Viking Objects
Scabbard Chape (DENO-527092)
The decoration on this chape consists of a central human figure, with openwork apertures defining it, and a zoomorphic mask below.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Needle (CM. 1845-2008)
A cylindrical copper-alloy needle fragment with a broken shaft. Needles were a common textile tool and could be made from bone, metal or wood. They are usually associated with women and finds like this indicate that the inhabitants of the Viking camp at Torksey included women and children alongside the warriors of the Great Heathen Army.
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Viking Objects
Stamped Copper-Alloy Casket Mount (NLM-9B6A0B)
A stamped copper alloy casket mount found decorated with stamped ring and dot pattern decoration. Ring and dot pattern was found to be diagnostic of early medieval occupation at Cottam in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and this provides dating evidence for this piece.
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Viking Objects
Edward the Elder Penny (CM.616-1998)
A silver Horizontal type (HT1) penny of Edward the Elder (c. 874-924) minted in London by Garead. Edward was the son of Alfred the Great and succeeded him as king of Wessex. This coin was part of a hoard of twelve coins found at Thurcaston between 1992 and 2000. The coins are Anglo-Saxon, Arabic and Viking issues, and show the diverse and wide-ranging contacts between societies at this time. The hoard was probably deposited c.923-925, approximately five years after Leicester had been retaken by Mercia (c.918). They indicate that a bullion economy was still operating in the Danelaw as late as the 920s. This suggests that the reconquest did not manage to institute Anglo-Saxon practices such as a monetary economy immediately.
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Viking Objects
Hammer-Shaped Pendant (LCNCC: 2015.15)
A gold hammer-shaped pendant with an elongated pentagonal head, popularly called a Thor’s hammer pendant, from Spilsby, Lincolnshire. Hammer-shaped pendants are thought to be amuletic pendants designed to represent Thor’s hammer Mjöllnir. They are common in Scandinavia and in areas of Viking settlement in England. Those found in the Danelaw are generally undecorated or simply decorated, and are thought to have been made in England. The purpose of these pendants has been much speculated about, but nothing definite is known about it. Pendants like this have been found made of lead, copper alloy, silver and gold, showing that many different strata of society could have worn them.
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Viking Objects
Bone Comb with Runic Inscription (1867,0320.12)
An original bone comb case with a runic inscription on it which reads, in translation, “Thorfast made a good comb.” The Vikings were known for looking after their personal hygiene. Combs were not only used for combing your hair but also for removing nits and lice.
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Viking Objects
Silver Arm-Ring (NLM-1B89B2)
This arm-ring fragment is made from strands of wire wound together into a single twisted or cabled strand with a cast zoomorphic terminal. This object was considered together with a group of fragments of ingots and hack-silver of probably contemporary date which were found nearby (NLM-1B0476). However, the mass of this object did not correspond closely to any of the systems of measurement thought to have been used for bullion transactions at that time. The Vikings arriving in England had a bullion economy where they paid for goods with silver that was weighed to an amount agreed between the buyer and the seller. Hacksilver and silver ingots are the most common evidence for their bullion economy. It took some time for the Scandinavian settlers to adopt a monetary economy like that of the Anglo-Saxons, and both systems were used simultaneously for a while before they fully adopted the new system. They were familiar with monetary economies but they treated coins as just another form of silver before adoption of a monetary economy
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Viking Objects
Viking Bird Brooch (NLM-612074)
This brooch is classified as Weetch’s type 30.C and is decorated with an openwork design representing a bird in profile. 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
Borre-Style Strap-End (NLM-F4E3D9)
This strap-end is classified as a Thomas Class E type 4 with Borre-style decoration. Strap-ends came in various styles and were fairly common throughout the Viking world. They were used to decorate the ends of belts and to stop them getting damaged.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Bridle Bit (LEIC-069A75)
This cast copper-alloy bridle bit fragment is made up of a flat curved section which terminates in a sub-rectangular beast’s stylised head above a ‘trefoil’-shaped projection decorated with an incised spiral motif.
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Viking Objects
Bridle Bit (NLM-4CB914)
This bridle bit plate is decorated with rounded protrusions from its edges, apparently representing the head of a beast combining attributes of horse and dragon. The reddish tint of the metal is a common feature of Anglo-Scandinavian metalwork.