Birka Geocoin 2
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Owner:
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The Vikings
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Released:
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Monday, August 11, 2008
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Origin:
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New South Wales, Australia
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Recently Spotted:
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In the hands of the owner.
This is collectible.
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The mission is to visit different ports and trading towns in the southern hemisphere, especially ones with an interesting history.
Birka - The Viking Town
Twelve hundred years ago the king of the Swedes established a new trading port at one of the inlets from the Baltic Sea. The place was called Birka, located at the island 'Björkö' ('The Birch Island') and became Sweden's first real town. Birka is today a popular site for excursions where the archaeologists' continuing excavations provide insight into the daily life of the former Viking town.
Birka was an important centre of trade for Northern Europe for 200 years. The town was founded in the late 8th century and abandoned before the end of the 10th century. During its period of prosperity it had close to 1,000 inhabitants.
Birka was part of a global commercial network. Arabic silver and Russian pearls were traded for iron or skins. The plentiful archaeological findings tell a story of a society with a distinct hierarchy and inequalities between both the classes and sexes. Merchants, artisans and farmers were all part of Birka's population, which was ruled by the King's representative when the King was absent.
Archaeological material suggests that Birka was abandoned, and that people moved elsewhere, possibly to the town of Sigtuna.
During the Viking Age, Birka was an important trading centre which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as from Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient.
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