Christian Cooijmans

John Peel.

"And that was Lawn Chair Armöur, the up and coming Norwegian black metal band from Croydon..."

#medievalism at its finest 👌

Three characters from the 'Vikings' TV series, wearing a variety of impractical-looking dark leather outfits with various gridded elements, arbitrary straps, and decorative panelling.

Three dark leather lawn chairs made of interwoven leather and gridded panelling.

One of our survey respondents characterised present-day popular viking outfits as 'lawn chair armour', and there is frankly no better description out there.

Andrea Egan begins five-year term as UNISON general secretary - UNISON National 'We will put faith in members' decisions and stand up to any employer, politician or cabinet minister who acts against our interests'

Not a guy, friend.

The Tune ship in its steel rig, suspended from a rail, about to enter the new building of the Museum of the Viking Age. Photo: Museum of the Viking Age, University of Oslo

Interior shot of the steel rig containing the Tune ship Photo: Museum of the Viking Age, University of Oslo

The Tune ship in its steel rig, suspended from a rail, slowly making its way towards the new museum building. Photo: Museum of the Viking Age, University of Oslo

Following the earlier Oseberg and Gokstad ship relocations, the Tune ship, snug in its steel rig, has started its journey into the new Museum of the Viking Age (@uio.no) today. Over the course of three days, it will travel a total of 130 metres at a top speed of c. 24 cm per minute.

In your ears?

Great job to you both!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A short white text formatted like an inspirational quote against a black background. The text reads 'A Viking is an occupation like being a zookeeper but obviously totally different in every way'. It is attributed as 'anonymous, from the Great Viking Survey (2025)'.

Some Friday wisdom from our Great Viking Survey dataset:

Post-doctoral researcher sought for analysis of Newark cemetery remains ORCA is looking for a post-doctoral researcher to record and analyse the human remains from a Pictish/Norse cemetery in Orkney.

The UHI Archaeology Institute is looking for a post-doctoral researcher to record and analyse the human remains from a Pictish/Norse cemetery in Orkney.

I propose to make universal the old policy of the Blackfriars conference at the American Shakespeare Center:

If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.

Capitalism ouroboros: Paying someone else to pull you up by your bootstraps

Capitalism ouroboros: Paying someone else to pull you up by your bootstraps

🧪🏺 Update - authors have new paper showing how useless gen- #AI is for archaeological illustration.
All 400 images were multiply inaccurate (physically, socially, technologically, environmentally), even with improved prompts.

JUST USE HUMAN EXPERTS & ARTISTS

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The Ness of Burgi, sitting on a rocky outcrop with a stormy sea below.

The Ness of Burgi - stone structure on a rocky outcrop during a stormy day.

The Ness of Burgi - stone structure on a rocky outcrop during a stormy day.

One of the internal cells at the Ness of Burgi - with the sea in the background

Storm on the horizon when we made it to the Ness of Burgi, one of only few attested Iron Age 'blockhouse forts', all of which are in Shetland. The site feels very exposed and secure at the same time, with steep coastal cliffs on three sides and landward ditch/rampart. Its exact function is unclear.

When Musk said the "cumulative sum of human knowledge has been exhausted" for training AI, what he was really saying is that he would not pay for digitisation, and had reached the limits of useful data he could scrape for free. The GenAI house is built on sand.

The AI Takeover Is Not Inevitable: Now Is the Time to Resist "Studying history, we know that nothing is inevitable."

Over the next few weeks, the NACBS blog will feature a series of pieces on artificial intelligence. Check out the opening essay by @amywb.bsky.social and stay tuned for more!

www.nacbs.org/post/the-ai-...

A metal sign that says 'chamber', inside a chamber at Muness Castle

Also home to some enlightening signage:

A late medieval stone castle ruin against a cloudy sky

A distant shot of Muness Castle, next to a number of abandoned farm buildings. Sheep abound in the surrounding fields.

The extant doorway of Muness Castle. An inscription above reads: LIST YE TO KNAW THIS BULDING QUHA BEGAN/LAURENCE THE BRUCE HE WAS THAT WORTHY MAN/QUHA ERNESTLY HIS AIRIS AND OFSPRING PRAYIS/TO HELP AND NOT TO HURT THIS WARK ALUAYIS/THE YEIR OF GOD. 1598.

Moss-covered walls at Muness Castle

Not the best weather for it, but good to have made it to Britain's northernmost castle, Muness (Unst, Shetland). Construction started in 1598, on the orders of the dubious figure Laurence Bruce. It was attacked by Dunkirk privateers in 1627, sold in 1718, and ruined by the end of the century.

A series of worn inscriptions carved into the facade of a house on New Street, Scalloway. The inscription reads: 'This diagram illustrates the cause of the so called Earth Tides. Also each alternate Ocean Flood, the cause of which has never yet been understood. [Text below ridge mostly illegible] [Lower stone:] The water flows back when att[ractio]n over & forms a heap on opposite side of E[arth] to balance att[ractio]n flood. There is no [... illegible].

White stone inset in a facade of a house in Scalloway, reading 'Section at Equator of Earth. German theories controverted. Germans Are Not The Favoured of Heaven.'

Trouble with Reviewer 2? Why not carve your alternative theory into the side of your house instead?

(seen on a facade on New Street, Scalloway, Shetland)

An eroded stone doorway and adjacent wall on a beach in Shetland, overlooking a blue sea in winter.

Probably my favourite shot from Shetland, looking out from the sea-facing doorway at the Late Norse farm of Sandwick South, Unst.

Once much further out from the water, it is now rapidly eroding on the beach. The 'cow-shaped' form of this doorway (as this was a byre) is now no longer apparent.

The remains of a Viking-Age longhouse in a field, overlooking a bay on a cloudy day

The remains of a Viking-Age longhouse in a field, with a hill in the background, on a cloudy day.

A distant Viking-Age longhouse, with the sea visible further along, on a cloudy day

Well worth the waterlogged boots to see the remains of the early Viking-Age longhouse at Hamar, overlooking the Balta Sound at Unst, Shetland.

Odd that they went with the one inscription not made in stone for the article title.

Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams

A very exciting find, but already seeing people throwing caution to the wind and reaching the foregone conclusion that these were definitely vikings. Just hang on a second for the osteology, folks - wanting them to be vikings doesn't automatically mean they are.

Today's vikingism: the former Viking Cinema in Largs, Scotland, which first opened in 1939. Awash in art-deco viking decor, complete with viking ship out front, it could host up to 1,300 viewers. The cinema closed in 1973, with the building demolished a decade later.

The search effectiveness and utility of both Google Books and Scholar have been declining for years, and both may well be at risk of discontinuation in the coming years as GenAI continues to be pushed over traditional search. Not a brilliant prospect for scholarly research and teaching.

Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...

You may also recognise it from the front cover of the most recent Dorestad conference volume:

www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...

A photo of a small 10C/11C gold-enamel fibula, thought to represent a saint or secular elite figure.

A photo of a small 10C/11C gold-enamel fibula, thought to represent a saint or secular elite figure.

What a delight to have met this little fella in the flesh a few weeks ago! Found in northern North Holland province in 2024, the tiny 10C/11C gold and enamel fibula is thought to represent a saint or secular elite figure.

Leiden, @rmoudheden.bsky.social, g 2024/3.1

A border terrier on the stern of Skidbladner, a reconstructed viking ship (Gokstad replica) at Haroldswick, Unst, Shetland.

Detail of a border terrier on the stern of Skidbladner, a reconstructed viking ship (Gokstad replica) at Haroldswick, Unst, Shetland.

Tato considers raiding an overseas monastery*

*for biscuits 🍪