UHI Viking and Early Medieval Studies St Magnus Symposium was an Outstanding Success

On Wednesday, 15th October 2025, the Viking and Early Medieval Studies (VEMS) St. Magnus Symposium was held at UHI Perth and online. The event was an exceptional success, inspiring all who attended to explore further the rich history and cultural legacy of these remarkable periods.

Academics and delegates from around the world joined us both in-person and online to participate in engaging lectures and discussions. A total of 35 people attended the lecture theatre at UHI Perth, while 103 registered to join us online. This created an exciting exchange of ideas and concepts surrounding this fascinating period of history.

The theme of the symposium was "Settlement." The first lecture, titled "Beneath the Landslide: Discovering the Hidden Past of Fjörður. Viking Age Burials and Medieval Settlement in Iceland," was presented by Ragnheiður Traustadóttir of Antikva ehf. She shared her research on the archaeological investigation of the Viking settlement of Fjörður, which was buried beneath a landslide from the Viking era.

The discussion then moved onto a ‘Reconsideration of a Viking Boat Burial on the Scottish island of Oronsay’ given by Stephen H Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and was followed by David Strachan from the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust discussing the community investigation of Settlement in Southern Pictland.

The team at UHI Perth provided an excellent lunch, and after discussing the previous three lectures, we launched into Karen Milek's (Durham University) fascinating research, where she explored how the Vikings adapted rural life and craft production in urban settlements.

Shifting focus from the Viking era, Simon Taylor from the University of Glasgow presented on "Personal Names in the Names of Settlements: A View from the East" in the 12th century. This was followed by our own Oisin Plumb, who examined the Orcades in early medieval Macrobian zonal maps.

Our final lecture was given by Knut Paasche (Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research) who returned to the Viking era by ‘Exploring Viking Ships – Gateways to the Past’.

Thank you to everyone who attended, including academic speakers, some of whom travelled great distances to be with us, students and delegates. Thanks also go to UHI Perth who hosted the event in the main lecture theatre and provided lunch.