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Danish Archaeologists In Search Of Vikings In Iran

Mal_Adjusted

Mal_Adjusted

Justified & Ancient
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Aug 6, 2003
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1/20/05
Danish Archaeologists in Search of Vikings in Iran


Tehran, Jan. 20 (Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency <http://www.chn.ir>) – Researchers from the Copenhagen Museum in Denmark have traveled to the coasts of the Caspian Sea, northern Iran, in search of clues of relationships between Iranians and Vikings.

A few years ago, a researcher from the Copenhagen Museum, Nadia Haupt, discovered more than one thousand coins and relics that did not belong to the Danish or other Scandinavian cultures, and therefore set to find out more about the historical roots of the Danish civilization.

The ancient items that took the attention of experts included more than one hundred thousand coins that are not part of the Danish history, Viking shipwrecks that Haupt believes their style of construction and the kind of trade they used to undertake differentiate them from those of their ancestors, clothes and accessories used today in some Scandinavian cities and villages, and red and blue colors included in the clothes of the residents under study.

The findings prompted archeologists and anthropology enthusiasts to find out more about their ancestral roots, and where these items have originally come from. The first hypothesis that these items originated from southwestern Europe such as Spain was overruled with more studies.

The next hypothesis focused on the northeastern countries in Europe, or more specifically Russia. Relics found in the excavations of the area have confirmed the existence of trade relationships between Denmark and Russia, but Haupt intends to get to the main roots.

She has followed her leads in Russia and has now come to the Iranian side of the Caspian Sea, hoping to prove that Eastern cultures had influenced the Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark.

Director of the research center of the Cultural Heritage Department, Mazandaran province, Ali Mahforouzi, told CHN that Haupt’s field work will continue for 2 weeks, after which she would go back to Denmark to hopefully announce the results of her studies in 3 months.

Mahforouzi believes that further excavations in European countries may show that old Asian civilizations, especially Iran, have had a more important role in the booming of the European cultures.

If her hypothesis is proved, Mahforouzi said, a great project concerning the relations between the Iranian and residents of the coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea will be triggered. According to him, such discoveries can help attract many scholar-tourists to Iran.

The Cultural Heritage & Tourism Department in the northern province of Mazandaran has some plans to prepare the residents in this region for hosting foreign tourists and has started some archeology classes and exhibitions of their heritage.
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http://www.payvand.com/news/05/jan/1191.html

mal
 
iirc the series on the bbc "blood of the vikings". showed that vikings were employed in the middle east as mercenries by the turks

i may be wrong though
 
I think you're right, melf, they certainly made it as far as Istambul as there's runic grafitti in Hagia Sophia.
 
melf said:
iirc the series on the bbc "blood of the vikings". showed that vikings were employed in the middle east as mercenries by the turks

i may be wrong though
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The emperors of constantinople were guarded by the Varangian guard, made up of Scandinavians and Rus (inhabitants of swedish colonies in Russia). Though at this time istambul/constinople/byzantium was a greek, not turkish city.
 
ok i was half wrong :D

my dunces hat please
 
S ok melf, I only knew about it because in a former life I was a viking.

And you wouldn't want my Dunces hat, It has horns on.
 
IIRC the Vikings regularly travelled from the Baltic to the Black Sea via various rivers, portageing over the watersheds.
 
A quick Google turned up several pages of info, eg:
The Vikings had no trouble dealing with a change of portage, as the ships used for these Russian river excursions to Byzantium and Baghdad were smaller and lighter than their longship cousins. They could be easily dragged around rapids, or from one river to another, depending on the route taken. Of necessity, strategic settlements were developed to help with the exchange of travel equipment, such as boats, horses, and carts, as well as trade goods.

The routes that ran between the Black Sea and the Baltic stemmed from the Dvina and Neva Rivers and extended to the Dnieper River. The major trade city for the Dnieper was Kiev (Kæogardr in Old Norse), which occupied a perfect position to hinder or help traders and other travelers.

Trade towns were strategically based on the river Neva not far from St. Petersburg and on the Volkov; they also sat at the passageway to Lake Ilmen and the central commercial port of Novgorod (Holmgardr in Old Norse). From Novgorod, a Scandinavian could choose to go overland a distance and take the Volga River route to the Caspian Sea, or take the Lovat, go overland, cross the Dvina, and again travel overland, perhaps doing some business in Smolensk, on the Dnieper, before heading down into the Black Sea.

The central route from Russia to reach the Caspian Sea, Persia, and the Silk Route began at Lake Ladoga. Unlike the route to the Black Sea, it headed east overland and "joined the upper waters of the river Volga, passing through Beloozero, Jaroslavl, Vladimir, and Murom [heading toward Itil and the Caspian Sea]; Scandinavian artifacts have been found at all of these." Another possible route would have been to leave Ladoga via the Volkhov into Lake Ilmen, go down the Lovat a short distance, and again go overland until reaching the headwaters of the Volga and head downstream, stopping at Tver, Rostov, and thence Itil.

Itil stood on the delta leading to the Caspian Sea and was one of the major trade cities for the Volga. Larger trade cities were paramount, but there were myriad small forts and way stations set up along the river systems. These aided legitimate traders and warded against attacks from natives and traveling groups. Bolgar, on the Volga, was such a place, controlling the route to Smolensk, Lake Ladoga, and Itil. Bolgar was situated at the juncture of the Kama and the Volga, and protected east-west trade routes. Bolgar’s importance stems from its position as the demarcation line for the western end of the Silk Road, "the overland trade route that ran through Samarkand and Tashkent to China, and here a great market place had developed controlled by the Bulgar tribes." Smolensk, like Bulgar, formed a cultural crossroads, where East and West met to trade furs, slaves, silk, honey, ivory, spices, and a plethora of other goods and wares, all of which moved along the waterways.
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From
http://www.netwizards.net/~eeliag/CHAP3.html
 
"Look dear, Ive got you a carpet!"
"I thought I told you to discover america, not go faffing around in the middle east!"

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Seriously though, long haired cats are found in both Russia and Scandanavia, as well as Iran and Turkey.
 
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