Using new scientific discoveries, archaeological evidence and the historical record (taking into account their bias and unreliability), Jarman starts in Repton, Darbyshire and follows the journey of a single carnelian bead through the world of the Vikings, using other objects as stepping stones to gain a new understanding of the movement and trade in the Viking world between Britain and as far as Gujarat, India, where the carnelian bead may have begun its journey.Īt the beginning of each chapter, Jarman contextualises the object that will be the focus of the coming chapter in either a fictional or non-fictional way, imagining how it may have been used in the Viking world, or telling us of its modern history such as when it was discovered.
Jarman uses these new scientific methods to gain new information from the bones and teeth of bodies we have known about for years, but now we can understand through the isotope analyses of bones and teeth where these people were born, their some of their migration history and even the type of diet they had. Jarman works with DNA analysis, isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating of the archaeological finds to trace the Vikings from Britain, through Scandinavia and ultimately uncovers greater interaction and movement between the west and the east. River Kings, written by bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman (who is also a field archaeologist who specialises in the Viking Period) takes a small carnelian bead found in the site of Repton and follows what may have been its journey through the Viking world all the way to Baghdad and India.
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