Dr Tom Horne
@hornesupremacy.bsky.social
Early medieval archaeologist | Viking trade PhD (Glas.) | History MA (Oxon) Balliol, Oxford | Author: A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain | Co-Ed. / Author: The Viking Age in Scotland | Archaeology & Museum Comms | Govan Stones Museum Assistant
A Whole Lot of History, the Newsletter
As recommended by TOM HOLLAND!
Link in the following post ⤵️
As recommended by TOM HOLLAND!
Link in the following post ⤵️
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A Whole Lot of History, the Newsletter
As recommended by TOM HOLLAND!
Link in the following post ⤵️
As recommended by TOM HOLLAND!
Link in the following post ⤵️
Pls SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my Substack newsletter, powered by History Hit and written by me!
In short, I've curated the most interesting history and archaeology stories of the week, giving links and due promince to the peer-reviewed articles on which they're often based.
Link below 📰 ⤵️
In short, I've curated the most interesting history and archaeology stories of the week, giving links and due promince to the peer-reviewed articles on which they're often based.
Link below 📰 ⤵️
December 2, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Pls SHARE and SUBSCRIBE to my Substack newsletter, powered by History Hit and written by me!
In short, I've curated the most interesting history and archaeology stories of the week, giving links and due promince to the peer-reviewed articles on which they're often based.
Link below 📰 ⤵️
In short, I've curated the most interesting history and archaeology stories of the week, giving links and due promince to the peer-reviewed articles on which they're often based.
Link below 📰 ⤵️
Copper-alloy bullion scales box with runic inscription:
'Djärf acquired from a man from Samland these scales in [...] land. [Semigallia, Latvia?]. And Värmund and inscribed these runes, A bird tore apart the pale thief; People saw how the corpse-cuckoo [raven] swelled'
My 📷 Ref: Historiska museet
'Djärf acquired from a man from Samland these scales in [...] land. [Semigallia, Latvia?]. And Värmund and inscribed these runes, A bird tore apart the pale thief; People saw how the corpse-cuckoo [raven] swelled'
My 📷 Ref: Historiska museet
December 1, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Copper-alloy bullion scales box with runic inscription:
'Djärf acquired from a man from Samland these scales in [...] land. [Semigallia, Latvia?]. And Värmund and inscribed these runes, A bird tore apart the pale thief; People saw how the corpse-cuckoo [raven] swelled'
My 📷 Ref: Historiska museet
'Djärf acquired from a man from Samland these scales in [...] land. [Semigallia, Latvia?]. And Värmund and inscribed these runes, A bird tore apart the pale thief; People saw how the corpse-cuckoo [raven] swelled'
My 📷 Ref: Historiska museet
📖 🛍 25% off A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain!
Until 8am on 3rd Dec, get
¼ off the paperback, hardback, and ebook of A Viking Market Kingdom via Routledge.
Go on a Tolkien-esque journey towards distant lands, dragon ships, and shiny (numismatic) treasures!
Link in next post ⤵️
Until 8am on 3rd Dec, get
¼ off the paperback, hardback, and ebook of A Viking Market Kingdom via Routledge.
Go on a Tolkien-esque journey towards distant lands, dragon ships, and shiny (numismatic) treasures!
Link in next post ⤵️
November 28, 2025 at 9:55 PM
📖 🛍 25% off A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain!
Until 8am on 3rd Dec, get
¼ off the paperback, hardback, and ebook of A Viking Market Kingdom via Routledge.
Go on a Tolkien-esque journey towards distant lands, dragon ships, and shiny (numismatic) treasures!
Link in next post ⤵️
Until 8am on 3rd Dec, get
¼ off the paperback, hardback, and ebook of A Viking Market Kingdom via Routledge.
Go on a Tolkien-esque journey towards distant lands, dragon ships, and shiny (numismatic) treasures!
Link in next post ⤵️
📚 The Viking Age in Scotland: Studies in Scottish Scandinavian Archaeology 📚
5️⃣0️⃣ % off - SALE on NOW!
Get FIFTY PERCENT off:
FRIDAY 28th
SATURDAY 29th
SUNDAY 30th
➡️ 09:00 MON 1st
Link in next post ⤵️
5️⃣0️⃣ % off - SALE on NOW!
Get FIFTY PERCENT off:
FRIDAY 28th
SATURDAY 29th
SUNDAY 30th
➡️ 09:00 MON 1st
Link in next post ⤵️
November 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
📚 The Viking Age in Scotland: Studies in Scottish Scandinavian Archaeology 📚
5️⃣0️⃣ % off - SALE on NOW!
Get FIFTY PERCENT off:
FRIDAY 28th
SATURDAY 29th
SUNDAY 30th
➡️ 09:00 MON 1st
Link in next post ⤵️
5️⃣0️⃣ % off - SALE on NOW!
Get FIFTY PERCENT off:
FRIDAY 28th
SATURDAY 29th
SUNDAY 30th
➡️ 09:00 MON 1st
Link in next post ⤵️
Whalebone plaque and glass 'smoothing stone' from Birka grave Bj 854. The plaque, paralleled at Scar, Orkney, was likely a board for linen preparation, with inclusion in high-status female graves a symbolic nod to prestigious household management roles.
My 📷 Ref Historiska museet
My 📷 Ref Historiska museet
November 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Whalebone plaque and glass 'smoothing stone' from Birka grave Bj 854. The plaque, paralleled at Scar, Orkney, was likely a board for linen preparation, with inclusion in high-status female graves a symbolic nod to prestigious household management roles.
My 📷 Ref Historiska museet
My 📷 Ref Historiska museet
Map nearly done, so we're proof reading this chap tomorrow! 📚 Read: "Please scan your inboxes for panicked questions!".
November 26, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Map nearly done, so we're proof reading this chap tomorrow! 📚 Read: "Please scan your inboxes for panicked questions!".
Tatinger ware jug from Birka grave Bj 854.
Tatinger vessels were decorated with tin foil geometric patterns. Imported into Viking-Age Scandinavia from the Carolingian world, they would have been signifiers of high status in contexts such as feasting and burial.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
Tatinger vessels were decorated with tin foil geometric patterns. Imported into Viking-Age Scandinavia from the Carolingian world, they would have been signifiers of high status in contexts such as feasting and burial.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
November 25, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Tatinger ware jug from Birka grave Bj 854.
Tatinger vessels were decorated with tin foil geometric patterns. Imported into Viking-Age Scandinavia from the Carolingian world, they would have been signifiers of high status in contexts such as feasting and burial.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
Tatinger vessels were decorated with tin foil geometric patterns. Imported into Viking-Age Scandinavia from the Carolingian world, they would have been signifiers of high status in contexts such as feasting and burial.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
Glass 'funnel beaker' from #Viking-Age Birka grave Bj 854.
From the Carolingian region, such pieces were high-status signifiers due to the costs of importing delicate artefacts long distances, and their likely prominent role in elite feasting contexts.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
From the Carolingian region, such pieces were high-status signifiers due to the costs of importing delicate artefacts long distances, and their likely prominent role in elite feasting contexts.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
November 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Glass 'funnel beaker' from #Viking-Age Birka grave Bj 854.
From the Carolingian region, such pieces were high-status signifiers due to the costs of importing delicate artefacts long distances, and their likely prominent role in elite feasting contexts.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
From the Carolingian region, such pieces were high-status signifiers due to the costs of importing delicate artefacts long distances, and their likely prominent role in elite feasting contexts.
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
📚 Foyles, THE actual Foyles, will be selling my Amber Books Treasures of the #Vikings!
The Charing Cross Foyles is one of my favourite spaces in the world, and I recommend losing oneself there for a day at least once.
The Charing Cross Foyles is one of my favourite spaces in the world, and I recommend losing oneself there for a day at least once.
November 22, 2025 at 8:45 PM
📚 Foyles, THE actual Foyles, will be selling my Amber Books Treasures of the #Vikings!
The Charing Cross Foyles is one of my favourite spaces in the world, and I recommend losing oneself there for a day at least once.
The Charing Cross Foyles is one of my favourite spaces in the world, and I recommend losing oneself there for a day at least once.
A Viking-Age funerary Picture Stone from Stånga, Gotland.
: roþuisl : aug : farborn : auk : kunborn :
Rodvisl and Farbjörn and Gunnbjörn
The scene is difficult to interpret! Can you spot the triquetra / 'valknut'?
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 108188_HST
: roþuisl : aug : farborn : auk : kunborn :
Rodvisl and Farbjörn and Gunnbjörn
The scene is difficult to interpret! Can you spot the triquetra / 'valknut'?
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 108188_HST
November 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
A Viking-Age funerary Picture Stone from Stånga, Gotland.
: roþuisl : aug : farborn : auk : kunborn :
Rodvisl and Farbjörn and Gunnbjörn
The scene is difficult to interpret! Can you spot the triquetra / 'valknut'?
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 108188_HST
: roþuisl : aug : farborn : auk : kunborn :
Rodvisl and Farbjörn and Gunnbjörn
The scene is difficult to interpret! Can you spot the triquetra / 'valknut'?
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 108188_HST
It seems the profits and logistical needs of slaving drove Viking economies, possibly providing much of the foundational logic behind the creation and expansion of vast long-distance trade networks.
📷 clockwise:
Shackles from Birka & Skedala
Neck shackle, Birka
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
📷 clockwise:
Shackles from Birka & Skedala
Neck shackle, Birka
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
November 15, 2025 at 6:45 PM
It seems the profits and logistical needs of slaving drove Viking economies, possibly providing much of the foundational logic behind the creation and expansion of vast long-distance trade networks.
📷 clockwise:
Shackles from Birka & Skedala
Neck shackle, Birka
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
📷 clockwise:
Shackles from Birka & Skedala
Neck shackle, Birka
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
It's very cool to see Barnes and Noble listing my upcoming book, Treasures of the Vikings, on the US book market! 🇺🇲 📚
November 15, 2025 at 1:14 PM
It's very cool to see Barnes and Noble listing my upcoming book, Treasures of the Vikings, on the US book market! 🇺🇲 📚
An Irish or British Bucket in Birka 🪣
This wood and copper-alloy pail is of Insular type, but was found in grave Bj 557 next to the market town of Birka.
Although likely from a Viking raid, it could derive from long-distance trade in high-status items.
My 📷 Historiska museet
This wood and copper-alloy pail is of Insular type, but was found in grave Bj 557 next to the market town of Birka.
Although likely from a Viking raid, it could derive from long-distance trade in high-status items.
My 📷 Historiska museet
November 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
An Irish or British Bucket in Birka 🪣
This wood and copper-alloy pail is of Insular type, but was found in grave Bj 557 next to the market town of Birka.
Although likely from a Viking raid, it could derive from long-distance trade in high-status items.
My 📷 Historiska museet
This wood and copper-alloy pail is of Insular type, but was found in grave Bj 557 next to the market town of Birka.
Although likely from a Viking raid, it could derive from long-distance trade in high-status items.
My 📷 Historiska museet
No filter 1,500-year-old churchyard vibes.
November 9, 2025 at 10:19 PM
No filter 1,500-year-old churchyard vibes.
🎁🎄Delight your friends and family this Christmas: Get 2️⃣5️⃣% off 'A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain'!
Use Promo Code BF2025S at checkout 📚
www.routledge.com/A-Viking-Mar...
Use Promo Code BF2025S at checkout 📚
www.routledge.com/A-Viking-Mar...
November 9, 2025 at 1:49 AM
🎁🎄Delight your friends and family this Christmas: Get 2️⃣5️⃣% off 'A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain'!
Use Promo Code BF2025S at checkout 📚
www.routledge.com/A-Viking-Mar...
Use Promo Code BF2025S at checkout 📚
www.routledge.com/A-Viking-Mar...
Silver anthropro/zoomorphic pendant from a #Viking-Age grave in Aska, Sweden.
What looks like a helmet is a bird gripping the moustachioed man's head, with the bird's beak acting as the nose guard.
The gripping beast was a leitmotif of VA Scandinavian art.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 106604_HST
What looks like a helmet is a bird gripping the moustachioed man's head, with the bird's beak acting as the nose guard.
The gripping beast was a leitmotif of VA Scandinavian art.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 106604_HST
November 9, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Silver anthropro/zoomorphic pendant from a #Viking-Age grave in Aska, Sweden.
What looks like a helmet is a bird gripping the moustachioed man's head, with the bird's beak acting as the nose guard.
The gripping beast was a leitmotif of VA Scandinavian art.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 106604_HST
What looks like a helmet is a bird gripping the moustachioed man's head, with the bird's beak acting as the nose guard.
The gripping beast was a leitmotif of VA Scandinavian art.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet 106604_HST
From Central Asia to a Viking-Age grave in Sweden.
Copper-alloy flask with Arabic script. Found in a grave in Aska, Östergötland. It illustrates the Viking world's long-distance trade networks, and the routes by which dirham silver reached Scandinavia
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
Copper-alloy flask with Arabic script. Found in a grave in Aska, Östergötland. It illustrates the Viking world's long-distance trade networks, and the routes by which dirham silver reached Scandinavia
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
November 3, 2025 at 11:43 PM
From Central Asia to a Viking-Age grave in Sweden.
Copper-alloy flask with Arabic script. Found in a grave in Aska, Östergötland. It illustrates the Viking world's long-distance trade networks, and the routes by which dirham silver reached Scandinavia
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
Copper-alloy flask with Arabic script. Found in a grave in Aska, Östergötland. It illustrates the Viking world's long-distance trade networks, and the routes by which dirham silver reached Scandinavia
My 📷 Ref. Historiska museet
East European silver in #Viking Gotland: Known as Permian rings and originally worn around necks, these striated rings, some with cubo-octahedral bullion weight style terminals, were twisted into (more popular) arm-rings in Scandinavia, before being imitated there.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
November 1, 2025 at 1:03 PM
East European silver in #Viking Gotland: Known as Permian rings and originally worn around necks, these striated rings, some with cubo-octahedral bullion weight style terminals, were twisted into (more popular) arm-rings in Scandinavia, before being imitated there.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
Northumbrian jet in Viking-Age Scandinavia?
It is likely this arm-ring, found in Birka grave Bj 860A, was produced from Whitby (Hvítabýr) jet, possibly either looted in a Viking raid, or made by a jewellery maker in Anglo-Scandinavian Jórvík.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet; SHM
It is likely this arm-ring, found in Birka grave Bj 860A, was produced from Whitby (Hvítabýr) jet, possibly either looted in a Viking raid, or made by a jewellery maker in Anglo-Scandinavian Jórvík.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet; SHM
October 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Northumbrian jet in Viking-Age Scandinavia?
It is likely this arm-ring, found in Birka grave Bj 860A, was produced from Whitby (Hvítabýr) jet, possibly either looted in a Viking raid, or made by a jewellery maker in Anglo-Scandinavian Jórvík.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet; SHM
It is likely this arm-ring, found in Birka grave Bj 860A, was produced from Whitby (Hvítabýr) jet, possibly either looted in a Viking raid, or made by a jewellery maker in Anglo-Scandinavian Jórvík.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet; SHM
Do visit my website to see how I might help your heritage, history, or archaeology-based business, whether it's related to tourism, comms, PR, or publishing!
Link in the linked post 🔗
Link in the linked post 🔗
October 28, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Do visit my website to see how I might help your heritage, history, or archaeology-based business, whether it's related to tourism, comms, PR, or publishing!
Link in the linked post 🔗
Link in the linked post 🔗
This (incomplete) silver penannular brooch with ball terminals and pin head was probably made in Britain or Ireland, but found in Råsta, Sweden.
Compare this with the thistle-type variant in the Scotto-Scandinavian Skaill Hoard of AD 960-80.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet & James Graham-Campbell
Compare this with the thistle-type variant in the Scotto-Scandinavian Skaill Hoard of AD 960-80.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet & James Graham-Campbell
October 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
This (incomplete) silver penannular brooch with ball terminals and pin head was probably made in Britain or Ireland, but found in Råsta, Sweden.
Compare this with the thistle-type variant in the Scotto-Scandinavian Skaill Hoard of AD 960-80.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet & James Graham-Campbell
Compare this with the thistle-type variant in the Scotto-Scandinavian Skaill Hoard of AD 960-80.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet & James Graham-Campbell
The decoration on this Coppergate Jórvík sheath has parallels with the Govan 2 hogback and the Govan School more generally.
The sheath dates to c. AD 930-975, so fits the probable C10th dating of many of the Govan Stones.
📷 York Archaeological Trust (CC BY-NC 4.0, see below)
📷 Me, The Govan Stones
The sheath dates to c. AD 930-975, so fits the probable C10th dating of many of the Govan Stones.
📷 York Archaeological Trust (CC BY-NC 4.0, see below)
📷 Me, The Govan Stones
October 18, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The decoration on this Coppergate Jórvík sheath has parallels with the Govan 2 hogback and the Govan School more generally.
The sheath dates to c. AD 930-975, so fits the probable C10th dating of many of the Govan Stones.
📷 York Archaeological Trust (CC BY-NC 4.0, see below)
📷 Me, The Govan Stones
The sheath dates to c. AD 930-975, so fits the probable C10th dating of many of the Govan Stones.
📷 York Archaeological Trust (CC BY-NC 4.0, see below)
📷 Me, The Govan Stones
🍇 A green glass 'grape beaker' from grave Bj 539 at #Birka, the #Viking-Age nodal market town.
A prestigious import from a Carolingian-era Frankish workshop, shards from similar vessels have been found in Charlemagne's palace complex in Paderborn.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
A prestigious import from a Carolingian-era Frankish workshop, shards from similar vessels have been found in Charlemagne's palace complex in Paderborn.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
October 17, 2025 at 7:39 PM
🍇 A green glass 'grape beaker' from grave Bj 539 at #Birka, the #Viking-Age nodal market town.
A prestigious import from a Carolingian-era Frankish workshop, shards from similar vessels have been found in Charlemagne's palace complex in Paderborn.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet
A prestigious import from a Carolingian-era Frankish workshop, shards from similar vessels have been found in Charlemagne's palace complex in Paderborn.
My 📷 | Ref. Historiska museet