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Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 321
DISKUSSION
1 See, for example, P. H. Sawyer The Age of the Vikings. London 1962, pp. 66-82, 117-144, and,
more recently, P. H. SAWYER Kings and Vikings: Scandinavia and Europe, AD 700-1100. London,
New York 1982, pp. 75-97, for Vikine boats and Vikine raids in western Europe.
2 D. M. METCALF How Large was the Anglo-Saxon Currency?, in: Economic History Review.
2nd. Ser. 18 (1965) pp. 477-482, here pp. 478-479.
3 PHILIP GRIERSON The Volume of Anglo-Saxon Coinage, in: Economic History Review. 2nd. Ser.
20 (1967) pp. 153-160.
* Earlier versions of this paper were presented at a joint seminar of the Departments of
Scandinavian Studies and Medieval Archaeology, University of London, April 1983, and at the
Archaeological Seminar of Stockhom University, April 1984. This revised version was presented at the
annual conference of the Medieval Academy of America, April 1985.
Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas 34 (1986) H. 3 © Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH, Stuttgart/Germany
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322 Thomas S. Noonan
4 D. M. METCALF The Prosperity of North-Western Europe in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries,
ibidem dd. 344-357, here o. 354.
5 Ibidem p. 357.
6 For the routes into Russia utilized by the Vikings in general as well as the Lake Ladoga- Volchov-
Il'merì route in particular, see V. A. Brim Put' iz Varjag v Greki, in : Izvestija Akademii Nauk SSSR.
7th Ser. Otdelenie obscestvennych nauk (1931) No. 2, pp. 201-247; S. V. BernStejn-Kogan Put' iz
Varjag v Greki, in: Voprosy geografii 20 (1950) pp. 239-270; V. B. Vilinbachov Baltijskij-volzskij
put', in: Sovetskaja archeologia (1963) No. 3, pp. 126-135; D. A. AVDUSIN Gnezdovo i dneprovskij
put', in: Novoe v archeologii: Sbornik statej v cest' A. V. Arcichovskogo. Moskva 1972, pp. 159-169;
G. S. Lebedev Put' iz Varjag v Greki, in: Vestnik Leningradskogo universiteta (1975) No. 20, pp.
37-43; E. N. NOSOV Volchovskij vodnyj put' i poselenija konca I tysjaceletija n.è., in: Kratkie
soobscenija Instituta archeologii (hereafter cited as KSIA) 164 (1981) pp. 18-24.
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 323
early ninth or even eighth century, but the few crude remains in these layers do
very precise dating.7 Consequently, the only town of any consequence in nor
Russia which unquestionably existed in the early Viking Age was Old Ladoga.
Old Ladoga, however, was not located in the interior of this region where it co
a magnate to draw the Vikings into Russia. Rather, it was situated very clo
Ladoga on the northern fringe of this area. Vikings could very easily visit Old La
even raid it without finding any inducement to leave the relatively well known w
Lake Ladoga and venture south through the thick forests and numerous sw
northwestern Russia with their many perils. If Old Ladoga had been the sole
interest to the early Vikings, they would never have penetrated into the interior
Given the almost complete absence of towns in northwestern Russia during
Viking Age, burial remains constitute an important source of potential eviden
level of the economy. Do graves from this period exist in the Novgorod lands
they a possible source of wealth, like the ancient Scythian kurgans ? Fortunately
purposes, large numbers of both the so-called long burial mounds [dlinnye kur
the so-called high burial mounds [sopki] are found in northwestern Russia. Many
about the cremation graves in these mounds remain unresolved.8 For example, th
dates of the long mounds and the sopki are still a matter of some debate as is the l
ethnic affiliation of the peoples who left these burials. Similarly, the chronol
territorial relationship between the long mounds and the sopki remains a t
discussion. Despite these and other uncertainties regarding the long mounds and
almost all scholars are agreed that they date from the pre-Viking and early Vikin
other words, they had appeared before the Viking era began and they contin
erected during the period when the Vikings first penetrated into Russia. The c
the sopki and the long mounds thus provide our best indicator of the wealth a
available in northwestern Russia during the early Viking age.
What then do we find in the sopki and long mounds? V. V. Sedov has com
comprehensive inventory of the artefacts unearthed in various excavations of th
7 There is a very large literature on the earliest medieval settlements of northwester
which a series of important studies are added regularly. For recent surveys of this liter
discussion of the major issues involved, see V. A. BULKIN, I. V. DuBOV, G. S
Archeologiceskie pamjatniki Drevnej Rusi IX-XI vekov. Leningrad 1978, pp. 75-100;
Poselenija Priil'meñja i Povolchovja v konce I tysiaceletija n.è. (unpublished kandidat's di
Moskva 1977; V. A. KuZA Archeologiceskoe izucenie drevnerusskich gorodov v 1962-19
KSIA 155 (1978) pp. 10-19. Some specialized studies of specific sites include V. L. Jan
AleSkovskij Proischozdenie Novgoroda, in: Istorija SSSR (1971) No. 2, pp. 32-61; S.
KuPturnaja stratigrafija Pskova (archeologiceskie dannye k problème proischozdenija g
KSIA 160 (1980) pp. 3-18; V. V. SEDOV Nekotorye itogi raskopok v Izborske, in: Severn
sosedi v èpochu rannego srednevekovja. Leningrad 1982, pp. 153-157. The absence of tow
except for Old Ladoga, does not mean that there were no settlements, i.e., hamlets, in nor
Russia in the immediate pre-Viking era. Such hamlets, as recent archaeological excavat
shown, definitely did exist. For these hamlets, see E. N. Nosov's studies: Poselenija
Poselenie u volcnovskich porogov, in: KSIA 146 (1976) pp. 76-81; and: Volchovskij vod
8 There is a voluminous and ever growing literature on both the dlinnye kurgany and
Good recent works, which also provide a survey of this vast literature, include V
Novgorodskie sopki. Moskva 1970 = Archeologia SSSR. Svod archeologiceskich istocn
V. V. SEDOV Dlinnye kurgany Krivicej. Moskva 1974 = Archeologia SSSR. Svod archeolo
istocnikov. E 1-8; G. S. LEBEDEV Archeologiceskoe izucenie Novgorodskoj zemli, in: No
istoriceskij sbornik 1 (11) (1982) pp. 15-42; E. N. NOSOV Problemy izucenija pog
pamjatnikov Novgorodskoj zemli (k voprosu o slavjanskom rasselenii), ibidem pp. 43-78
9 Sedov Novgorodskie sopki pp. 24-27.
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324 Thomas S. Noonan
10 Ibidem p. 24.
11 Ibidem.
12 Ibidem pp. 26-27.
13 Sedov Dlinnve kureany Krivicei pp. 26-34.
14 Ibidem pp. 26-27.
15 Ibidem pp. 27-34.
16 LEBEDEV Archeologiceskoe izucenie p. 32.
17 Ibidem p. 36.
18 Sedov Ñovgorodskie sopki p. 24.
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 325
and France. Yet, as we know, the Vikings did venture into the interior of Russia d
this apparent poverty.
The sharp contrast between the readily available riches of England and France an
relative poverty of northwestern Russia suggests very strongly that the circumst
which attracted the Vikings to a country like England were quite different from
which brought the Vikings to Russia. In England, large amounts of readily available w
were to be found in the coastal areas and the regions adjoining major rivers. In Russia
such wealth existed. Aside from Old Ladoga, there were no real towns with
concentrations of riches and certainly there were no monasteries with major accumu
of treasure. If a Viking looked south from Old Ladoga he would see no towns, no w
and only a very inhospitable landscape.
In fact, there were far greater riches to be found at home in Scandinavia than any
in northwestern Russia. Excavations at the pre-Viking and early Viking site at He
located at the approach to Lake Mähren in middle Sweden, uncovered a small statu
Buddha dating to the sixth-seventh centuries and probably from Kashmir, a Coptic b
cup of the same period from Egypt, an eighth century bronze crozier from the staff
Irish bishop, and other imports from various parts of Europe.19 And Helgö, accordin
recent study, probably had a population of no more than one or two large farm fami
anyone time during the pre-Viking and early Viking Ages.20 Furthermore, there is no
in northwestern Russia which compares with the finds of the pre-Viking Vendei
Sweden. As Björn Ambrosiani recently noted, the "Swedish Vendei period h
become synonymous with boat-grave cemeteries, animal art-styles and wealth . . ."21
Vikings sought wealth, which they clearly did, then there were unquestionably far g
opportunities at home looting native graves than venturing into the wilds of northw
Russia with its very poor cremation burials in an assortment of mounds.
In order to understand the strange attraction which the interior of Russia came to
for the Vikings, it is necessary to focus upon Old Ladoga. When and why
Scandinavians come to Old Ladoga and what prompted them to leave the safety of
northern seacoast for the wilds of the Russian interior?
To answer these questions, we should first note that Scandinavians had already been
fairly active in the southeastern Baltic prior to the start of the Viking Age. Scandinavian
sagas, for example, tell us that Yngvar, "King of Sweden" (late sixth or early seventh
century?) raided the Eastlands. On one such raid in Estonia (Estland), Yngvar was killed
and his band routed.22 Another Scandinavian source puts Yngvar's burial spot on the island
19 JUTTA Waller Swedish Contacts with the Eastern Baltic in the Pre-Viking and Early Viking
Ages: The Evidence from Helgö, in: Thomas S. NOONAN (ed.) Relations Between Scandinavia and
the Southeastern Baltic/Northwestern Russia in the Viking Age = Journal of Baltic Studies 13 (1982)
No. 3 (the entire issue), pp. 259-261.
20 OLA Kyhlberg Chronological and topographical analysis or the cemeteries and settlements, in :
KRISTINA Lamm [et al.] Excavations at Helgö VIII: The Ancient Monument. Stockholm 1982, pp.
24-28.
21 BjÖRN AMBROSIANI Background to the boat-graves of the Mähren valley, in: Vendei Period
Studies: Transactions of the Boat-grave symposium in Stockholm, February 2-3, 1981. Ed. by J. P.
Lamm and H.-Â. Nordstrom. Stockholm 1983, p. 17 (= The Museum of National Antiquities,
Stockholm. Studies vol. 2).
22 Ynghnga Saga, chapter 32, in: Snorre Sturluson Heimsknngla. History of the Kings of
Norway. Trans. Lee M. Hollander. Austin, Texas 1964.
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326 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 327
Viking Age. According to Sawyer, these twelfth and thirteenth century sources refle
circumstances of the post-Viking Age and tend to rewrite earlier history in orde
legitimize and justify contemporary views and policies.35 Thus, there is a very st
tendency to dismiss all or most of the saga evidence about Scandinavian activity i
eastern Baltic during the pre-Viking Age.
From my perspective, there is a viable middle ground between the uncritical accept
of the saga information about Scandinavian activities in the eastern Baltic during
seventh and eighth centuries and the tendency to label everything in these sagas as fa
This middle ground is not an expedient compromise; rather, it arises from the fac
neither "extreme" is satisfactory. On the one hand, it would be naive and credulous t
the stories about Yngvar and Ivar as literal truth. On the other hand, the accoun
Scandinavian activities in the eastern Baltic during the immediate pre-Viking era can
dismissed entirely as fiction. While Ivar's vast eastern empire seems clearly legen
archaeological evidence leaves no doubt that Scandinavians were active along the coa
the eastern Baltic during the time when Ivar was supposed to have lived. To understa
historical reality which may have inspired the legendary accounts of Yngvar and Ivar
must turn to this archaeological evidence.
In 1929-1930, the Swedish archaeologist Birger Nerman directed an excavation
the town of Grobin in western Latvia. Grobin is located about seven miles east of L
(Libau) on the Alande River. The ancient site consisted of an earthen wall encirc
settlement and three nearby burial grounds.36 One of the cemeteries had some
around one thousand graves which were located under ground level. Nerman exca
one hundred and two of these burials. The graves in this cemetery had both male
female burials while the finds were predominantly of Gotlandic origin and dated
shortly after 650 to about 850. Nerman thus concluded that a Gotlandic colony con
of men and women existed at Grobin for approximately two hundred years, ca. 650 t
850.
The other two cemeteries contained burial mounds. In the first, located east of Gro
four hundred and fifty mounds remained and Nerman estimated that there were pro
about one thousand graves originally. In the second cemetery, to the north, there wer
fifty mounds extant although the original number could not be estimated. Ner
excavated twenty-seven graves from the first cemetery and six from the second. The
in these mounds were almost all male and contained typical Scandinavian artefact
closest analogies, according to Nerman, are found in the Svealand and north Go
regions of Sweden. The graves dated from about 650 to approximately 800. Ner
interpreted the materials from these two cemeteries as evidence of a middle Swedish (
colony at Grobin during the period 650-800.
Combining the information from all three cemeteries, Nerman postulated that sho
after the mid-seventh century the Svear, who were primarily warriors, conquered th
of Grobin and established a fortified town there. Shortly thereafter, Gotlanders, who
basically traders, came to settle at Grobin. Unlike the Svear, the Gotlanders brought
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328 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 329
44 NERMAN Swedish Viking Colonies pp. 372-373; JONES A History p. 244; GlMBUTAS The Baits
p. 143. The Scandinavian materials from Wiskiauten uncovered before World War II are discussed in
B. VON ZUR MÜHLEN Die Kultur der Wikinger in Ostpreußen. Bonn 1975 = Bonner Hefte zur
Vorgeschichte No. 9. Also see the review of this book by F. D. GuREVlC in : Skandinavskij sbornik
22 (1977) pp. 241-247.
45 r. D. GUREVIC Normanskij mogli nik u der. Visnevo, in: Skandinavskij sbornik 6 (1963) pp.
197-210; F. D. GuREVlC Skandinavskaja kolonija na territorii drevnich Prussov, in: Skandinavskij
sbornik 23 (1978) pp. 167-174.
46 NERMAN Grobin-Seeburg p. 192. For an updated list of these finds see WALLER Swedish
contacts pp. 259-261.
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330 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 331
i.e., clearly after the earliest settlement in the Zemljanoe gorodisce.49 But, the
excavation here produced material which suggested that the first stone fortress was er
at Old Ladoga during the era of Oleg the Wise (late ninth-early tenth century).50 Thu
stone fortress appeared at an earlier date than had been thought although it still arose
than the original settlement of the Zemljanoe gorodisce. Starting in 1972, excavations
also begun on the left bank of the Ladozka River near Varangian Street. While the resu
these digs have not yet been fully published, to the best of my knowledge, short rep
indicate that the settlement here dated from at least the second half of the ninth to the
half of the tenth century and possibly from the early ninth century.51 However, unt
digs from the Varangian Street site are published in some detail, we cannot say much
the earliest strata here. Consequently, any discussion of the earliest history of Old La
must focus upon the excavations from the Zemljanoe gorodisce.
Despite the long-standing interest in Old Ladoga, it was not till 1911-1913
archaeologists reached the earliest strata of the Zemljanoe gorodisce. Unfortunately
part examined was not the most revealing and many of the finds soon became mix
with materials from later strata.52 Thus, our information about the earliest levels
Ladoga derives primarily from the excavations conducted, with several interruptions,
1938.
The Soviet Old Ladoga expedition first reached the lowest stratum in 1947 and in
subsequent years it has uncovered a fairly large part of this stratum in different areas.53 V. I.
Ravdonikas dated the earliest stratum, called level or horizon E, to the seventh-ninth
centuries.54 Level E, in turn, contained three distinguishable substrata: E3, E2, and Ej.
Based on the 1948 excavation, Grozdilov proposed the following chronology: E3 =
seventh-eighth centuries, and E2 = eighth-ninth centuries. Although G. P. Grozdilov did
not date substratum Eb the fact that he attributed level D to the ninth-tenth centuries
suggests that he considered E^ a substratum of the ninth century.55 As the result of the studies
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332 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 333
and, level E3 = eighth century.64 At the same time, Korzuchina's revision stimulated
excavations and additional research aimed at dating the earliest settlement at the Zeml
gorodisce. In 1976, for instance, O. I. Davidan published a very important study w
demonstrated that the dwellings in horizon E3 were not, in fact, all from one period, a
been thought, but were built on top of each other over the course of time. Furthermor
cultural layer connected with horizon E3 varied significantly in its thickness. Davidan
went on to identify three consecutive layers within horizon E3 which, as a whole, was
dated from the mid-eighth to the first quarter of the ninth century.65 At the same
dendrochronological analysis of wood samples collected in the excavations of the e
1970's resulted in the following dates for the earliest strata of the Zemljanoe gorodisc
= 750-830's; E2 = 840's-850)s; Ej = 860's-890's; and, D = 890's-980's.66 Davidan's
dating based on the chronology of artefacts was thus in substantial agreement with the
result of tree-ring dating. Based on the materials now available to us, the earliest settlement
at Old Ladoga appeared sometime around the middle of the eighth century.
In terms of early Scandinavian relations with Russia, it is not necessary to determine
whether the original population of Old Ladoga was Slavic, Finnic, or Viking. This
controversial question can be left for others. Our task is to examine the western and/or
Scandinavian finds from the earliest strata and to try to determine when the Vikings first
appeared at Old Ladoga. However, at the onset of this discussion, we should note that
current Soviet scholarship, based on the recent finds and studies, dates the appearance of
the Vikings in Old Ladoga to the 840's-850's, e.g., the time of horizon E2.67 Thus, we can
frame our analysis of the western/Scandinavian finds from the earliest strata of Old Ladoga
in the following way : Do these finds suggest that Vikings might have been in Old Ladoga
before the 840's? And, if so, about when did they first appear here? By structuring the
question in this way, we do not have to analyze all the western and Scandinavian finds from
all the early strata. We only need to concentrate on those finds from horizon E3. In short,
we shall not discuss such well known Viking finds as the runic inscription on an elongated
piece of wood found in level E2. Our focus is the western and/or Scandinavian finds from
the oldest level, i.e., E3.
Fortunately, the Scandinavien finds from the excavations conducted up to the late 1960's
were specially studied by Davidan.68 In her studies, the following Scandinavian finds from
level E3 were identified:
1. An oval, bronze Scandinavian brooch was found in 1959 in dwelling No. 19 from the
lowest layer of horizon E3. This type is considered one of the early forms of oval brooches.
64 Z. A. L'vova Stekljannye busy Staroj Ladogi. Cast' 1 : Sposoby izgotovlenija, areal i vremja
rasprostranenija, in: Archeologiceskii sbornik 10 (1968) pp. 64-94, here p. 65, n. 7.
65 O. I. DAVIDAN Stratigrahja niznego sloja Staroladozskogo gorodisca i voprosy datirovki, in:
Archeologiceskii sbornik 17 C1976Ì do. 101-118.
66 KirpiCnikov Kamennye kreposti pp. 23 and 25, n. 5.
67 A. N. KirpiCnikov [et al.] Russko-skandinavskie svjazi èpochi obrazovanija Kievskogo
gosudarstva na sovremennom étape archeologiceskogo izucenija, in: KSIA 160 (1980) pp. 24-38, here
p. 27; A. N. KirpiCnikov [et al.] Russko-skandinavskie svjazi v èpochu obrazovanija Drevnerusskogo
gosudarstva (IX-XI w.), in: Scando-Slavica 24 (1978) pp. 63-89, here p. 69.
68 O. I. Davidan K voprosu o kontaktach Drevnej Ladogi so Skandinaviej (Po materialam niznego
sloja Staroladozskogo gorodisca), in: Skandinavskij sbornik 16 (1971) pp. 134-144; O. I. DAVIDAN
Contacts between Staraja Ladoga and Scandinavia, in: Varangian Problems. Copenhagen 1970, pp.
79-91 (= Scando-Slavica. Supplementum I).
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334 Thomas S. Noonan
69 DAVIDAN K voprosu o kontaktach pp. 137-138 and figure 1.1. (p. 138); DAVIDAN Contacts p. 85
and figure 5.1 (p. 86); Davidan Stratigrafija niznego sloja p. 112 and figure 7.3 (p. 113).
70 DAVIDAN K voprosu o kontaktach p. 13» and figure 1.2 (p. 138); JDAVIDAN btratigratija niznego
sloja p. 112 and figure 7.13 (p. 113).
71 DAVIDAN K voprosu o proischozdenn pp. 54-63 and figure 1 (p. 56); DAVIDAN Contacts pp.
85-87 and figure 6 (p. 87); DAVIDAN Stratigrafija niznego sloja p. 112 and figures 7.2, 9.4, 9.6 (pp. 113,
116).
72 Davidan K voprosu o kontaktach pp. 139-140; Davidan Contacts p. 87 and figure 5.7 (p. 86);
E. I. OjATEVA Obuv i drugie kozanye izdelija Zemljanogo gorodisca Staroj Ladogi, in: Archeologice-
skii sbornik 7 (1965) pp. 42-59.
73 L'VOVA Stekljannye busy pp. 65-72, 93-94 ; DAVIDAN K voprosu o kontaktach p. 140; Davidan
Contacts pp. 88-89.
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 335
Old Ladoga. While no real iron swords have yet been found there, seven of th
wooden toy swords from level E come from E3 and three of these come from th
stratum of horizon E3. These toy swords are interesting because fourteen of th
from level E are modelled after the so-called Frankish swords (types B and D)
large parts of Europe during the eighth and ninth centuries. While the chief area
production of such swords was along the Rhine, it is possible that they were
elsewhere in Europe. The prototype for one of the three wooden swords from th
stratum of horizon E3. was the type B (according to Jan Petersen) sword which w
Europe during the eighth and ninth centuries. Davidan argues that the inhabitant
Ladoga must have been familiar with real Frankish swords to have made these toy
and that the real Frankish swords apparently reached Ladoga along with their Sca
(or Baltic?) owners at an early period.74
While Davidan has pointed to six types of Scandinavian and/or western finds
the earliest stratum of Old Ladoga as evidence for Viking contacts with Ladoga
earliest period of the city's history, certain reservations should be noted about
these finds. Davidan has not shown, for example, that the leather shoes from laye
definitely of Scandinavian origin. She has cited similar shoes of the eleventh-
centuries from Poland, one ninth-century find from Norway, and similar fi
eleventh-century Swedish materials. E. I. Ojateva's study, upon which D
conclusions were based, also noted another technical detail of the early Old Lad
which can be seen in leather shoes of the ninth-eleventh centuries from three Pol
Furthermore, Ojateva dates the one analogous find from Oseberg in Norway to
century rather than the ninth.75 Thus, if we follow Ojateva, shoes with features
those from level E at Old Ladoga have been found at three Polish sites of th
eleventh centuries and at one tenth-century Norwegian site.
I have no desire in this study to re-examine the question of the origins and dif
particular types of shoes found in northern Europe during the ninth-eleventh
Such an undertaking I shall gladly leave to others. But, for our purposes, it is suf
state that Davidan has not provided conclusive evidence to substantiate her
linkage between these shoes and a Scandinavian presence at Old Ladoga. At p
appears that these shoes were used at various sites throughout the Baltic including
Russia and Poland as well as Sweden and Norway. Therefore, it seems prema
connect the shoes from Old Ladoga to Scandinavian contacts or to a Scandinavia
in Ladoga itself.
We should also remember that no leather objects of the eleventh-fifteenth centu
been preserved at Old Ladoga.76 Therefore, it is impossible to study the evolution
styles at Old Ladoga from the ninth to sixteenth centuries. Under these circumst
cannot say whether the distinctive features of the Old Ladoga shoes noticed in
century shoes from Beloozero, Novgorod, and Pskov were archaic elements in
or Finnic footwear which were slowly passing out of fashion or whether these fe
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336 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 337
Europe. These beads were presumably made at some site or sites in this region and
brought to Ladoga. When we take into account all the different types of glass beads fro
earliest strata of Ladoga, it would appear that we have a reasonably significant quanti
beads which reached Ladoga as the result of contacts with Scandinavia and the Balt
At the same time, we must remember that many important questions about the
medieval glass beads from central and eastern Europe remain unanswered. For exampl
not clear whether the so-called Mediterranean types of beads found in central and nor
Europe were imports from the south or local imitations. If they were imports, we must a
such beads can be considered objects, of commerce like amber or if they appeared in c
and northern Europe for other reasons. On the other hand, if these beads were
imitations, we should like to know where they were made and at what period. It wou
be very helpful to discover where in northern Europe the little barrels and the twisted
were made. We should also be aided if we knew where in southern and southeastern E
the so-called Mediterranean type beads were produced in the seventh - ninth cen
Thus, there is much information lacking concerning the origins and diffusion of the
from level E3 at Old Ladoga.
The toy swords from the earliest strata at Ladoga also present certain problems. The
of the Norwegian finds of the type B and H swords are not conclusive evidence
determining when these swords, and their apparent Scandinavian and/or western own
appeared in Russia. Thus, it is true that type B swords in Norway date to the late seven
eighth centuries while type H swords in Norway are dated to the period 800-950. But,
are only three known finds of type B swords in Russia and only one, from Novoselki
Smolensk, can be satisfactorily dated. On the basis of this one sword, A. N. Kirpic
attributed the type B swords from Russia to the second half of the ninth century, i.e
time much later than their circulation in Norway. Similarly, Kirpicnikov dated the eig
type H swords from Russia to the late ninth-early eleventh centuries. Furthermore, th
majority of the type H swords from Russia (about thirteen) date to the tenth century
two of the type H swords from Russia date to the late ninth - early tenth centuries.
The above data indicates that the type B and H swords only appeared in Russia after
had been in circulation in Norway for some time. The earliest examples of both types
Russia date to the late ninth century and are quantitatively very few. If we are to acce
implications of Davidan's argument, we must assume that Frankish swords were know
the people of Ladoga already in the second half of the eighth and first half of the
century since toy models of type B and H swords were found in horizons E3 and E2. In
words, we must assume that real swords of type B and H, which have not yet been fo
Ladoga, appeared here about a century before they are known to have appeared elsewh
Russia.
It is interesting to note that wooden imitations of type H swords have even been found in a
twelfth century stratum from Grodno,82 If we employ Davidan's logic, we would then have
to conclude that type H swords circulated in Russia, or at least Grodno, for over a century
after the latest dated sword of this type from any Russian site. Such a conclusion, I feel
certain, would not meet with widespread acceptance. The levels in which toy swords appear
are not necessarily an accurate guide to the time when their real prototypes circulated.
The discordance between the dates of real swords from Russian sites and the dates of the
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338 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 339
We should also recognize that Davidan's conclusions are, by and large, reasonable
consistent with the evidence as she presented and interpreted it. There is no attem
picture Old Ladoga as either a Scandinavian trade center or colony. At the same tim
existence of Scandinavian merchants and settlers is acknowledged. Davidan has judic
taken the middle road between both extremes.
As we have noted above, certain reservations can be advanced about whether part
finds demonstrate Scandinavian and/or Baltic contacts with Old Ladoga. However,
we examine the totality of Scandinavian and/or western finds from horizon E3, there
no doubt that Scandinavian and Baltic contacts with Old Ladoga date from the ear
period of Ladoga's history. There are simply too many different types of Scandinavia
western finds to be dismissed as stray or accidental artefacts. And, if any lingering d
remain on this score, we have the definitive evidence of a blacksmith-jeweler, perh
Scandinavian origin, living in Ladoga during the 760's who was using Scandinavian a
northern European tools. As RjABiNiN has noted with respect to these tools and t
context: "For the first time in concrete archaeological material there is so clearly
visible the ties of Ladoga with the Scandinavian North already in the pre-Viking era,
beginning stage of the founding of the very settlement."87
These ties of Ladoga with Scandinavia and the Baltic already in the 760's d
necessarily mean that Old Ladoga was founded by Scandinavians or soon became a V
colony. The Scandinavian and western finds from horizon E3 are too few to support s
generalization. Rather, what we appear to have is a Scandinavian and/or Baltic prese
Ladoga from the earliest days of the town's history. This presence might have taken s
forms. There could have been an emporium or temporary trading station at Ladoga w
was used by Scandinavian and/or Baltic merchants who visited Ladoga regularly bu
not permanent residents. Or, we might have had a small group of Scandinavian a
Baltic settlers who resided in Ladoga all year round. Most likely, this Scandinavian-
presence began as a seasonal emporium which, after some time, led some of the forei
to become permanent residents.
In any event, we have fairly good evidence that some Scandinavians had becom
permanent residents of Old Ladoga by the first half of the ninth century. The cemete
Plakun located opposite Old Ladoga on the other side of the Volchov is the only p
Scandinavian cemetery in Russia.88 Unfortunately, the earliest graves and finds f
Plakun cannot yet be more precisely dated than sometime in the first half of the
century. Thus, those who believe the Vikings only came to Ladoga in the 840's-850
to date the earliest burial at Plakun to 850. 89 On the other hand, those who belie
Vikings appeared in Ladoga at an earlier time tend to date the first burial at Plakun t
early ninth century.90 In this connection, burial mound No. 7 from Plakun, which ha
tentatively dated to the first half of the ninth century by KORZUCHINA, assumes par
importance.91 Both the burial rite (cremation in a boat grave) and the accompan
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340 Thomas S. Noonan
92 Ibidem.
93 KlRPlÒNlKOV [et al.] Russko-skandinavskie svjazi p. 36, remark that the "Normans penetrated
into Eastern Europe in search for the sources of Arabic silver."
94 These developments are discussed at length in THOMAS S. NOONAN When and How Dirhams
First Reached Russia: A Numismatic Critique of the Pirenne Theory, in: Cahiers du Monde russe et
soviétique 21 (1980) pp. 401-469, and IDEM Why Dirhams First Reached Russia: The Role of Arab-
Khazar Relations in the Development of the Earliest Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe, in : Archivum
Eurasiae Medii Aevi 4 (1984) pp. 151-282.
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 341
trade, a trade in which the export of Islamic dirhams to the Baltic played a major role.95 B
the best of my knowledge, no effort has yet been made to show precisely how the inf
Islamic dirhams into Russia led some Scandinavians at Ladoga to venture southward in
interior in search of the source of this silver. And, it is at this point that the numismatic
becomes crucial.
Table A (see p. 347) contains basic data about thirty-nine dirham hoards from Russia whose
most recent coin was struck before 840. However, before we examine the conclusions which
can be legitimately drawn from this data, we need to consider the limitations of the numismatic
evidence. Regrettably, relatively few of the dirham hoards from eastern Europe were
preserved in their entirety for scholarly study. Many hoards were dispersed soon after their
discovery and, at best, only a few coins have been saved for examination by specialists. For
example, only 9 of 150 dirhams from Kaliningrad (Königsberg) were identified ; only 7 of 800
coins from Paristovka were studied ; only one coin from a pot full of coins found at Leleki was
recorded; and so forth. No one can say the extent to which the few identified coins are
representative of these hoards as a whole. I have placed the Kaliningrad hoard at the beginning
of the Russian rather than the Baltic list in order to highlight this point. This is the only hoard
whose most recent coin dates from the first half of the eighth century and it is about a half
century earlier than any other hoard from all of European Russia. But, only six percent of the
coins from this hoard have been dated. While some scholars are inclined to take the 745/746
date seriously96, the weight of all the evidence suggests very strongly that the nine identified
coins from the Kaliningrad hoard are not representative of the hoard as a whole. If we had all
the coins from this hoard, then the most recent dirham would very probably date from at least a
half century later. Even among hoards deposited at the same time and preserved in their
entirety, there exist peculiar variations. Two hoards of the early ninth century from the same
town in Azerbaidzhán have most recent dirhams that are only one year apart. Yet, these hoards
differ in some very significant ways !97 In short, no single hoard necessarily reflects the coin
stock of a given era accurately and we must take care not to place too much weight on those
hoards from which only a few coins remain. We must look at all the hoards from a given time
and place in order to determine what conclusions are appropriate.
Based on the above approach, it becomes clear that dirhams first reached Russia in the late
eighth and early ninth centuries. The Kaliningrad hoard is unquestionably an aberration, no
doubt because the six percent of its dirhams which have been identified are unrepresentative of
the original hoard. The 786/787 hoard from Old Ladoga is the earliest trustworthy hoard from
Russia and it was followed, in the early ninth century, by a series of hoards from very different
parts of what is now European Russia. Excluding hoards from which only a small percentage
of the coins were studied, the following chronological sequence emerges: 786/787 (Old
Ladoga) ; 802 (Cimljansk) ; 804/805 (Peterhof) ; 805/806 (Krivjanskaja) ; 809/810 (Zavalisino) ;
811/812 (Niznie Novoselki); 812/813 (Niznjaja Syrovatka); 812/813 (Kremlevskoe) ; 812/
813 (Ugodici), and so on. In other words, the 786/787 Old Ladoga hoard was the first in a series
of hoards of Islamic dirhams buried throughout European Russia.
Although dirhams were first brought to eastern and northern Europe ca. 800 through the
95 See, for example, Davidan K voprosu o kontaktach p. 142. Nosov Volchovskij vodnyj put' p. 18,
argues that the Volchov route arose in the late eighth century when Islamic silver began to flow into the
Baltic as the result of trade with the Arab East.
96 Davidan Stratigrafija niznego sloia p. 112.
97 See NOONAN When and How, Table X, p. 42 1 , where North African dirhams constitute 47% of the
803/804 hoard from Agdam and only 5% of the 804/805 Agdam hoard.
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342 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 343
being carried through Russia toward Ladoga by 800 A.D. or so. And, the concentrat
hoards along the middle - upper Volga basin and the adjoining regions of the Volc
Il'men - Lovat' system strongly suggests that the primary flow of dirhams went nor
the Volga. A route of lesser importance apparently led north from the upper Dnep
Finally, the Novgorod lands form the third area with a significant concentration of
dirham hoards. The six hoards from this region include the earliest Russian dirham h
i.e., the 786/787 hoard from Old Ladoga. At the same time, it is probably not accid
that there are fewer hoards from northwest Russia (six) than either the Dnepr (thirte
Volga (eleven) regions. A large part, of the dirhams which reached central and nor
Russia were kept by the indigenous peoples of these areas for a variety of purposes. T
only a fraction of the dirhams originally exported into Russia were available for re-e
to northwestern Russia and the Baltic.
It is also clear that from the very start a portion of the dirhams which entered circulation
in Russia in return for furs found their way to northwestern Russia from whence part were,
in turn, exported to the eastern Baltic. And, this gravitation of dirhams toward
northwestern Russia and particularly Ladoga is very understandable. Ladoga was, after all,
the only north Russian town of any consequence in the late eighth and early ninth centuries
where goods brought from the interior of Russia, such as dirhams, could be readily
exchanged for products coming from the Baltic. The Scandinavian and/or Baltic visitors
who frequented Ladoga wanted these dirhams and they could obtain goods from the west
which could be used to barter for the scarce coins. Furthermore, as Scandinavians began to
penetrate into Russia and visit or create intermediary markets where dirhams were
available, they would bring many of these dirhams back to the Baltic with them using the
route or routes that led through Old Ladoga. Consequently, we should be very surprised if
there were no numismatic evidence showing the key role of northwestern Russia in general
and Ladoga in particular in the movement of Islamic dirhams from Russia to the Baltic.
Now let us turn to Table B and examine the earliest hoards of Islamic dirhams from the
eastern Baltic. Table B (see p. 348), first of all, very clearly demonstrates that Islamic
dirhams began to reach the eastern Baltic at the very same time that these coins first reached
Russia. In other words, there was no time lag of any kind between the initial appearance of
dirhams in Russia and in the eastern Baltic. Some of the earliest dirhams to reach Russia
were almost immediately re-exported to the eastern Baltic. Second, once the influx of
dirhams into the eastern Baltic had begun in the very late eighth century, it continued at a
steady rate throughout the early ninth century. The Kaliningrad hoard, as it presently
exists, was an isolated phenomenon. By way of contrast, the hoards of the late eighth and
early ninth century from the Baltic clearly reflect a regular relationship with Russia and, via
Russia, with the Islamic world.
While our data is far from ideal, we can even make some admittedly rough quantitative
comparisons between the earliest Russian and Baltic dirham hoards. These comparisons are
found in Table C (see p. 348). Our calculations only include those hoards from which a
significant percentage of coins have been studied.
There is remarkable consistency in four of the five decades. Some twenty-thirty percent
of the dirhams which reached Russia from the Islamic world were re-exported to the
eastern Baltic. The decade of the 820's, however, presents a different picture; fifty-eight
percent of the dirhams from this decade were re-exported to the Baltic. This much larger
percentage for the Baltic arises primarily because we have included all 426 coins from
Wäsby in our calculations. The overall figure for the entire period of the 780's-830's shows
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344 Thomas S. Noonan
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 345
hoards, Russian relations with the south Baltic were even a little more active or intense
those with Scandinavia. Some readers may have wondered why I continuously use
phrase "Scandinavia and/or eastern Baltic" in discussing the western finds from La
Now, I believe, the reasons become clear. The Vikings were not the only peoples o
Baltic to establish ties with Ladoga in the late eighth and early ninth century.
While the problem of early Polabian/Baltic Slavic ties with Ladoga and Russia
outside the scope of this study, it should be noted that two points of view are possib
Polish scholar, Jan Zak, for example, has argued that Frisians and Gotlanders w
intermediaries in the Polabian Baltic trade of the eighth - ninth centuries
Scandinavia.102 From this perspective, Islamic silver was most likely imported to the
Baltic lands from Russia via Scandinavia. On the other hand, the East German s
Joachim Herrmann maintains that direct relations between the Polabian port of Ra
on the island of Rügen and the Ladoga region already existed in the first half of the
century.103 Herrmann also notes other archaeological finds of the ninth century
point to direct and regular sea ties between the Polabian-Pomoranian south Baltic
and Old Ladoga.104 Consequently, there is no reason to conclude automatically tha
Vikings must have controlled all exports of silver dirhams into the Baltic. There is gro
evidence to suggest that non-Scandinavians may have also played an important role in
diffusion of Islamic silver throughout the Baltic and that these non-Scandinavian
developed major markets in the Slavic Polabian and Pomeranian lands of the south
In fact, these non-Scandinavians may have even been Baltic Slavs.
The above considerations indicate that once it became known that Ladoga was the
outlet for the export of Islamic dirhams to the eastern Baltic, peoples from all ov
Baltic came to Ladoga to obtain these coins. However, while non- Vikings may wel
been very active in bringing these dirhams to parts of the Baltic, there is no evidence
that the non-Vikings went beyond Ladoga and, like the Vikings, began to search f
source of this silver. It would seem that many peoples from the Baltic came to Ladog
only the Vikings ventured into the interior of Russia.
Finally, we should note that there is conclusive written evidence to show
Scandinavians had penetrated deep into the interior of Russia before 840. The "An
Bertiniani" under the year 839 record the arrival of Byzantine ambassadors sent b
Emperor Theophilus at the court of Louis the Pious in Ingelheim. The Byzantine of
were accompanied by men of the Rhos nation whom Theophilus asked Louis to
return to their home. According to the "Annales", Theophilus sent a letter to L
indicating that the Rhos men had been sent by their king, named Chaganus, to Theop
in the interest of friendship. Upon closer investigation, Louis discovered that th
were in fact of Swedish origin or nationality (compera eos gentis esse Sueonum).
Swedes, originally sent by their own ruler or khagan to Constantinople, were una
return home by the route they had taken because savage people endangered their
return.105
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346 Thomas S. Noonan
9. Other peoples of the Baltic besides the Vikings were attracted to Ladoga and its
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Why the Vikings First Came to Russia 347
valuable Islamic silver. Among these non-Scandinavians were perhaps some Baltic S
who were most probably responsible for the many dirham hoards of the early
century found along the coasts of what is now East Germany and Poland.
10. But, while many peoples of the Baltic may have been attracted to Ladoga,
available evidence suggets very strongly that only the Vikings ventured into the inter
Russia to seek out the source of silver coins.
1 1 . By 839, these Viking adventurers had become so familiar with the interior of R
that they had reached Constantinople. Their appearance here indicates that it took
Vikings about one generation, ca. 800-ca. 840, to discover how to travel south ac
Russia using the great water routes of eastern Europe.
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348 Thomas S. Noonan
780's 40 31 78 9 23
790's -
800's 293 213 73 80 27
810's 1171 949 81 222 19
820's 1500 629 42 871 58
830's 1758 1208 69 550 31
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