The York-Dublin Axis Reconsidered - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Viking Towns

该项目将建立一个跨学科的学者和遗产专业人员网络，他们对英国和爱尔兰两个最大的维京海盗城镇约克和都柏林有着共同的兴趣。它将促进和加强跨学科、国际合作研究、遗产管理实践、公共宣传和创意企业。自20世纪70年代以来，对城镇、城市化和贸易作用的新认识改变了我们对维京海盗时代的理解，从斯堪的纳维亚到俄罗斯，以及英国和爱尔兰。尽管国际贸易和制造业遗址在经济、政治和社会方面发挥了至关重要的作用，但它们也相对稀少--全世界已知的维京海盗遗址不超过12个。在这种情况下，都柏林和约克--迄今为止维京海盗西部记录最完整、挖掘最充分的城市中心--具有特殊的国际重要性。当代的资料已经得到了比较充分的研究，半个世纪的城市发掘已经提供了非常好的证据。这些城镇是考古学家和遗产专业人员的重要资源，但除了一些例外，专家和从业人员之间以及两个现代城市之间的交流和合作一直受到限制。当代专业人士之间缺乏沟通的情况尤为重要，因为维京海盗人约克和都柏林之间的政治关系曾经非常密切：他们在9世纪和10世纪的一个重要时期共享一个统治王朝，即“伊瓦尔的孙子”。然而，这种政治联系对这两个城镇的社会和经济发展的影响却研究不足，而且在很大程度上不被公众所认识。考古研究改变了我们对维京时代约克和都柏林生活的理解，但这在每个城市以微妙的不同方式发展，并不总是为更广泛的历史叙述提供信息。新的科学方法和解释模型为未来的研究提供了巨大的潜力，新的数据管理和公共宣传系统既带来了挑战，也带来了机遇。我们的网络将汇集学者，实地考古学家，人工制品专家，遗产专家，公共历史学家和考古学家，探讨这两个城镇在这个开创性时期的关系，比较和对比生活的城市和他们的维京海盗遗产之间的关系。他们提供的证据有多接近--或者有多不同？新的研究技术如何为我们对贸易、制造业和经济体系的理解提供信息？这是否改变了城市发展的长期模式？每个城市的研究和管理经验能否为最佳做法提供信息？城市能否从共享新数字技术的方法中受益？如何将新发现最好地传达给公众？我们的研讨会将提供一个论坛来规划未来的活动，并为有意义的公众参与提供一个真实的平台。我们的主要目标是重新详细审查证据，在更广泛的背景下分析这些证据，并考虑未来合作的潜力。为此，我们将举办三场研讨会。第一个，“新证据”（约克春季2021）将提供一个新的研究论坛;第二个“新方法”（都柏林秋季2021）将挑战现有的城市发展模式;第三个，“新参与”（都柏林春季2022）将研究现代城市与其维京海盗过去之间的关系。通过激励主要利益攸关方和知识创造者之间的讨论，该项目将重振对这两个维京海盗城镇的研究，吸引人们对它们之间联系的新关注，重新参与关于维京时代城市化的辩论，并为未来的研究和推广奠定基础。

This project will create an interdisciplinary network of scholars and heritage professionals who share interests in Britain and Ireland's two greatest Viking towns; York and Dublin. It will foster and enhance interdisciplinary, international collaborative research, heritage management practice, public outreach and creative enterprise. Since the 1970s, a new appreciation of the role of towns, urbanisation and trade has transformed our understanding of the Viking Age from Scandinavia to Russia, as well as in Britain and Ireland. Although international trading and manufacturing sites played crucially important economic, political and social roles, they were also relatively rare - no more than a dozen are known from across the Viking world.In this context, Dublin and York - by far the best documented and best excavated urban centres in the Viking West - are of exceptional international importance. Contemporary sources are relatively well-studied, and half a century of urban excavations has produced exceptional evidence. The towns constitute vital resources for archaeologists and heritage professionals alike, but with some exceptions, communication and collaboration between specialists and practitioners, and between the two modern cities, has been limited. This lack of communication between contemporary professionals is particularly significant because the political relationship between Viking York and Dublin was once very close: they shared a ruling dynasty, the 'grandsons of Ivarr', for a significant period in the 9th and 10th centuries. However, the impact of this political link on the social and economic development of the two towns is under-researched and largely unrecognised by the public.Our understanding of life in Viking-Age York and Dublin has been transformed by archaeological research, but this has developed in subtly different ways in each city, and has not always informed discussions of broader historical narratives. New scientific methods and interpretative models offer huge potential for future research, and new systems of data management and public outreach offer both challenges and opportunities.Our network will bring together academics, field archaeologists, artefact specialists, heritage professionals, and public historians and archaeologists to explore the relationship between the two towns in this seminal period, comparing and contrasting the relationships between the living cities and their Viking heritage. How close - or different - is the evidence they have produced? How can new research techniques inform our understanding of systems of trade, manufacturing and economy? Does this transform long-standing models of the cities' development? Can the research and management experiences of each city inform best practice? Can the cities benefit from shared approaches to new digital technologies? And how can new discoveries best be communicated to the general public? Our workshops will provide a forum to plan future activity, and an authentic platform for meaningful public engagement. Our key aims are to re-examine the evidence in detail, to situate this evidence in its broader context, and to consider the potential for future collaboration. To this end, we will organise three workshops. The first, 'New Evidence' (York Spring 2021) will provide a forum for new research; the second 'New Approaches (Dublin Autumn 2021) will challenge existing models of urban development; and the third, 'New Engagements' (Dublin Spring 2022) will examine the relationship between the modern cities and their Viking past. A strategy document will be produced, and the results will be disseminated in a range of media.By stimulating discussion between key stakeholders and knowledge-makers, this project will reinvigorate the study of both Viking towns, draw fresh attention to the connections between them, reengage with debates on Viking-Age urbanism, and lay the groundwork for future research and outreach.