Sunday, May 01, 2022

ANOTHER AMAZING FIND FROM THE MUSEUM STORAGE ROOM

The Borgund Viking village museum basement has drawers upon drawers with remains of textiles from perhaps a thousand years ago. They can tell us more about what kind of clothes people in Norway wore during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Source: Bård Amundsen / sciencenorway.no

‘Lost’ Viking Village Artifacts Emerge From Norwegian Basement Archive

UPDATED 27 APRIL, 2022 -

It isn’t rare for a once prosperous medieval town to be abandoned and slowly get side-lined in the annals of history. Nothing exemplifies this statement better than the lost Viking village of Borgund, on the west coast of southern Norway.

The Discovery of the Viking Village of Borgund, Norway

The Borgund Kaupang Project was launched in 2019 by the University of Bergen to re-examine the countless Viking village artifacts found in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, which have long been housed in a basement archive, according to Science Norway .

This picture shows the Borgund Viking village excavation site in 1954. The Borgund fjord, a rich source of cod, can be seen in the background. (Asbjørn Herteig / University Museum of Bergen / CC BY-SA 4.0)

This picture shows the Borgund Viking village excavation site in 1954. The Borgund fjord, a rich source of cod, can be seen in the background. (Asbjørn Herteig / University Museum of Bergen / CC BY-SA 4.0 )

At the time of discovery in 1953, a piece of land near Borgund church had been cleared, uncovering a lot of debris and objects that were immediately traced to the Norwegian Middle Ages . Over the course of that year and the following summer some 45,000 objects were painstakingly put away into storage after a cumbersome excavation. It was only in 2019 that these items were taken out of storage to piece together the history of a thousand-year-old Norwegian Viking village that the world knows little about.

“The 45,000 objects from the 5,300 square meter excavation area in Borgund have just been lying here,” said Danish archaeologist and project manager Professor Gitte Hansen. “Hardly any researchers have looked at this material since the 1970s.”

What’s particularly interesting is that the town of Borgund is mentioned in Viking sagas and charters from the Middle Ages. Sagas mention the existence of the town as early as at least 985 AD, as this was where Håkon Jarl and his sons journeyed before the battle against the Jomsvikings in 985 AD, states the University of Bergen (UIB) press release . King Håkon was the de facto Norwegian ruler between 975 and 995 AD.

King Håkon the Good, who visited the Viking village of Borgund, during his reign, overseeing a peasant dispute in a painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo. (Peter Nicolai Arbo / Public domain)

King Håkon the Good, who visited the Viking village of Borgund, during his reign, overseeing a peasant dispute in a painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo. (Peter Nicolai Arbo / Public domain )

Reconstructing Borgund’s Viking History From Written Sources

From a historical point of view, sagas are always taken with a pinch of salt. The reasoning for this is twofold.

First, sagas are semi-legendary or legendary in nature, bordering on mythology, and have a tendency to conflate the king’s association with gods. For example, this saga associated King Håkon ’s lineage with Sæming, son of Odin.

Second, revisionist history writing is cautious in accepting verbatim sources that are issued from the perspective of those at the apex of society, who are never fair or judicious with their representations of reality. This is largely due to the assertion of power and prestige that comes with the burden of disparately designed social hierarchies.

Then there is a reference to Borgund in relation to the Battle of Bokn in 1027 AD, which has been accepted by this group of historians and researchers as the oldest written evidence for the existence of the Viking village.

The limited written sources about Borgund in the Middle Ages refer to it as one of the “small towns” ( smaa kapstader ) in Norway. “Borgund was probably built sometime during the Viking Age,” adds Professor Hansen, who is also head of the Department of Cultural History at UIB.

Here lie the remnants of the forgotten Viking village of Borgund. (Bård Amundsen / sciencenorway.no)

Here lie the remnants of the forgotten Viking village of Borgund. (Bård Amundsen / sciencenorway.no)

Difficulty in Reconstruction and Moving Forward

Within a hundred odd years, Borgund became the most expansive Viking village on the western coast between Trondheim and Bergen. It flourished till the mid-14th century AD, when it was actually at its peak.

However, the plague defined Europe in the Middle Ages had a terrible impact on Borgund, to such an extent that by the end of the 14th century AD, Borgund disappears from the annals of history. This coincided with the Little Ice Age which left much of northern Europe much colder and snowier than before.

Unfortunately, the recovered Borgund Viking village textiles (250 pieces in total) have suffered as no conservation effort was made to preserve them, apart from leaving them in storage. Yet, Hansen admits that she is rather grateful for even having the tattered fabrics to hold onto. Credit for the excavation in 1953 and ’54 goes to Asbjørn Herteig, one of the pioneers of modern medieval archaeology.

Herteig’s strength lay in subverting historical interests from important buildings and centers of power like churches, monasteries, and castles. His method was to assemble a meticulous collection of seemingly trivial artifacts. This included shoes’ soles, pieces of cloth, slag, potsherds (ceramic and otherwise), to name a few, that helped piece together the lives of ordinary people.

The unfinished Borgund Viking village investigations indicate a dense settlement of houses and at least three marble churches . The nearby fjord, known as Borgundfjordfisket, was a rich cod fishery that harvested in late February and early March. The inhabitants ate a lot of fish, as proven by the countless fish bones, and fishing gear artifacts found at the site.

The Borgund Viking village was probably created in the 10th century AD, and there is evidence of trade and contact with the rest of Europe, particularly Western Europe. Numerous pieces of English, German, and French tableware were found at the site. An exchange of art, music, and fashion also occurred. The last official mention of Borgund was from 1384 AD, in a royal decree which instructed the farmers of Sunnmøre to buy their goods in the market town of Borgund.

Financed by the Norwegian Research Council, the ambitious and historically crucial documentation of Borgund Viking village has been captured in detail on the official Facebook page of the BKP and the Per Storemyr Archaeology and Conservation Group page . A five-part documentary series has been prepared by the BKP and can be accessed here . The BKP team includes archaeologists, geologists, osteologists (bone experts), metal scientists, and art historians.

Top image: The Borgund Viking village museum basement has drawers upon drawers with remains of textiles from perhaps a thousand years ago. They can tell us more about what kind of clothes people in Norway wore during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Source: Bård Amundsen / sciencenorway.no

By Sahir Pandey

After Three Suicides on U.S. Carrier, Crewmembers Voice Concerns

USS George Washington at Newport News, 2019 (USN file image)

The U.S. Navy believes that the three recent deaths amongst the crew of the carrier USS George Washington were all suicides, prompting an effort to provide support for the ship's crewmembers and look for any root causes behind the fatalities. In all, seven people aboard Washington have died over the last 12 months from various causes, according to CNN.

George Washington has been at Newport News Shipyard for its mid-life overhaul since 2017, and some crewmembers have reported challenging living and working conditions on board. “It’s not a place for first-time sailors, where you’re sold all this stuff from a recruiter and you’re thrown on this ship where stuff doesn’t even work, berthings aren’t clean, bathrooms aren’t cleaned,” one crewmember told Navy Times.

In a conversation with the service's top enlisted officer on April 22, several George Washington crewmembers voiced concerns about the conditions found on a carrier in long-term overhaul. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Russell Smith responded that they might have to temper their expectations.

“What you're not doing is sleeping in a foxhole like a Marine might be doing. What you are doing is going home at night most nights,” Smith said. “What I can tell you is, this is what happens on a carrier in [overhaul], and at some point, you've got to shut some of the water down and shut some of the other hotel services down and they're gonna have to move around who's living on the ship in order to make it work and meet the safety requirements. Because you also don't want to not have this thing manned, if a fire breaks out or something else - because we've also been through that."

In response to concerns about stress aboard the ship, the Navy has hired extra chaplains for George Washington and dispatched a response team of psychiatrists. But some are calling for more action.

“Each death is a tragedy, and the number of incidents under a single command raises significant concern that requires immediate and stringent inquiry to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the ship’s crew,” wrote former surface warfare officer Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) in a letter to the Navy's top officer this week. “This indicates an urgent need to understand if there are endemic problems within the command, safety concerns, or other contributing issues."

Offshore Work Commences for World’s Largest Wind Farm, Dogger Bank

offshore construction begins at UK's Dogger Bank wind farm — Offshore work began for the cabling two years after onshore work began for the lworld's argest offshore wind farm (SSE Renewables)

Offshore construction for the world’s largest offshore wind farm has commenced marking a significant milestone for the development of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm located off the northeast coast of England. Two years after work began on the project, the installation of the first length of HVDC export cable off the Yorkshire coast began for the wind farm which when fully completed in 2026 will have the capacity to generate 3.6 GW.

"This is an exciting time for everyone involved in this project as we celebrate installing the first nearshore HVDC export cable safely and on time,” said Steve Wilson, Project Director at Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “With the first foundations due to be installed later this year and the first turbines scheduled for installation in 2023, we’re now well on our way to achieving first power.”

Onshore work for the project began early in 2020, five years after consent was granted. Located in the North Sea, the first phases are approximately 80 miles offshore followed by a third phase that will be 125 miles from shore. The first nearshore cable sections are currently being installed for Dogger Bank A which will generate 1.2 GW upon completion. This phase of the construction will continue during 2022, with work starting on the export cables for Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C in consecutive years.

A joint venture project between SSE Renewables (40 percent), Equinor (40 percent), and Eni Plenitude (20 percent), SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will be the lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in three phases known as A, B, and C. NKT will supply and install the onshore and offshore HVDC cable for all three phases of the project. The company will use its cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria to install the 320kV DC subsea cable system in the North Sea

80-Year Mystery Laid to Rest: The Fate of the WWII Submarine HMS Urge

An 80-year-old maritime mystery has finally been put to rest with the unveiling of a memorial to a Royal Navy submarine lost off Malta.

Serving submariners from Naval Base Clyde and relatives of the crew of HMS Urge travelled to the Mediterranean island on April 27 for a memorial service recalling those who perished when the wartime submarine struck an Axis mine off the coast. Thirty-two crew, eleven naval passengers and one civilian were lost in the tragedy. For almost eight decades the final fate of HMS Urge was unknown and it was only thanks to a remarkable feat of historical detective work that the mystery was solved.

The U-Class submarine, which was commissioned in 1940 and initially based at Dundee, was assigned to the Tenth Submarine Squadron in Malta in April 1941.

During her time in the Mediterranean she served with distinction, completing some 18 patrols, torpedoing an enemy battleship, sinking an enemy cruiser, and attacking enemy ships supplying Axis troops in North Africa. The submarine was even involved in top secret missions to land intelligence agents and some of the earliest Special Boat Service (SBS) Commandos on enemy-occupied soil.

But the intensity of attacks on Malta during this point in the Second World War forced the Royal Navy to eventually move their vessels to Alexandria in Egypt. Out of the five submarines which sailed only four made it to their destination. HMS Urge was never heard from again.

It was assumed that the Commanding Officer of Urge, Lieutenant Commander Edward Tomkinson DSO and his crew fell victim to enemy action. But it wasn’t until Francis Dickinson, the Lieutenant Commander’s grandson, teamed up with the University of Malta and a Canadian naval researcher that their final fate was known.

“Malta was among the most heavily bombed places during the Second World War and it got to the point that it was safer to be at sea than in harbour there,” said Francis. “In my search for HMS Urge, naval researcher Platon Alexiades and I contacted Timmy Gambin at the University of Malta and together we formed a search project. “Records of HMS Urge’s patrols are held in the National Archives, including records of the route which she was to take on leaving Malta. Using these, and my grandfather’s wartime letters, we began putting together the answer to what happened. Timmy Gambin’s expert knowledge of the waters and wreck sites around Malta and search capabilities were vital, and Platon Alexiades provided invaluable research on Axis plans which revealed that they had laid a minefield on the route HMS Urge was to take, just a few days before she sailed for Alexandria.”

Using this knowledge, in October 2019 the University of Malta team pinpointed what they believed was the wreck of Urge a few miles off the Maltese coast. Although they were almost certain, a dive of the wreck was needed to confirm it.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with plans and it was only in 2021 that Timmy Gambin could coordinate the dive team which made the 300-foot descent to the resting place of the submarine. The team was able to positively identify lettering on the hull confirming that it was HMS Urge and also confirm evidence that she had been damaged by a maritime mine.

The new memorial to HMS Urge is situated at Fort St Elmo, facing out to sea in the direction of the remains of the submarine. The solemn unveiling was also attended by President of Malta, George Vella, and British High Commissioner, Katherine Ward. Members of the Armed Forces of Malta performed a gun salute in honour of HMS Urge.

This article appears courtesy of Royal Navy News and may be found in its original form here.

Mayflower Autonomous Ship Begins Second Attempt at Atlantic Crossing

Mayflower Autonomous Ship starts second Atlantic crossing attempt — Mayflower during her 2021 attempt to cross the Atlantic (Oliver Dickson photo courtesy of IBM/ProMare)

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship has departed for its second attempt to cross the North Atlantic from the UK to the U.S. using only its AI systems to navigate the more than 3,000 nautical mile journey. Originally planned to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s journey to the new world, the vessel was delayed by the pandemic and then a mechanical failure on its first attempt in June 2021. If it is successful, MAS400 will become the largest autonomous vessel to have ever crossed the Atlantic.

Measuring 50 feet in length and weighing five tons, the craft was developed at a cost of more than $1 million in a research partnership involving the University of Plymouth, IBM, autonomous vessel specialists MSubs, and charity Promare, which promotes marine research. Taking more than four years to develop, the goal of the project is to collect ocean research data during the crossing and demonstrate the emerging capabilities of AI to navigate vessels.

MAS400 is equipped with six AI-powered cameras that provide images to the computers which were educated about land, ships, and other potential obstacles by studying more than one million images. The vessel also has 30 onboard sensors and 15 edge devices. It is feeding data from the voyage back to the team onshore via satellite connections which also permit the public to monitor progress with an online dashboard.

The vessel is currently traveling at speeds ranging between 5 and 6 knots reporting that it has traveled over 350 nautical miles since departing Plymouth on April 27. It provides hourly updates to its automated Twitter account. If all goes as planned, it should reach Virginia in approximately three weeks. Unlike its namesake, the project organizers believe the AI computer will be able to prevent it from being blown hundreds of miles off course and arriving in Massachusetts like the Mayflower in 1620.

The team explains that they programmed the system with the planned course and the computers analyze progress determining how to reach the objective, considering weather, currents, and other variables as well as navigating to avoid collisions. The MAS can see approximately 2.5 nautical miles ahead, and it will identify vessels and other hazards in its path. It uses a hybrid system of wind and solar power with a diesel backup generator to power the vessel and its propulsion.

The first attempt to cross the Atlantic began on June 15, 2021, however, the vessel experienced a mechanical failure after completing just over 11 percent of its journey and the team decided to abort the mission and sent a rescue craft to find and retrieve MAS400. They reported that a coupling failed on the generator forcing the vessel to rely solely on solar power. The team determined that it would run out of power if permitted to continue on the voyage.

During the time back at base in England they also used it to improve systems for the craft. In addition to enhancements to mechanical systems to make the craft more robust during the crossing, they also improved the computer vision software.

AI Captain is reporting that all systems are functioning normally as the Mayflower Autonomous Craft entered international waters. Views were posted of a dolphin swimming alongside as it headed out of the English Channel and now the camera show a gray Atlantic with a long horizon ahead.

US veterans say actions during anti-war protest at Shannon were ‘mandated by God’

IRELAND

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28/04/2022 | 10:14 AM

PETER MURTAGH

Two American octogenarians charged with trespass and criminal damage in relation to an anti-war protest at Shannon Airport have asserted their actions were legal under international law and were also mandated by God.

Ken Mayers (85), of Monte Alte Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Tarak Kauff (80), of Arnold Drive, Woodstock, New York, have both pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage to a perimeter fence at the airport on March 17th, 2019.

They have also pleaded not guilty to trespassing the curtilage of a building with the intent to commit an offence or unlawfully damage property, and not guilty to interfering with the operation, safety or management of an airport, namely by entering a runway area, where they were arrested, and causing it to be closed.

On the third day of their trial on Wednesday, before Judge Patricia Ryan and a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Kauff admitted to damaging the fence.

"Yes I did damage the fence, I was acting on my own moral beliefs," he told prosecuting counsel Tony McGillicuddy BL, to which Mr McGillicuddy added "and breaking the law in doing so".

Mr Kauff replied that "the US government and the Irish Government have been breaking the law. Irish people are sick and tired of their government cow-towing to the US. That is the issue here!"

'Higher purpose'

He told the jury that some things were "mandated by God".

"There was a higher purpose here than the law which says you can't trespass, that you can't cut a fence," he said.

Mr Kauff said he had friends who had taken their own lives because of what they had done while in the US military.

"That is the real damage," he told Mr McGillicuddy. "Damaging a fence is nothing. Nobody died and I should expect that you should understand that as well!"

Giving evidence both accused stated that the Irish Government was in breach of international law and Ireland's neutrality by allowing US military planes, and civil aircraft contracted to it, to transition through Shannon Airport.

"If a belligerent country lands in a neutral country, that country has an obligation under international law to inspect [the plane]," Mr Mayers said in evidence.

He told his defence counsel, Michael Hourigan BL, that the use of Shannon by the US military was part of the process of killing "many, many people".

"It is a great disservice to the Irish people what the United States government is doing," he said. "We understood that the Irish people are very conscious, as opposed to the Irish Government, of the importance of Irish neutrality."

Both defendants said they wanted to inspect a plane, which they said was an Omni Air plane, used to transport US military and which was parked on the airport apron. Mr Mayers said he and Mr Kauff would be very happy if the Irish authorities inspected US planes, which they maintain was their own intention when they entered the airport.

Democracy

In cross-examination by Mr McGillicuddy, Mr Mayers said he accepted that Ireland was a democracy. He said he had taken it upon himself to make an intervention that he knew would "violate some statute".

"I was violating that and I knew that I was violating that." He said this was to prevent something worse. He accepted that by being on the airport runway, he had prevented planes landing and taking off.

"I did that to save lives," he said.

Asked whether he had asked any garda, inside or outside the airport, any State official or any politician to have the plane inspected, he said he had not. He said he hoped that, by entering the airfield, he would persuade and encourage airport police and gardaí to inspect the plane.

"At times it becomes necessary to go beyond the laws of a State to get a point across," said Mr Mayers. "I decided to take action in defence of people who are seriously being attacked. . . I decided to break the law in order to serve a higher purpose."

He said his authority for his actions was "the obligation to do what is right".

As a member, with Mr Kauff, of the US-based Veterans for Peace, he was an habitual protester, said Mr Mayers, adding: "I have dealt with a lot of law enforcement officials over the years and I have never been treated better [than by the gardaí]."

The trial continues.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

Florida Man Freed After 32 Years In Jail For Murder He Did Not Commit

By Dane Enerio
04/28/22

KEY POINTS

Thomas Raynard James was released Wednesday after spending 32 years in jail

He had been wrongfully convicted in connection to the death a man who got fatally shot in 1990

A late investigation conducted by Florida prosecutors determined that James was innocent

"Mistaken identification" and "chance coincidence" resulted in a Florida man being wrongfully convicted and spending more than 30 years in jail.

A Miami-Dade judge vacated the conviction and life sentence of Thomas Raynard James, 55, Wednesday, NBC 6 reported.

James got convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery in 1991 in connection to the death of Francis McKinnon, who was fatally shot during a robbery in a Coconut Grove apartment the previous year.

He was reportedly tied to the incident after witnesses and tipsters claimed the gunman was named Thomas James or Tommy James, as per The New York Times.

James' conviction rested primarily on the testimony of McKinnon's stepdaughter, Dorothy Walton, who had been in the apartment and identified the then-23-year-old as the gunman after police put his photo in a lineup.

"I'm positive of it. I will never forget his face. I will never forget his eyes," Walton testified during the trial.

No evidence tied James or anyone else to the crime, prosecutors said.

A later investigation conducted by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in cooperation with James' lawyer, Natlie G. Figgers, determined that reasonable doubt existed in James' conviction and that he was innocent of the charges.

Walton would also admit that she made a mistake decades after the trial, CBS 4 reported.

"In brief, what appears to be a chance coincidence that the defendant, Thomas Raynard James, had the same name as a suspect named by witnesses and anonymous tipsters as Thomas James or Tommy James" led to his "mistaken identification" as the gunman who fatally shot McKinnon, prosecutors said in their appeal to throw out James' conviction.

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