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Folded to Fit : New Adventures of the Viking Age Woman Estrid

Back Danielsson, Ing-Marie LU orcid (2025) In Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology 22. p.29-34
Abstract
This paper revisits the doll Estrid, a reconstruction of a Viking Age woman that was excavated by archaeologists in the mid-1990s in Täby, Vallentuna parish, Sweden. The woman was shortly after the excavation attributed to be Estrid, a woman’s name mentioned on rune stones in proximity of the excavated burial. After this ‘identification’, the Estrid phenomenon has taken different shapes and paths, both literally and figuratively, with various effects and affects, in archaeological, museum and political arenas. Pivotal in these have been the reconstructions of the Viking Age woman Estrid at different ages. This contribution discusses Estrid and the unfolding narratives in the present in which she/it participates. It reveals the ways in... (More)
This paper revisits the doll Estrid, a reconstruction of a Viking Age woman that was excavated by archaeologists in the mid-1990s in Täby, Vallentuna parish, Sweden. The woman was shortly after the excavation attributed to be Estrid, a woman’s name mentioned on rune stones in proximity of the excavated burial. After this ‘identification’, the Estrid phenomenon has taken different shapes and paths, both literally and figuratively, with various effects and affects, in archaeological, museum and political arenas. Pivotal in these have been the reconstructions of the Viking Age woman Estrid at different ages. This contribution discusses Estrid and the unfolding narratives in the present in which she/it participates. It reveals the ways in which a reconstruction’s hybrid character, having both factual and fictional components, contributes to the Estrid phenomenon being easily folded to fit a number of contemporary, educational and political purposes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
viking age, reconstructions, Museum and heritage
host publication
Ut ur labyrinten : En vänbok till Jes Wienberg - En vänbok till Jes Wienberg
series title
Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology
editor
Roslund, Mats ; Gustin, Ingrid ; Hansen, Kenth ; Hansson, Martin and Karlsson, Mattias
volume
22
pages
5 pages
publisher
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University
ISSN
1653-1183
ISBN
978-91-89874-73-2
978-91-89874-74-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7eac7992-d2f6-42ce-afb5-a452f123d378
date added to LUP
2025-02-16 14:57:21
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:45:43
@inbook{7eac7992-d2f6-42ce-afb5-a452f123d378,
  abstract     = {{This paper revisits the doll Estrid, a reconstruction of a Viking Age woman that was excavated by archaeologists in the mid-1990s in Täby, Vallentuna parish, Sweden. The woman was shortly after the excavation attributed to be Estrid, a woman’s name mentioned on rune stones in proximity of the excavated burial. After this ‘identification’, the Estrid phenomenon has taken different shapes and paths, both literally and figuratively, with various effects and affects, in archaeological, museum and political arenas. Pivotal in these have been the reconstructions of the Viking Age woman Estrid at different ages. This contribution discusses Estrid and the unfolding narratives in the present in which she/it participates. It reveals the ways in which a reconstruction’s hybrid character, having both factual and fictional components, contributes to the Estrid phenomenon being easily folded to fit a number of contemporary, educational and political purposes.}},
  author       = {{Back Danielsson, Ing-Marie}},
  booktitle    = {{Ut ur labyrinten : En vänbok till Jes Wienberg}},
  editor       = {{Roslund, Mats and Gustin, Ingrid and Hansen, Kenth and Hansson, Martin and Karlsson, Mattias}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-89874-73-2}},
  issn         = {{1653-1183}},
  keywords     = {{viking age; reconstructions; Museum and heritage}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  pages        = {{29--34}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology}},
  title        = {{Folded to Fit : New Adventures of the Viking Age Woman Estrid}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/208556037/labyrinten_s29-34_back-danielsson.pdf}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}