Category: re-enactment

Join us during the 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival for our fringe events

Monday 17th February:

Jim Glazzard: If I had a hammer - Reconstructing the Viking Age metal worker’s workshop.

 Jim Glazzard, experimental archaeologist, historical craftsman, and co-founder of Asgard, will talk about his recent research into non-ferrous metalworking practice in the Viking Age. Giving insight into the skills possessed by the smiths, and how they might have been learned and practiced.

7.30pm Tickets £5

Asgard, 14 Little Stonegate YO1 8AX

Tickets available in store. Ticket purchases are cash only

This silver arm ring is based on a Viking age piece housed in the National Museum of Denmark. Similar finds have also been uncovered in Sejero Denmark and in the 10^th century Norwegian Slemmedal Hoard.  The smaller rings that hang on the bracelet could have been used as currency as it would have been easy to cut off individual rings.

We first saw the massive Hiddensee hoard pendants in 2013 at the Vikings exhibition in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, and nothing can prepare you for seeing just how big these pieces of gold jewellery really are! Of course, we were already familiar with the hoard, and the style of pendant is well known from the Viking era, but these individual pieces are just so big, that they were instantly added to the list of designs we wanted to make.

I graduated from the University of York with a degree in Archaeology in 1994, and an interest in Viking culture that was expressed through Viking re-enactment. Involving fighting, re-creating some Viking age objects for personal use, and, what I later came to realise was, interpreting Viking age history and archaeology for the general public at events up and down the British Isles.