Claus Feveile (ed.). Ribe Studier. Det Aeldste Ribe: Udgravninger pa nordsiden af Ribe A 1984-2000.

Claus Feveile (ed.). Ribe Studier. Det Aeldste Ribe: Udgravninger pa nordsiden af Ribe A 1984-2000. CLAUS FEVEILE (ed.). Ribe Studier. Det Aeldste Ribe: Udgravningerpa nordsiden af Ribe A 1984-2000. 2 volumes, summaries in English (JyskArkeologisk Selskab skrifter 51). 762 pages, numerous b&w &colour illustrations, tables. 2006. Hojberg: Jysk Arkeologisk Selskab;87-88415-33-3 hardback Dkr. 500. The southern Danish town of Ribe is of key significance for datingthe appearance of medieval urbanism in north-western Europe andScandinavia, and for understanding the role of state planning in townfoundation. The first excavations under modern conditions were undertaken byMogens Bencard, then Director of the Ribe Museum, and have beenpublished in 2004 in Ribe Excavations 1970-76 (reviewed in Antiquity 80(2006): 241-2). Subsequently Stig Jensen, Bencard's successor atRibe Museum, excavated further sites including, in 1990-91, theimportant 'Post Office' site. This and 22 other excavationsconducted north of the Ribe River from 1984 to 2000 are now beingpublished in a new series, Ribe Studier, by Jensen's collaboratorand successor, Claus Feveile. The two-volume report reviewed here is thefirst in this new series. Volume 1 provides a synthesis by Feveile ofthe current state of knowledge of the development of Ribe, from theeighth to the twelfth centuries, published in full in both Danish andEnglish. It is lavishly illustrated with maps, plans and excavationphotographs in full colour. The other contributions to Volume 1 focus onthe Post Office site. They are by a number of specialist authors writingin Danish, with English summaries, on geological and archaeobotanicaltopics, pollen, fish bone, mammal mammal,an animal of the highest class of vertebrates, the Mammalia. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. and bird bone, human bone, and findssuch as the glass vessels and coins. Volume 2 provides a comprehensivecatalogue and reports, in Danish only, of the other 22 excavations of1984-2000 carried out north of the Ribe River. Written mainly byFeveile, with some contributions by the late Stig Jensen, they are alsofully illustrated to a high standard. Feveile's summary addresses a number of the contested issuesconcerning the origins of Ribe. Firstly, geological and archaeobotanicalanalyses confirm that the layer of sand which underlies the'marketplace', is windblown, not manmade. Furthermoreradiocarbon dating now demonstrates that the vegetation below the sandwas covered by drifting sand from around AD 0. Bencard and Jensen bothbelieved that they could identify an agrarian settlement immediatelyprior to the establishment of the marketplace, based on traces ofploughing on the drift sand, and cultural layers without workshopremains. They also argued that this village was swept away and that thesubsequent marketplace was well-organised from the start; i.e. that ithad already been divided into plots when the first merchants arrived;and that Ribe was therefore presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. founded by a king, possibly evenOngendus, who is known from documentary sources. However, Feveile arguesthat the so-called 'village layer' does not pre-date themarketplace, but instead belongs to its first few years, before theregular plot system came into being. He suggests that for a very shortperiod, in c. AD 700-5, there was market and craft (bead-making)activity associated with rather haphazardly placed plots, but thatsystematic plots were laid out in around AD 710. Therefore, whereas it was previously held that a Danish king musthave founded Ribe, and that outsiders, such as Frisian merchants, wereunlikely to have been involved, Feveile disagrees, on four counts: (i)there is no previous village site, and thus no need to use stateauthority to remove one; (ii) the sand layer is windblown, notdeliberate levelling; (iii) systematic plot division is not the earliestmarketplace activity; and (iv) there is no evidence for planning beforethe first craft-workers arrive. He suggests instead that the earliestactivity might after all be ascribed to Frisian merchants, althoughlocal Danish authority may still have been responsible for the layout ofregular plots. In the first phases there are no traces of buildings other thanhuts, fences and sunken sunk��en?v. ObsoleteA past participle of sink.adj.1. Depressed, fallen in, or hollowed: sunken cheeks.2. buildings. These are workshops, rather thanpermanent residences. The earliest settlement at Ribe is therefore aseasonal market, occupied only during the summer months according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. thefish bone evidence. At some point in the early ninth century this becamea permanent settlement, developing into a town. By the mid ninthcentury, Ribe was surrounded by the town 'Ditch A', theearliest in Scandinavia, although since it was only c. 2m wide and lmdeep its function may have been symbolic rather than defensive. This wasreplaced by the much wider 'Moat B', possibly in the tenthcentury, but given the lack of tenth-century finds within the enclosed en��close? also in��closetr.v. en��closed, en��clos��ing, en��clos��es1. To surround on all sides; close in.2. To fence in so as to prevent common use: enclosed the pasture. area Feveile argues for an earlier construction in the later ninthcentury. In fact Ribe cannot be attested at��test?v. at��test��ed, at��test��ing, at��testsv.tr.1. To affirm to be correct, true, or genuine: The date of the painting was attested by the appraiser.2. archaeologically from a pointlate in the ninth century or early in the tenth century until the end ofthe eleventh century. This may be because activity was focused in areasnot examined, or because Ribe disappeared or moved. From the eleventhcentury activity expands again, now on both sides of the river. It isclear, however, that there is no direct link between the Early and LateViking Age Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 800 to 1066 in Scandinavian History[1][2][3]. The vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. towns. In conclusion, this publication is of major importance forunderstanding the origin and development of Ribe. Feveile and the RibeMuseum are to be congratulated for bringing it to full and timelypublication and for making the key material accessible to the largenumber of non-Danish speaking scholars for whom Ribe quite rightly holdsa special significance. JULIAN D. RICHARDS Department of Archaeology archaeology(ärkēŏl`əjē)[Gr.,=study of beginnings], a branch of anthropology that seeks to document and explain continuity and change and similarities and differences among human cultures. , University of York This article is about the British university. For the Canadian university, see York University. The University of York is a campus university in York, England. , UK