Microwear and Reflectance Transformation Imaging Data of Iconic Viking-Age Anthropomorphic Figures: a BODY-POLITICS Dataset

Overview

This dataset consists of microwear analysis and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) datafiles of ten iconic Viking-Age anthropomorphic artefacts (c. 750-1050 CE) from the collections of the Swedish Historical Museum in Stockholm. The objects, anthropomorphic silver and bronze miniatures, were recorded in September 2023 as part of the ERC Starting Grant BODY-POLITICS project. 

The dataset consist of:

• SMO1: 1 file marking presence and absence of macro- and microscopic modifications on the surface of objects resulting from manufacture, handling, use, and post-depositional processes (.cvs)
• SMO2: 29 Micrographs/Dino-Lite images of the artefacts (.jpg) in a zip-folder
• SMO3: 16 RTI models (.rti) in a zip-folder
• SMO4: 1 file contextualising the selected artefacts, including their archaeological context, previous interpretations and research history, and a discussion of observed traces of wear (.docx)
• SMO5: 2 files providing numbering keys for the Micrographs and RTI models respectively (.docx)

The dataset provides supporting material and additional data for the the following publications: 

Eriksen, MH, B. Marshall, E. Aslesen and C. Tsoraki 2025 Viking body-making: New evidence for engagement with iconic Viking anthropomorphic 'art'. Forthcoming with Antiquity.

Eriksen, MH, K.M. Olley, E. Tollefsen and B. Marshall 2025 Womb Politics: The pregnant body and archaeologies of absence. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 35(3), 522–535: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774325000125

Methods

Objects were subjected to low power microwear analysis (up to 50x magnification) using a stereomicroscope (Nikon Nissho Optical) with external oblique light. Micrographs were taken using a Dino-Lite Universal Digital Microscope and DinoCapture 2.0 software. Recorded wear traces include the presence and distribution of linear features (striations, troughs), surface modification (percussive traces, smoothed/abraded areas, surface rounding), deformation of perforation rim (facets, edge rounding) that may have resulted from the suspension of objects and the presence of residues. Observed microwear patterns were interpreted by reference to other microwear studies including studies focusing on wear development on ornaments (e.g. Alarashi, et al., 2023; Crellin, 2018; Crellin, et al., 2023; Falci, et al., 2019; Sáez and Lerma, 2015; Van Gijn, 2017).

The Viking Age figures were also recorded using Highlight Based Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). RTI captures surface topography through photography and computational processing, capturing three-dimensional reflectance properties of object surfaces. Objects are photographed with an independent light source positioned at different angles. The images are then processed producing an interactive 2D image to reveal surface details at enhanced visibility (Jones and Díaz-Guardamino 2019, 21). Through this technique, raking light and alternative renderings of surfaces may determine details in decoration, manufacturing process, and post-manufacture interaction (e.g. Jones and Díaz-Guardamino, 2019; Min, et al., 2021).

60-80 images per object were captured with a Nikon D850 DSLR camera, tripod, and a Godox V860IIIN flashgun connected to the camera through remote flash triggers, black marbles, and a scale-card, following Cultural Heritage Imaging guidelines. Captured RAW image files were converted to JPEG format using Adobe Photoshop 2024. The converted image files were then processed and prepared for exportation as RTI models by identifying light sources in ReLight Lab 2024. RTI model files were then viewed in the Open Access software RTIViewer (ISTI-CNR/CHI RTIViewer), which “[...]enables interactive manipulation of the lighting position and enhancement of the final outcomes through different rendering modes” (Jones, et al., 2016, 116-7).

Acknowledgements

This dataset is part of the BODY-POLITICS ERC Starting Grant, awarded to Marianne Hem Eriksen. BODY-POLITICS is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 949886).

We warmly thank the Swedish History Museum, and especially Dr Sven Kalmring, for facilitating data collection and analysis.

References

Alarashi, H., Benz, M., Gresky, J., Burkhardt, A., Fischer, A., Gourichon, L., et al. 2023. Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan). PLoS ONE 18(8): e0288075. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288075

Crellin, R.J., 2018. Examining the British and Irish Early Bronze Age flat axes of the Greenwell Collection at the British Museum. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 18, 858-888.

Crellin, R.J., Tsoraki, C., Standish, C.D., Pearce,  R., Morriss,  S.,  Barton, H.  and O. J.T. Harris, 2023. Materials in movement: gold and stone in process in the Upton Lovell G2a burial. Antiquity, 97(391), 86-103. doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.162 

Falci, C.G., Cuisin, J., Delpuech, A., Van Gijn, A., and Hofman, C.L., 2019. New insights into use-wear development in bodily ornaments through the study of ethnographic collections. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 26 (2), 755–805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-018-9389-8

Jones, M,A., Díaz-Guardamino, M., and Crellin, R. J. 2016. From Artefact Biographies to ‘Multiple Objects’: A New Analysis of the Decorated Plaques of the Irish Sea Region. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 49:2, 113–133

Jones, A.M. and Díaz-Guardamino, M., 2019. Making a mark: image and process in Neolithic Britain and Ireland. Oxbow Books, Oxford.

Min, J., Jeong, S., Park, K., Choi, Y., Lee, D., Ahn, J., Har, D. and Ahn, S., 2021. Reflectance transformation imaging for documenting changes through treatment of Joseon dynasty coins. Heritage Science 9, 1-12.

Sáez, C.G. and Lerma, I.M., 2015. Traceology on metal. Use-wear marks on copper-based tools and weapons. In J.M. Marreiros, J.F. Gibaja Bao and N.F. Bicho, (eds.). Use-Wear and Residue Analysis in Archaeology, 171-188. Cham: Springer.

Van Gijn, A. L. 2017. Bead biographies from Neolithic burial contexts: contributions from the microscope. In D. Bar-Yosef Mayer, C. Bonsall and A. M. Choyke (eds.), Not just for show: the archaeology of beads, beadwork, and personal ornaments, 103–114. Oxford: Oxbow Books