In 2004, archaeologists made a remarkable discovery at the early medieval burial ground of Solleveld, just south of the city of The Hague: a boat grave. It lies almost exactly two hundred kilometres in a straight line due east across the North Sea from the legendary ship burial at Sutton Hoo. With this extraordinary find,Continue reading “Rowing Souls of the Dead to Britain — The Ferryman of Solleveld”
Author Archives: hans faber
Our Civilization — It All Began With Piracy
The arrival of the Romans in north-western Europe at the beginning of the Common Era, with the River Rhine as their northern frontier, marked the starting point for five centuries of widespread piracy. These raids affected not only the coasts of Britannia and northern Gaul but rippled as far as the Mediterranean and the BlackContinue reading “Our Civilization — It All Began With Piracy”
Out of Averting the Inevitable an Unruly Community Was Born
On March 25, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic was climbing towards its second peak. There was uncertainty about how destructive the pandemic was going to be in the long run. How many family members and loved ones would it take? It was a phenomenon of chaos and destruction that confronted us with the limitations of anContinue reading “Out of Averting the Inevitable an Unruly Community Was Born”
With the White Rabbit Down the Hole. The Spread and Legacy of a Coastal DNA
R1b/Hg1/Eu18; R-M213; R-M9; R1b-M45; R-M207; R-M173; R-M343; R-L278; R-L754; R-L389/R1b1a1; R-M415; R-P297/R1b1a1a; R-M269/R1b1a1a2; R-M520; R-L23; R-M412; R-L11; R-S21/U106/M405/R1b1a1a1a2a1a1… Knock Knock… Wake up Neo… Follow the White Rabbit… | These serial numbers, arranged in chronological order, represent groups and subgroups of people who genetically share a common ancestor. Pulling on these protein strands is like tumblingContinue reading “With the White Rabbit Down the Hole. The Spread and Legacy of a Coastal DNA”
Make Way for the Homesick Dead! A Saga From the Swiss Alps
High in the majestic Alps, in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland, many men, women, and children have witnessed the dreadful sight of dead Frisians marching home under the cover of darkness. The path they follow is known as The Frisians’ Way, a ghostly route linking the Haslital — the Hasli Valley in the Bernese Oberland — toContinue reading “Make Way for the Homesick Dead! A Saga From the Swiss Alps”
Latið Meg Ei á Frísaland Fordervast! And the Murder of a Bishop
Latið meg ei á Frísaland fordervast! This is the Faroese language, and its translation is: ‘Do not let me perish in Friesland!’ It is a cry of a Faroese young woman when she was being kidnapped by Frisian pirates somewhere in the Middle Ages. The question of this blog post is not about how onContinue reading “Latið Meg Ei á Frísaland Fordervast! And the Murder of a Bishop”
Sailors Escaped from Cyclops, and Saw World’s End
“Why am I late to class? Oh, you’re gonna love this — there was this random cat in our barn this morning, right? Total stranger. And guess what? I stepped right in its poop. Yep. So before I could even think about school, I had to deal with the whole mess — literally scrubbing myContinue reading “Sailors Escaped from Cyclops, and Saw World’s End”
The Batwing Doors of Dorestad. A Two-Way Gateway of Trade and Power
“Is the seaport Maasvlakte the gateway to north-western Europe? No? How about Europoort? Still no? What about the Botlek port area? Or the town of Vlaardingen? No again? Surely it must be the city of Rotterdam then! Wait — neither? Alright, last guess: since you guys only talk and brag about Frisia, could it beContinue reading “The Batwing Doors of Dorestad. A Two-Way Gateway of Trade and Power”
Merciless Medieval Merchants and Slavers
The earliest evidence of Frisian merchants — or kāpmon in the Old Frisian language — engaging in the slave trade dates back to the first half of the seventh century. No less an authority than the Venerable Bede, the Father of English history, recorded this criminal activity. He described a merchant operating in the marketsContinue reading “Merciless Medieval Merchants and Slavers”
A Theel-Acht. What a Great Idea!
By the middle of the ninth century, the Vikings had carved out a more or less permanent foothold in Frisia, in the pagus ‘territory’ of Nordendi, also known as Norditi. But by the year 884, the Frisians had had enough. They forged swords and axes, raised an army, and drove the Norsemen out once andContinue reading “A Theel-Acht. What a Great Idea!”
Frisia Coast Trail 