Danica Ramsey-Brimberg earns doctorate in history

Danica Ramsey-Brimberg earned a doctorate in history from the University of Liverpool in December of 2021. Her thesis focused on Viking Age furnished graves dating back to the 9th-11th centuries near churches in the area of the Irish Sea.

Prior to this achievement, she graduated from Boothbay Region High School (2009); Boston College - BA in history with Irish Studies minor, 2013; Boston College Lynch School – Master of Education, Secondary Education in History (2015); and from the University of York, a Master of Arts in Medieval Archaeology (2016).

Ramsey-Brimberg can trace what has become a life-long interest to a family vacation in Denmark. Seeing skeletal remains, visiting museums and churches … she says everything “sort of spiraled from there.”

“In college I began taking as many early medieval and medieval courses I could. It’s been very interesting going into a church or cathedral, into the cemeteries and seeing the 8th century gravestones and sculpture.”

Examination of graves and grave goods provides information about the status of the deceased. Grave goods included jewelry, tools and weapons to a sacrificed dog, cat, or horse, and even slaves, notes Ramsey-Brimberg in her article on the BBC History Extra website.

And, exactly how different was a pagan grave compared to a Christian one? “Did they fit in with the archaeology? Were they next to a church or just outside the cemetery? I’ve tried to look at the graves described as pagan in England, Ireland and Scotland. I think there’s something more complex going on.”

Ramsey-Brimberg co-hosts the podcast, New Books in Irish Studies, for the New Books Network; and she has a blog, “The Vikings in the Irish Sea.”

She is a contributing author in the book “Britain & Its Neighbours,” printed in May 2021. Her chapter is about ecclesiastical sites with both Viking Age burials and sculpture.

On May 4 she will lead a Zoom lecture for the Society for Church Archaeology entitled, “Revisiting Viking Age Graves from Ecclesiastical and Non-Ecclesiastical Contexts in the Irish Sea Area.”

Her primary interests today are in early medieval Atlantic Archipelago and how the Viking Age is portrayed in film and the media. “I have found my niche,” she said, “And I’m really excited about it ... excitement is infectious.”

Dr. Danica Ramsey-Brimberg is currently applying for teaching and research positions in the U.S. and the U.K.