Julia Hopkin

About Julia’s Research:

The dramatic expansion of ocean exploration during the Viking Age (800-1200 CE) in the North Atlantic required rapid adaptation to extreme environments. This research aims to investigate textile evidence for how people adapted to the challenges of seafaring amid an unpredictable climate.
Wool textiles with pile (additional fleece or yarn inserted into fabric to create a shaggy surface) has been found from this period across the North Atlantic region, and are hypothesised to have been garments worn for protection from wet and cold weather. However, the available evidence is little studied and their function compared with other available technologies and earlier clothing types is poorly understood. This project will conduct original analysis of archaeological finds, compare their distribution with environmental changes, and test their properties using experimental replicas, centered on the question: “How does variation in outer clothing across the North Atlantic 800-1200 CE show how people adapted to increasing ocean voyages and environmental changes?”
In doing so, this project aims to create new evidence for pile textiles and related technologies, trial new methods for investigating archaeological clothing, and advance understanding of the role of clothing as a sustainable way of managing environmental change, historically and today.