Irina Manea

Call for Abstracts!

We invite submissions for its 6th Annual Free Public Virtual Conference, Opening the Ancient World 2026, that will take place on Sunday–Monday, July 19–20, 2026

Conference Theme: Fashion Forward: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Apparel
Abstract Deadline: March 31 2026

A glimpse of everyday life: a cute little duck (12 cm) made of elk or reindeer antler or bone with a hole, probably meant to be mounted on a stick and make a kid very happy. Found in Birka (again!) but in the Viking settlement, not cemeteries. #vikingsky

you are too kind 😇

Archaeology in Greenland! #vikingsky
My apologies for the bombastic title (the algorithm is king on YouTube ugh) youtu.be/-tHNfN55-GU

Scandinavia's oldest law is a fine on a giant ring What this massive rune ring can tell us about Viking-age law and economics

love this object! #vikingsky

Viking treasures and burials: 2025's greatest finds
youtu.be/_h1lsB89cHI #vikingsky #medievalsky

#vikingsky
shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/the-puzzle...

Northern Chaos Gods: the reception of Norse myth in Viking metal #medievalsky #vikingsky
youtu.be/gP2ng7y6_mY

The Viking invasion of Bronze Age Greece, folks!

Creative liberties and all, but this simply looks way too bizarre youtu.be/Klhc0d_RLKc

Drinking together was a deeply social act in ancient Scandinavia too, used to affirm and shape bonds of friendship and allegiance. The impact was even more impressive if the drink was poured from an imported Roman jug or horn.

Photo: horn from Östergötland ca. 0-400 AD. Historiska museet

YouTube video by SKULD How Bronze Age elites got filthy rich (and showed it off)

Bronze Age bling! youtu.be/AgMD9vHOliU

Mounds & memory: the Christianisation of Viking Iceland.
In this episode, Howard and I tackled the many facets of Christianisation, from Ari's description to the identification of Egil's grave, a process that was much more dynamic and convoluted than thought.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN67...

Timidly diving into some captivating bits of prehistory!
youtu.be/9vM4nG3Rj78

Thinking about the age of AI and how we're being forced out of intellectual existence by the tech psychopaths.

Conferência 3: Northern Chaos Gods: Eddas and Sagas in Heavy Metal Music YouTube video by NEVE: Núcleo de Estudos Vikings e Escandinavos

Public lecture about Viking metal! Many thanks to the Universidade Federal de Paraiba!
www.youtube.com/live/ZyCNi-a...

My study “The Monstrous agency: the social life of the Icelandic restless dead” has been published!
First academic article in four years sadly, perhaps one of the reasons I like these Icelandic characters so much, very much feeling like a revenant myself. periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/sc...

Glad to see Old Norse studies represented elsewhere than Western/Northern Europe or the States. As an Eastern European who developed a passion for this field late and was unable to secure a permanent position, I often feel like the odd one out.

Portuguese event about the reception of Old Norse literature, organized by Nucleo de Estudos Vikings e Escandinavos (Paraiba, Brazil)! The topic of my PhD (Norse myth in extreme metal) has gotten a second life in a way, although today I feel quite disconnected from it.

I absolutely love this discovery!

This is smth I heard from AI scientists - we are no longer in control, it's simply developing much faster than we can fully understand it.

The beacon system in medieval Norway: youtu.be/gwXpPTwTNC0 #vikingsky #medievalsky

On the contrary, it’s gonna get much worse because of the massive data centres drying out the environment and driving people into poverty because of the electricity bills.

We are being owned by a bunch of digital overlords completely controlling the cloud everyone is heavily reliant on and has to pay subscriptions for, with little change in sight.

We’re digital peasants. We don’t own anything, and our landlords want us toiling in the digital field. You can’t just opt out and go live like a hermit (enticing though). You depend on the banking app, the public transportation app, all kinds of apps your employer requires and so on.

Substack essay shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/the-true-o... #monsters

Decoding ancient funerals (Halloween special) with @saveancientstudies.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/live/iWIu2tb...

Government style ad in watercolour. Image of a burglar stealing a painting from the wall of a home. Tagline: "It's not theft... if you say you're using it to train your AI algorithm". Body text: "Theft is now legal, so we can boost the economy by eliminating jobs. If that doesn't make any sense, ask a chatbot to explain it to you." HM government logo in the corner.

Did a new one

YouTube video by Archaeodeath Icelandic Mortuary Practices of the Viking Age

Icelandic Mortuary Practices of the Viking Age www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDg4... @shieldofskuld.bsky.social

Just good business.