Protecting Against the Dead? On the Possible Use of Apotropaic Magic in the Oseberg Burial
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6044458 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jan Bill (0000-0002-4054-1552, University of Oslo, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 141-155 |
| Publication date | 2016-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0959774315000438 |
| OpenAlex | W2270408316 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 4 |
The use of apotropaic practices, that is, of magic to protect against evil, is sometimes included in archaeological interpretations on the basis of similarities between archaeological objects and objects used in historically documented or present-day apotropaic practices. The present article attempts to develop the archaeological study of apotropaism by focussing on apotropaic ritual, in addition to apotropaic devices. The case study is a burial in ad 834 of a high-ranking Viking Age woman in the Norwegian Oseberg ship grave. Drawing on cognitive magic ritual theory, the study focuses on identifying both a repeated ritual core and a counter-intuitive, magic element in the series of actions that led to the deposition of five elaborately carved wooden animal heads in the burial, each combined with a rattling device probably related to horse driving. The study demonstrates that apotropaism provides a viable explanation for this rather puzzling aspect of the burial. In a wider perspective it emphasizes the importance of the contextual, in addition to the functional, interpretation of objects in graves. It also suggests that the use of animal figures and animal style in Viking Age artwork may have been more intimately connected with apotropaic beliefs than previously suggested
Archaeology · Art · Literature · Norwegian · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy
Architecture, Society, and Ritual in Viking Age Scandinavia
The power of beauty
Networked Landscapes
Interdisciplinary Explorations of Postmortem Interaction
Performing the Vikings
Ship Mounds Matter
The Materiality of the Ancient Dead – Post-burial Practices and Ontologies of Death in Southern Sweden AD 800–1200
Crossing the Maelstrom
Constructing and deconstructing the Gokstad mound
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,29 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2023 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |