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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 20h

The questions that truly matter. #medievalsky #vikingsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/did-the-no...

Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Yep, the only one I can forgive for turning the Middle Ages into brown smudge is Eggers who uses these tones in a more coherent folk horror concept. #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Dragsholm Mesolithic and Neolithic burials (Zealand, Denmark) are a superb case study of place and memory shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-... #ancientsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Had to use the unfortunate term "religion" but the conceptual difficulties will be addressed in the very first session :D Lots of fun topics! blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module... #medievalsky #vikingsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#vikingsky Sorcerous textile workers! shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/women-of-t...

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

#medievalsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/songs-wrap...

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

When fed up with the Viking age, you try out the prehistoric archaeologist outfit :)) Or at least hold a general class on the topic learning as you go! blackberry.signumuniversity.org/space/module... #ancientsky #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Overcoming the "elite warrior cult" rubbish and "people lived healthier back in the day" if you survived blood poisoning from a tooth infection shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/jaws-the-v... #medievalsky #vikingsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

A principle that still stands: “If anything in this book is wrong or omitted, do not blame me, but rather the paucity of the sources.” (prologue to Thietmar of Merseburg’s Chronicon) #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

15th-century luxury: Flemish book of hours #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Exploring the lives of (more or less historical!) Norse women in this Substack series shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/women-of-t... #medievalsky #vikingsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

“Surt comes from the south with branches-ruin, the slaughter-gods’ sun glances from his sword; rocky cliffs clash together, and the troll-women are abroad, heroes tread the hell-road and the sky splits apart.” Völuspá 51, transl. C. Larrington

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The Odyssey is notoriously difficult to put on screen because of its structure and scope youtu.be/0VEC7HfSnYU?... #ancientsky

youtu.be

You need to know this about the Odyssey before you watch Nolan's movie

YouTube video by SKULD

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Yes, I know the comparison between the discoveries is relatively inadequate because there were different groups in different times, but I was aiming for a more generalist view of Celtic presence. Now I have to do at least two follow-ups :))) youtu.be/cbnsMgbGVeM #ancientsky #medievalsky

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Sensational Celtic burial uncovered in central Germany!

YouTube video by SKULD

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Can't get used to posting here. The amount of socials is too overwhelming and I keep forgetting :( #medievalsky youtu.be/3fIrfmlCY0Y

youtu.be

The incredible Carolingian history hidden in plain sight

YouTube video by SKULD

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Horses may have been domesticated much earlier than we thought! I discuss the latest research in this video: #prehistory youtu.be/izDejGnKq4k

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

6th-century drinking horn mounts found at Taplow, Buckinghamshire. This is what they would have looked like on a large drinking horn. The silver-gilt and niello mounts consist of a bird head terminal with ribbing, and a rim band with human and rosette motifs. #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Also started putting together a brief documentation about the historical sites I visit in my region! Here you have one of the best-preserved castles in Germany (and Europe) that you've probably never heard of #medievalsky youtu.be/JGFhaq5ZpZI

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

A hiker found this richly decorated 1,500-year-old gold sword scabbard in southwest Norway! It once adorned the sword of an elite warrior and is worn, a clear sign it was used many times before. #vikingsky #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Worn out by Viking raids, King Aethelred attempted at the beginning of the 11th century to mobilise society by minting some very special and extremely rare coins with Christian motifs. Two of them have been found in Jutland, Denmark.

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Two magnificent gold brooches from Hornelund, southwestern Jutland, Denmark, about 9 cm in diameter. The imagery is definitely intriguing: on the left, vines and leaves, which are quite common in Christian art, on the right, very Norse-looking animal heads. #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Animals and face masks intertwined. Morphing into one another. Artistic and spiritual union. Silver-gilt square-headed brooch from Grave 22, early 6th century, Chessell Down, Early Anglo-Saxon, Isle of Wight #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Are sunstones a wee bit overrated? If they existed at all in the Viking age. shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/how-did-th...

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

A 7th-century horse-shaped fibula from the Uppåkra site in Sweden. Symmetry seems to have played a central part in ornamentation. Notice the doubled animal that tends to shape an eight form. #medievalsky

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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea

Ursula K. Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

The greater fibula of the 5th-century Gothic hoard found at Pietroasele (Buzau county, Romania). #medievalsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

This might be the oldest ship burial in Scandinavia youtu.be/CJPmBP1Dm_o

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Celebrating Easter with pre-Christian content I guess :)) #vikingsky #medievalsky shieldofskuld.substack.com/p/ritual-dri...

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Scandinavia's largest mound is not a burial, yet the story of its emergence and subsequent interpretations is a truly fascinating one! All about it in this episode of "Mounds & Memory". As usual with @archaeodeathprof.bsky.social #medievalsky #ancientsky youtu.be/H3IaMPFKCrY

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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea

Natalie Hopwood @nrhopwood.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

On 23rd March, I'll be hosting a roundtable with the Folk Union on 'The Myth of the Vikings' along with @shieldofskuld.bsky.social and Adam Parsons (Oxford Archaeology)! Hope to see many of you there! You can buy tickets here: www.tickettailor.com/events/thefo... #medievalsky #oldnorse #vikings

promotional poster for The Myth of the Vikings folkmoot, held on 23rd March at 7pm GMT

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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea

Trinity College Library, Cambridge @trincolllibcam.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Imagine your documents were marked up for editing with this guy. Terrifying! MS.B.2.25 mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/B... #marginaliamonday #medievalsky

A drawing of male head wearing a hat with an arm and hand pointing at written text.

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

This appears to be a rare declaration of love from the 11th century, written on a weaver’s shed knife (to keep threads separate). mun : þu * mik : man : þik : un : þu : m(e)r : an : þʀr remember/think of me, I think of you; love me, I love you (aprox) Lödöse, Västra Götaland

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

"I feel a personal connection to these coins thus I'm gonna sell them to the highest bidder" *clown face* What an outright ethical failure. #medievalsky

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Reposted by Dr Irina Manea

Save Ancient Studies Alliance @saveancientstudies.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Call for Abstracts! We invite submissions for its 6th Annual Free Public Virtual Conference, Opening the Ancient World 2026, that will take place on Sunday–Monday, July 19–20, 2026 Conference Theme: Fashion Forward: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Apparel Abstract Deadline: March 31 2026

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

A glimpse of everyday life: a cute little duck (12 cm) made of elk or reindeer antler or bone with a hole, probably meant to be mounted on a stick and make a kid very happy. Found in Birka (again!) but in the Viking settlement, not cemeteries. #vikingsky

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Archaeology in Greenland! #vikingsky My apologies for the bombastic title (the algorithm is king on YouTube ugh) youtu.be/-tHNfN55-GU

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Dr Irina Manea @shieldofskuld.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Viking treasures and burials: 2025's greatest finds youtu.be/_h1lsB89cHI #vikingsky #medievalsky

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