Viking Objects
Harness Bell (NLM-5EFFAE)
This medieval copper-alloy harness bell has changed little from the type that would have been familiar in the Viking Age. They were used alongside other ornaments to decorate harness. This one is made from a sheet of folded metal and still contains the small pea that would have made a noise when the horse moved.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Tweezers (NARC-444DBA)
Tweezers were common personal items that people would have carried with them and could have been highly decorated.
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Viking Objects
Fragment of an Equal-Armed Brooch (SWYOR-FAFC04)
A fragment of a Viking Age equal-armed brooch found at Harworth Bircotes, Nottinghamshire. This fragment is the boss of the brooch and resembles brooches found at Birka, Sweden. Its decoration consists of a Borre style animal with gripping arms or legs. This is one of only six Scandinavian, Viking period equal-armed brooches recorded in England. For more information on Scandinavian jewellery in England check out our blog: Brooches, Pendants and Pins: Scandinavian Dress Accessories in England.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Jewellery Die Stamp
A copper alloy die for creating pressed silver or gold pendants. The original on which this is based had traces of interlace decoration. The presence of finds like this suggests that high-status jewellery production took place in the northern Danelaw.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Wooden Box
A reproduction wooden box based on examples from Lincoln, York and Norway. The box is decorated with bone strips carved with a circular dot design. Boxes like this would have been fastened with padlocks
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Trefoil Brooch
A reproduction, copper alloy trefoil brooch of a type that would have been common in the Danelaw. Trefoil brooches were characteristically Scandinavian women’s wear. However, many examples found in the East Midlands were probably made in the Danelaw, and may have been copies of Scandinavian styles, instead of being imported from Scandinavia. This example was found near Lincoln. Scandinavian brooches came in a variety of sizes and shapes which included disc, trefoil, lozenge, equal-armed, and oval shapes. The different brooch types served a variety of functions in Scandinavian female dress with oval brooches typically being used as shoulder clasps for apron-type dresses and the rest being used to secure an outer garment to an inner shift. Anglo-Saxon brooches do not match this diversity of form with large disc brooches being typical of ninth century dress styles with smaller ones becoming more popular in the later ninth and tenth centuries. However, since disc brooches were used by both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian women they are distinguished by their morphology. Scandinavian brooches were typically domed with a hollow back while Anglo-Saxon brooches were usually flat. Moreover, Anglo-Saxon brooches were worn singly without accompanying accessories.
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Viking Objects
Zoomorphic Stirrup Terminal (LEIC-F1C6D4)
This example of an Anglo-Scandinavian stirrup terminal features a beast-like form with a projecting snout and large flared nostrils.
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Viking Objects
Jellinge Style Die (LCNCC:1999.27)
This copper alloy metalworker’s die was used for manufacturing decorated pressblech foils. It features an intertwined zoomorphic design in the Jellinge style which was a popular Scandinavian style in the tenth century.
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Viking Objects
Polyhedral Weight (SWYOR-3C5372)
This copper-alloy weight is of a type common within the Scandinavian diaspora. This example has fourteen sides and six dots on each of the rectangular sides. These weights were adopted by the Vikings from Middle Eastern examples and appear to have become a de facto weight standard for traders. Weights are an important form of evidence for Viking Age commerce and the use of standards across the different economic systems within which Vikings were integrated. Many of the weights discovered, particularly ones in Ireland and those of Arabic type, suggest that a standardized system of weights existed in some areas. These standard weights, alongside standard values of silver, are what allowed the bullion economy of Viking occupied areas to function. A bullion economy was a barter economy that relied on the exchange of set amounts of precious metal in various forms, such as arm-rings or coins, for tradable goods, such as food or textiles. Each merchant would have brought their own set of weights and scales to a transaction to make sure that the trade was conducted fairly.
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Viking Objects
Anglo-Scandinavian Key (LEIC-76C229)
Slide keys such as this example are generally known as ‘Viking keys’ due to similarities in shape with excavated examples. However, its T-shaped projections at the base have no identified parallels but the design could possibly show Anglo-Scandinavian influence. Keys were not only practical items but also symbols of status. Women often carried the keys to the family’s chests of valuables. They are also often buried with keys, representing their authority in the household. See also the blog post on keys in the Viking Age.
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Viking Objects
Enamelled Irish Mount (LIN-9BCF25)
This item is a fragment of an Irish Early Medieval enamelled copper-alloy mount or strap-end. It is decorated with a rectangular perimeter of reserve metal which forms a ‘T’ shape. The recessed areas around and within it appear to contain degraded enamel. It is possible that it made its way to England prior to Viking incursions but it is equally likely, especially considering the Viking presence at Torksey, that the Vikings brought this mount with them as plunder after raiding various areas in Ireland.