudme and Tissø. Two magnates’ complexes in Denmark from the 3rd to the 11th century AD. Studien zur Sachsenforschung.  ISSN 0933-4734.  1, s 287- 288
• Skre, Dagfinn (2010). From Dorestad to Kaupang. Frankish Traders and Settlers in a 9th-century Scandinavian Town, In  Dorestad in an international Framework. New Research on Centres of Trade and Coinage in Carolingian Times.  Brepols.  ISBN 978-2-503-53401-5.  Kapittel.  s 137 - 141
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Dark Age Towns: The Kaupang Case. Reply to Przemysław Urbanczyk. Norwegian Archaeological Review.  ISSN 0029-3652.  41, s 194- 212 Vis sammendrag

  In this reply to Przemysław Urban´czyk’s review article on the first Kaupang volume, the main themes in his critique are commented on. Several discussions in the book, like that of centrality, are deepened, and some of the main conclusions and their basis are summarized. A perspective on urbanism is suggested that avoids the evolutionistic rigour built into Urban´czyk’s understanding of towns. When high medieval or Roman towns are given status as ideal types, Dark Age towns are inevitably deemed essentially lacking. This prevents a true understanding of them and their surrounding societies. Dark Age towns should rather be understood as woven into the political, economical, cultural and social environments in which they existed. Various issues concerning Kaupang and Skiringssal are considered, agreeing with Urban´czyk that several of the book’s conclusions are not definitive, although arguing that they are the most plausible. The choice of the historical narrative in the book’s concluding chapters is discussed in the context of the nature of the Kaupang/Skiringssal evidence and of a specific view of the archaeological endeavour. The understanding of Dark Age urban sites necessitates an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing the potential of source material outside a strictly archaeological horizon.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Dealing with Silver. Economic Agency in South-Western Scandinavia AD 600–1000, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Means of Exchange. Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779343085.  10.  s 343 - 355
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Introduction, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Means of Exchange. Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779343085.  1.  s 9 - 12
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Kaupang – ‘Skíringssalr’, In Stefan Brink & Neil Price (ed.),  The Viking World.  Routledge.  ISBN 0415333156.  Chapter.  s 112 - 120
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Post-substantivist Towns and Trade AD 600–1000, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Means of Exchange. Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779343085.  9.  s 327 - 342
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). The development of urbanism in Scandinavia, In Stefan Brink & Neil Price (ed.),  The Viking World.  Routledge.  ISBN 0415333156.  Chapter.  s 83 - 93
• Skre, Dagfinn & Pilø, Lars Holger (2008). Introduction to the Site, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Means of Exchange. Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779343085.  2.  s 13 - 25
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Excavations of the Hall at Huseby, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  11.  s 223 - 247
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Exploring Skiringssal 1771-1999, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  2.  s 27 - 42
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Introduction, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  1.  s 13 - 24
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Preface, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  Forord.  s 5 - 5
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Preparing the New Campaign, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  3.  s 43 - 51
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). The Dating of Ynglingatal, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  18.  s 407 - 429
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). The Emergence of a Central Place: Skiringssal in the 8th Century, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  19.  s 431 - 443
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). The Sciringes healh of Ohthere's time, In Janet Bately & Anton Englert (ed.),  Ohthere's Voyages. A late 9th-century account of voyages along the coasts of Norway and Denmark and its cultural context.  Vikingeskibsmuseet.  ISBN 9788785180476.  Kapittel.  s 150 - 156
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). The Skiringssal Cemetery, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  16.  s 363 - 383
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). The Skiringssal Thing site Thjodalyng, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  17.  s 385 - 406
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Towns and Markets,Kings and Central Places in South-western Scandinavia c.AD 800–950, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Kaupang in Skiringssal.  Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  20.  s 445 - 469
• Skre, Dagfinn (2006). De første norske oldforskere og deres danske venner, I: Dagfinn Skre; Håkon Glørstad & Birgitte Skar (red.),  Historien i forhistorien. Festskrift til Einar Østmo på 60-årsdagen.  Kulturhistorisk Museum, Universitetet i Oslo.  ISBN 82-8084-027-3.  Artikkel.  s 383 - 393

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• Skre, Dagfinn (ed.) (2017). Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia. Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  897 s. Vis sammendrag

  The Avaldsnes Royal Manor project explores early kingship in Northern Europe, spanning the period c. AD–1320 AD. The principal case is the Norwegian kingdom and the core site is Avaldsnes near Haugesund, Western Norway. 9th–10th century skaldic poems as well as 13th century sagas implies that Avaldsnes was the principal Viking Age royal manor. The site has produced numerous exquisite gravefinds from the Roman period onwards. Among them are the third century Flaghaug grave and two ship graves from the late 8th century. Also, the Oseberg ship, excavated near Oslo, is now proven to have been built c. 820 near Avaldsnes. The Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, excavated the Avaldsnes settlement in 2011–12. A team of 23 scholars from prominent academic institutions, including the University of Cambridge and University College London, participate in the research. This first of two volumes contains their results regarding the manor and its setting on the island of Kǫrmt by the Norðvegr, the sheltered sailing route along the West-Scandinavian coast. Together, the chapters produce a detailed 1000-years’ history of a complex central-place area, its monuments and buildings, its activities and functions, its blooming and fading, and eventually its downfall in the 14th century.

• Skre, Dagfinn (ed.) (2011). Things from the Town. Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-age Kaupang. Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 978-87-7934-309-2.  483 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  The third volume covering the excavations of 1998–2003 in the Viking-period town of Kaupang examines a range of artefacts and discusses the inhabitants of the town: their origins, activities and trading connexions. Certain key threads from both this and the two previous volumes in the series are drawn together. The main categories of artefact are metal jewellery and ornaments, gemstones, vessel glass, pottery, finds of soapstone, whetstones and textile-production equipment. The artefacts are described and dated, and in some cases their areas of origin are discussed. An exceptional wealth and diversity of artefacts distinguishes sites such as Kaupang from all other types of site in the Viking world. This reflects the fact that a large population of some 400–600 people, engaged in a comprehensive range of production and trade, lived closely together in the town c. ad 800–930. The finds and structural remains make it possible to identify the activities that took place within the six buildings excavated. The earliest buildings were in use only periodically, but those erected in the 820s were occupied permanently. The earlier structures were used for limited periods by a variety of craftsmen, but those in permanent occupation were primarily houses and only secondarily workshops. Throughout the life of the town, trade links with southern Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Irish Sea appear to have been strong. In the earliest phases of the town there was considerable trade with the Frisian zone, probably with Dorestad, but this link faded in the second half of the 9th century, probably because Dorestad had been abandoned. Kaupang seems to have been supplied with goods from the interior of eastern Norway, while goods from the western coastland of Norway are all but absent. Finds of personal equipment show that many of the inhabitants were from southern and western Scandinavia. One house can be identified as that of a Frisian household engaged in trade. There were also Slavs in Kaupang, although it is not clear if they too were long-term residents. Kaupang was located in a border zone between southern and northern Scandinavia as well as between the East and the West. The trading potential of such border zones is probably why Kaupang, unlike Ribe, survived the demise of the Frisian trade in the mid-late 9th century.

• Skre, Dagfinn (ed.) (2008). Means of Exchange. Dealing with Silver in the Viking Age. Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779343085.  378 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Skre, Dagfinn (ed.) (2007). Kaupang in Skiringssal. Aarhus Universitetsforlag.  ISBN 9788779342590.  502 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  In this, the first of six volumes, the main results of the excavations which the University of Oslo carried out at Kaupang 1998–2003 are presented. A completely new picture is put forward of the port that Ohthere (Óttarr) visited in c. 890 AD. It is argued that Kaupang was one of three towns that were founded in south-west Scandinavia around the year 800. Kaupang was founded in the power centre Skiringssal, which for decades had been ruled by the Ynglings – the legendary Norwegian royal lineage. The founding was probably initiated by the King of the Danes – the dominant political actor in south-west Scandinavia at the time. Kaupang is shown to have had several of the features revealed in Birka, Hedeby and Ribe – i.e., a compact permanent settlement, divided into small plots, each with a dwelling. The town could have had 400-800 inhabitants. Substantial traces of trade and craftwork are proof of the main areas of occupation. Advanced geo- and environmental-archaeological analyses, published here, have played an important role in interpreting the finds. Documentary sources indicate that Skiringssal was an important royal seat in the 700s and 800s. These sources are put together with the archaeological and toponymical sources which, united, show a centre of power with a clear likeness to similar places in Denmark and Sweden, so called “central places”. A hall or sal building, presumably the Skirings-sal itself, has been excavated at Huseby, near Kaupang. Nearby, a thing site was situated by a holy lake. In this, the Yngling kings’ centre of power, to which many people came to attend thing meetings and sacrificial feasts, the town Kaupang was founded. The transition to Christian religious practices in Viken in the middle of the 10th century and the consequent demise of pagan cult activities in Skiringssal was probably a key factor in the abandonment of Kaupang at that time. In nine of the book’s 20 chapters, the excavations’ finds, analyses and results are presented. In three chapters, 200 years of research on Kaupang and Skiringssal are summarised, while in the remaining eight chapters an endeavour is made to re-establish the holistic approach to Skiringssal which dominated research in the 19th and early 20th century.

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• Skre, Dagfinn (2017). Preface, In Dagfinn Skre (ed.),  Avaldsnes - A Sea-Kings' Manor in First-Millennium Western Scandinavia.  Walter de Gruyter.  ISBN 978-3-11-042108-8.  Preface.  s V - VII
• Fuglestvedt, Ingrid; Gansum, Terje; Lillehammer, Grete Kirsten Grimsrud; Skre, Dagfinn; Øye, Ingvild; Iversen, Frode & Høisæther, Ole Rikard (2016). Bjørn Myhre 1938–2015, minneord. Viking.  ISSN 0332-608X.  s 7- 12 . doi: 10.5617/viking.3901
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Avaldsnes – Kongssete ved Nordvegen.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Avaldsnes ved Norðvegr.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Avaldsnes ved Norðvegr.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Avaldsnes, a sea-kings’ seat by the Norðvegr.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Kaupang, according to the Kaupang Excavation Project 2000-2011.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Konger og haller ved Avaldsnes og Kaupang.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Money and trade in Viking-Age Scandinavia.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Money in Viking-Age Scandinavia: silver, coinage and commodities.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Statement regarding Karin Rosberg: Terminology for houses and house remains. Journal of Archaeology and Ancient history.  ISSN 2001-1199.  8, s 2- 3
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Universalism and particularism in urban studies.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Universalisme og partikularisme i studiet av urbanisering.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Utgravningene på Avaldsnes.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2013). Utgravningene på Avaldsnes.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2012). Utgravningene på Avaldsnes avsluttet!. Frá haug ok heiðni.  ISSN 0015-9255.  (4), s 3- 9
• Skre, Dagfinn (2011). Noen resultater fra utgravningene på Avaldsnes 2011. Frá haug ok heiðni.  ISSN 0015-9255.  (4), s 3- 7
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Arkeologien og livet. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (2)
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008, 10. mai). Bloms kampfly (intervju om terrengscanning Avaldsnes).  Finansavisen.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008, 26. april). Fanget av fortiden (Portrettintervju).  Haugesunds Avis.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2008). Historisk sannhet. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (1), s 44- 45
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. januar). AmS trekker seg ut fra Avaldsnes-prosjektet.  Stavanger Aftenblad. Vis sammendrag

  Intervju om Avaldsnes

• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Arkeologi i 1984. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (6), s 30- 31
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 18. januar). Bjørvika er dårligst tenkelig sted for vikingskipene.  Uniforum.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Danenes by i Norge.  Dagbladet.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Derfor ble Kaupang Norges første by.  Aftenposten.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). En moderne arkeologi. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (4)
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Evolusjonslærens inntog. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  1
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. januar). Intervju om Avaldsnes. [Radio].  NRK Rogaland.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 19. mars). Intervju om "Kaupang in Skiringssal". [Radio].  Islandsk radio.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Intervju om boken "Kaupang in Skiringssal". [Radio].  NRK P2 Kulturnytt.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Intervju om boken "Kaupang in Skiringssal". [Radio].  NRK P2 Dagsnytt Atten.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Intervju om boken "Kaupang in Skiringssal". [Radio].  NRK P1 Østafjells.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 15. mars). Intervju om boken "Kaupang in Skiringssal".  Østlandsposten.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Kaupang i Skiringssal.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 03. november). Kaupang i Skiringssal — Norges første by?. [TV].  NRK 1.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Recension: John Ljungkvist: En hiar atti rikR. Om elit, struktur och ekonomi kring Uppsala och Mälaren under yngre järnålder. Fornvännen.  ISSN 0015-7813.  (1), s 57- 58
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Samfunnet - en organisme. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (3)
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Skarpe observasjoner (Anmeldelse av Anne Eriksen: Topografenes verden). Apollon : Forskningsmagasin for Universitetet i Oslo.  ISSN 0803-6926.  (3), s 51
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 12. januar). Sponsor i veien for samarbeid.  Haugesunds Avis. Vis sammendrag

  Intervju om Avaldsnes

• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Tingene vandrer. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  2
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Topografiske villfarelser. Den lille arkeologiskolen. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  (5)
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 21. juni). Verdt å vite. Intervju om Kaupang. [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Skre, Dagfinn (2007). Ynglingatal, Kaupang og Skiringssal. Nye muligheter i en velbrukt kilde.
• Sørensen, Carsten & Skre, Dagfinn (2007, 03. november). Kaupang — Norges første by?. [TV].  NRK1, Kunnskapskanalen. Vis sammendrag

  TV-program av boklansering i Gamle Festsal, Universitetet i Oslo, den 15. mars 2007. Professor Dagfinn Skre presenterer hovedfunn fra de siste Kaupangutgravningene.

• Skre, Dagfinn (2006). Andre veier til tid. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  4
• Skre, Dagfinn (2006). Den egentlige hensikt. Levende Historie.  ISSN 1503-4208.  5

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