Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Larsson was studying the clothes from graves at Birka and Gamla Uppsala in order to recreate
the patterns for a new museum exhibit, but she was puzzled by the designs. I couldnt quite
make sense of them and then I remembered where I had seen similar designsin Spain, on
Moorish textiles, she told the BBC. The designs, she found, were Kufic characters, an ancient
form of Arabic script, and may have been an attempt to embroider a prayer onto the burial
garments, made in the 9th to 10th century A.D.
Theres a growing pile of evidence documenting the relationship between Viking culture and
the Islamic world. Some Viking swords show evidence of metal-smithing techniques from the
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/viking-clothes-with-allahs-name-embroidered-in-silk?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page 1/2
13/10/2017 Found: Viking Clothes With 'Allah' Embroidered in Silk - Atlas Obscura
Arabian peninsula, and as The Guardian reports, archaeologists have found more than
100,000 Islamic silver coins and a womans ring with for Allah inscribed in it, as well as a
hoard that mingled religious objects from Christianity, Islam, and Thor worship. The people
buried in some Viking graves also had Persian origins, according to DNA analysis.
Larssons own work has examined the use of silk garments in Viking burials. In the Quran,
silk garments are associated with the inhabitants of paradise. In particular I think the idea in
Islam of eternal life and paradise really appealed to [the Vikings], Larsson told The Local.
We have written sources that attest to that, and it could be that the Vikings took this idea
from the Islamic world.
In the past, garments like these were thought of as plunder. But, in Larssons view, these
newly discovered silk bands show that these clothes werent plundered; theyre typical Viking-
age clothing that shows the influence of another part of the world on these wide-ranging
travelers.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/viking-clothes-with-allahs-name-embroidered-in-silk?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page 2/2