What is it about?
This is a summary (piublished c. 2018) on the key results of my research (and that of others) on bone and antler combs from Viking-Age Scotland since the last big synthesis of Viking-Age Scotland (1998).
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Photo by Liliya Grek on Unsplash
Why is it important?
These objects have always had an important role in debates about the beginning of the Viking-Age in Scotland (did it have a long, slow, and maybe peaceful start, or a much more sudden and violent one?). Analysis of the combs once offered an answer to this question; our own research suggests the opposite, as well as a range of other important findings about culture-contact and trade in the region.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: 23. Small Finds, Big Questions: Two Decades of Research on Combs in Viking-Age Scotland, December 2023, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/9781474485845-032.
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