Krister Vasshus
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kristervasshus.bsky.social
Krister Vasshus
@kristervasshus.bsky.social
Interdisciplinary scholar of (North) Germanic languages, runes, archaeology, religion, biology and cultural history. Currently working as disseminator at Sagnlandet Lejre, and freelancing research. Environmentalist. He, him, jotun.
What a redwing (Turdus iliacus) looked like to one roman artist some 2000 years ago.
This little bird survived a volcanic eruption!

Buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, this Roman fresco of a little bird pecking at fruit re-emerged looking as delightful as it did some 2,000 years ago!

Villa Poppaea, ancient Oplontis, Italy
📷 by me

#FrescoFriday
#Archaeology
November 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I ei førelesing om den norske språksituasjonen om dialektmangfald, snakkar han 12 norske dialektar, i tillegg til eit mindre utval av svenske og danske dialektar. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIIV...
Kvifor har Noreg levande dialektbrukt?
YouTube video by Eldar Heide
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Norwegian: Leirgauk 'clay cockoo'
English: Okarina 'little goose'
Danish: Pip-i-røv-fugl 'peep-in-the-arse-bird'
November 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
The perhaps most commonly used Norwegian word for 'reality' is "virkelighet", which literally translates to 'worklyness'.
November 1, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
Happy Moinween! 🎃
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Norwegian language is løvely. Take the word "pappskalle" in example. It literally translates to 'cardboard-skull', but it is used as a word meaning 'idiot'.
October 30, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Sometimes I take detours just to stop by an interesting piece of history. This summer I passed the Kalleby-stone. The exact meaning of the inscription is somewhat debated. It says "Þrawijan haitinaz was".
October 24, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Når noko heilt moderne stikk seg så djupt ned i folkeoldet at du må hella ut ein tår for å føla deg sikker på at du kjem deg heilskinna heim. Då er det godt.
August 23, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
Breaking news from Iceland: Finally there seems to be a consensus forming among the people of Iceland on how to pronounce and spell the Icelandic word for "hot dog". Wether it is pulsa or pylsa has been hotly debated for decades, but new research indicates that the majority now call it "pylsa".
Fleiri segja pylsa en pulsa - RÚV.is
Íslendingar eru almennt gjarnari á að segja pylsa en pulsa samkvæmt nýrri Maskínukönnun. Langflestir Norðlendingar segja pylsa en fólk á Reykjanesi, Suðurlandi og á Vesturlandi segir frekar pulsa.
www.ruv.is
August 20, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
You knowe the coole thynge about Gen A.I.?

Aye, me neither.
August 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Strandurunōʀ skar-eka

'I cut beach-runes'
August 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
@kristervasshus.bsky.social Eg gløymde dette litt, men no ser eg at artikkelen vår om runefunna frå Svingerud, som kom ut seint i 2023, også har vorte fritt tilgjengeleg hos NOWELE. Det skjedde kanskje alt tidlegare under våren. www.jbe-platform.com/content/jour...
Runic fragments from the Svingerud grave field in Norway | John Benjamins
Abstract In 2021–2023, several rune-inscribed sandstone fragments were discovered by archaeologists of the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, at a Roman Iron Age grave field by the Svinge...
www.jbe-platform.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
Together with @kristervasshus.bsky.social we also have an additional article that provides further runological and linguistic evaluations, now available Open Access:
www.jbe-platform.com/content/jour...
Runic fragments from the Svingerud grave field in Norway | John Benjamins
Abstract In 2021–2023, several rune-inscribed sandstone fragments were discovered by archaeologists of the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, at a Roman Iron Age grave field by the Svinge...
www.jbe-platform.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Summer-slacking.
July 24, 2025 at 2:25 PM
When children know stuff about Scandinavia.
July 8, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Reposted by Krister Vasshus
June 28, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Helios Hyperion!

Hailagu sōlu!
June 21, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Når kona har vore på feltarbeid på Bornholm og køyrt øve Sverige på veg heim, og veit nøyaktig kva gåve ho skal gjera husbonden glad med.
May 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Vener i Uppsala, eg håpar dokker har det fint!
April 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Skvallerkål blei innført til Skandinavia som grønsak ein gong i romersk jernalder.

Berre i tilfelle nokon lurte på kven som har skulda.
52: Skvallerkål, Aegopodium podagraria. Hageeigarens mareritt. Ugras som er ekstremt vanskeleg å bli kvitt. Men fine blomar, og så er han etande (men det seier dei jo om alt mogleg rask, og så smakar det pyton). På fransk/spansk/katalansk er namnet til tider "St. Gerhardsurt", som høyrest fancy ut.
April 27, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Oh, Denmark. Always so explicit.

"Do you wash hands after having been to the loo? Otherwise this [handshake image] becomes this [that other image]"
April 25, 2025 at 6:10 AM
After having gone through runic inscriptions from around the 700s, we have settled on using a transitional fuþark in our mead-hall in Sagnlandet Lejre.
April 7, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Uheldigvis jobber eg på ein arbeidsplass der eg skal spreia kunnskap og fakta, så det der med aprilsnarr blir litt uglesett. Til gjengjeld kan eg oppfordra andre til å lura omverda trill rundt!

sprakmeg.blogspot.com/2018/03/apri...
Aprilsnarr!
Ettersom dette er ein folkeopplysande blogg, har eg beslutta meg for å ikkje legga ut nokon aprilsnarr her. Eg vil rett og slett ikkje at f...
sprakmeg.blogspot.com
April 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM