We explore a Viking artifact that offers a glimpse into daily life in the past. In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring these geoglyphs, and a full video transcript (with relevant sources and links).

YouTube Video

YouTube Video Transcript

Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.

Intro

If you were to think of an archaeological object that could shed light on the daily life of past people, what would you picture? Would it be pottery? A fragment of a letter or text? 

What about a sock? 

Hi! I’m Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist. In this video, we’re going to explore an artifact that defies our expectations for preservation and gives us a glimpse into daily life in a Viking community. 

Overview

This is a woollen sock from the Viking settlement of Coppergate, which is located in the north of England in the city of York. This particular sock was excavated from the backyard of a 10th-century C.E. building. Researchers think that it was most likely brought over from Scandinavia on the foot of a Viking. This sock, along with other artifacts from this community, are housed in the York JORVIK Viking Center. 

The Coppergate Viking sock was made of undyed wool, except for the last row at the top of the ankle, which has a thin red band using dye from a plant called madder. We’re not sure if this red band created a decorative edge. The sock’s maker may have planned to turn the sock into a longer red stocking, but maybe never finished it. 

Nalbinding

What we do know is that this sock was created using the nalbinding technique. Nalbinding is a fiber technique where there’s a single needle with an eye, kind of like in sewing, and the entire length of the yarn is pulled through each loop as you nalbind. It’s actually thought to pre-date knitting and crocheting. 

Nalbinding was common in many places across the world, especially Scandinavia, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and Western Asia. This sock is the only example of nalbound fabric to have even been found in Anglo-Saxon England so far.

Repair

As with broken things today, we have archaeological examples of ancient people fixing objects to extend their use life. 

This sock was extremely worn and appears to have been patched up while the wearer was still using it! A large hole on the bottom of the sock was outlined in wool stitching where a rectangular patch most likely was adhered. The patch is no longer there and the researchers think it was most likely made from something like flax or another plant fibre, which deteriorates more easily. Bone needles that could have been used to repair this sock were also recovered from the excavation at the settlement.

Outro

This artifact gives us a glimpse into how Vikings made and repaired socks in the past. In addition to this Viking sock, other socks have turned up in the archaeological record. You can learn more about this in our Lost Socks video linked below.

This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one intriguing object from the past. If you’re interested in watching another artifact of the day video, check out the video here.

Credits

Brooke Norton: Series Lead, Co-Producer, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor, Peer Reviewer, Logo Designer

Anya Gruber: Peer Reviewer

Sneh P. Patel: Peer Reviewer

Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this video:

Nancy Fulton, Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden, Cole Guinn, Seemingly Unrelated Podcast, Chris, GeometryGirl, John McGrath

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