— about
About
Luxury of the Past is an independent digital history publication.
The publication
Luxury of the Past looks at the past through objects and the value people attached to them — precious metals, weapons, textiles, food and drink, gifts — and asks what those things reveal about status, exchange and authority.
The name is meant broadly. This is not only a publication about luxury. "Luxury" here stands for a question rather than a subject: what a society treated as scarce, desirable or worth displaying, and what people were prepared to do to obtain it. A Samanid dirham buried on Gotland, a sword in a Dnieper burial mound or a prince's feast recorded by a chronicler can each open onto much larger questions about trade, power, belief and everyday life.
What we cover
The current focus is early medieval Eastern Europe and the Baltic, roughly 750–1250: the Rus', Scandinavia, Byzantium, the Islamic world and the routes between them. Topics include long-distance exchange, elite culture and display, burial practice, diplomacy, and the ways outsiders described the societies they encountered. We intend to widen this scope over time.
Formats
Long-form features, illustrated catalogues of archaeological finds, databases and interactive maps. Depending on the subject, pieces draw on primary sources in translation, excavation publications, museum collections and peer-reviewed scholarship.
Editorial approach
Luxury of the Past aims to be readable without being careless. We write for curious readers and for specialists who want to see where a claim comes from. In practice this means citing sources where they are used, attributing contested views to the scholars who hold them, keeping the line between evidence and our own synthesis visible, and publishing corrections.
Luxury of the Past is not an academic journal and does not publish peer-reviewed research. Read our editorial standards.
Who is behind it
Luxury of the Past was founded and is edited by Karina, who holds a degree in Journalism and Public Relations. Her work focuses on history, archaeology and cultural heritage.
The publication is produced independently and has no institutional affiliation.