Oxford University has announced the creation of a new academic post that will focus on the Viking Age. The move comes after a generous donation from Kirsten Rausing in memory of her father, Dr. Gad Rausing.
Dr. Rausing not only helped transform a family business into an industrial giant, but also had a highly respectable career as a field archeologist.
Landmark post
The decision marks the first time in the history of the prestigious British university that it has dedicated a permanent post to Viking Age history.
The post will be known as the Gad Rausing Associate Professorship of Viking Age Archaeology.
In the UK, an associate professorship is a long-term academic post where the appointed professor leads lectures and seminars, provides educational support for students, and often conducts important research.
According to the announcement made by the university, the professorship "will help to advance research into this important period of history while also ensuring that graduate students receive the training they need to become the Viking Age archaeologists of the future."
Gad Rausing (standing in the middle) was not only an industrial innovator but also a distinguished archeologist with a PhD from Lund University. Photo: Tetra Pak (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A high achiever in two worlds
It is also hoped that the post can serve as a memorable tribute to Gad Rausing, a Swedish-born innovator and archeologist who passed away in 2000.
Together with his brother Hans, Gad Rausing is known to many people for helping to grow Tetra Pak from a family business with just six employees into a multinational corporation that today operates in more than 160 countries.
Yet Rausing was also a dedicated archeologist, graduating from Lund University with a PhD in archeology.
He became an expert on prehistoric Scandinavia and, in addition to heading one of the largest companies in Sweden, somehow also found the time to work on several excavations in his home country.
Rausing specialized in examining bows, arrows, and boats, and authored several books on the Viking Age and prehistory in Scandinavia.
The tradition of Viking research in Britain has led to many significant findings and scholarly advancements. Photo: DigVentures
A popular field
Although this is the first full-time post at Oxford University, both Oxford and Britain as a whole have a proud record of Viking research.
Notable institutions and projects include the Centre for the Study of the Viking Age in Nottingham, the Viking Genes project at the University of Edinburgh, and the Viking Studies Research Group in York, which focuses on the significant history of Northumbria and the city of York itself, both held by the Norse during the Viking Age.
Perhaps most notable of all is the Viking Society for Northern Research at University College London, which was founded in 1892 and has been dedicated to the study of medieval Scandinavia and the wider Viking world ever since.
In recent decades, there has been a true renaissance in Viking studies, and many projects have been carried out around the world. Naturally, however, Scandinavia remains the central hub of Viking-related academia.
Here, prominent institutions include the University of Oslo in Norway and the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
The latter is the oldest university in Scandinavia and is located close to the Uppsala Temple, one of the most important Viking archeological sites in the world.
Dr. Jane Kershaw, the first holder of the post, is well-known for her research on Viking silver hoards, Scandinavian metalwork, and the economic systems of the Viking Age. Photo: The Vale of York hoard, Portable Antiquities Scheme (CC BY-SA 2.0)
"A deep honor"
The decision to create the post at Oxford, one of Great Britain's most famous universities, is another sign of the continued interest in the Viking Age.
The first holder of the post will be Dr. Jane Kershaw, a Viking archeologist who specializes in Scandinavian jewelry and hacksilver and has made a series of studies related to Norse settlement and trade in England.
Speaking to the Oxford University website, Dr Kershaw commented, "It is a deep honor to be the first Gad Rausing Associate Professor in Viking Age Archaeology at Oxford."
"The position will enable me, and many more future Viking specialists, to advance new fields of research within Viking archaeology and to teach and, hopefully, inspire future generations of scholars."
"It is wonderful to know that the field has a home in Oxford. I am profoundly grateful to Kirsten Rausing for her support of the subject."
For those interested in Dr. Jane Kershaw's scholarly work, watch the 2023 lecture The Sources of Viking Wealth: lead isotope analysis of Viking silver hoards, presented by Dr. Kershaw at the British Archaeological Association, where she discusses new results from her analysis of Viking silver hoards.
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