Deep-Dives

Welcome to my blog!

Hello, my name is Tristan and I'm a first-year history PhD researcher at Oxford.

The aim of this blog is to share my research and wider history on the early medieval world, help give any advice on applying to university and explaining about Oxford, and generally expanding engagement with the Humanities.

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The Blog

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Crossing Boundaries - Insular metalwork in 'Viking' Scandinavia

An Oxford Historian

May 1, 2022
4 min

Crossing Boundaries - Insular metalwork in 'Viking' Scandinavia

How did the Insular metalwork that we find in 'Viking Age' Scandinavia get there? What might the social and cultural significance of...

An Oxford Historian

Mar 27, 2022
4 min

'Anglo-Saxon' boat burials - why?

The burial at Sutton Hoo Mound 1 is England's most famous archaeological site, and contains a body buried in a magnificent ship. But why...

An Oxford Historian

Jul 21, 2021
3 min

Studying 'Disability' in History

There have always been individuals who have physical impairments throughout history. How did past societies treat them, and does that...

An Oxford Historian

Jul 11, 2021
5 min

The 'Vikings' - 'culture-sponges'

Far from the aloof ethnic group envisioned by historical misuse, the 'Vikings' show a consistent trend towards assimilation within other...

The Ashmolean Cast Gallery - do 'fakes' matter?

An Oxford Historian

Jun 28, 2021
4 min

The Ashmolean Cast Gallery - do 'fakes' matter?

Continuing the Museumcraft series, we take a look at the Ashmolean Cast Gallery and the questions it raises about 'authenticity,...

An Oxford Historian

Jun 27, 2021
4 min

Snape - England's Other Ship Burial

Although Sutton Hoo dominates the popular imagination of Anglo-Saxon ship burials, there is another prime example excavated substantially...

An Oxford Historian

Jun 20, 2021
5 min

Ibn Fadlan and the Rus

What can the writings of a traveller of the Caliphate tell us about the Rus, an elusive and largely invisible set of 'Viking' settlers in...

Deconstructing the Echo Chamber - why arguing with the ridiculous is important

An Oxford Historian

Jun 9, 2021
4 min

Deconstructing the Echo Chamber - why arguing with the ridiculous is important

In my line of study, you end up coming across a broad range of very unpalatable opinions. The 'Anglo-Saxons' and 'Vikings' are tied up...

Anglo-Saxon clothes and textiles - lost forever?

An Oxford Historian

May 8, 2021
4 min

Anglo-Saxon clothes and textiles - lost forever?

How did the elite in Anglo-Saxon England use textiles and clothes to express their status and power? As an archaeologist, can we ever...

'Vikings' in the Danelaw - an Archaeological Footprint

An Oxford Historian

May 2, 2021
10 min

'Vikings' in the Danelaw - an Archaeological Footprint

Did the 'Vikings' leave an archaeologically identifiable footprint in England when they settled? Can we excavate those remains and find...

An Oxford Historian

Mar 22, 2021
4 min

Anglo-Saxon Emporia: an Exploration

The Emporia represent an interesting set of archaeological evidence in the 'Anglo-Saxon' world, likely representing a return to...

Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology: An Introduction

An Oxford Historian

Mar 7, 2021
4 min

Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology: An Introduction

A brief introduction to Experimental Archaeology - what it includes, how it's theoretically useful, and its major drawbacks....

An Oxford Historian

Feb 27, 2021
8 min

The Vikings and Post-Colonialism

This week, in a cannibalised version of a piece of coursework I once wrote, I thought it would be interesting to explore the question of...

An Oxford Historian

Jan 23, 2021
5 min

What did rich Anglo-Saxons eat?

Food is a universal, but frequently invisible to the historian. What and how did people of the past eat? Do these questions vary by...

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