Prof Neil Price – The Vikings and Asia: New Frontiers of the Norse Diaspora

Asia is not a region readily associated with the Vikings, the generic (and somewhat problematic) term for the Scandinavians of the period c.750-1050 CE. While it has long been known that the Norse maintained extensive trading links, and physical presence, in many regions of Western and Central Asia, their activities further east and south have hitherto remained largely unexplored. This is puzzling, in that many thousands of imported Asian objects have been excavated from burials and settlements in Scandinavia, with origins as far east as India, Pakistan, and Tang China. These have their counterparts in Nordic material found in Asia, such as Baltic amber from elite tombs in China and Korea. Moreover, textual records of the Abbasid Caliphate’s intelligence service specifically describe Norse traders as travelling to East Asia by land and sea. Shipwreck discoveries, such as the Belitung and Phanom Surin vessels, demonstrate the maritime realities of this milieu, linking the so-called Silk Roads with the Norse networks in Western Asia. This talk, from the new national Swedish Centre of Excellence for The World in the Viking Age, will explore this new frontier of the Norse diaspora.

Neil Price is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, where he also leads the national Centre of Excellence for the World in the Viking Age. Educated at UCL, York, and Uppsala, he previously taught at Aberdeen, Stockholm, and Oslo universities. A leading specialist in Norse history and traditional religions, with further interests in the archaeology of the Asia-Pacific, his research has taken him to more than 50 countries. Neil’s publications have appeared in 22 languages, and include Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings, a Times and Sunday Times ‘History Book of the Year.’ He is also a frequent contributor to TV and film, including as historical consultant for The Northman movie.