Viking Objects
Irish Gilded Mount (LEIC-09D1C8)
This fragment of a gilded copper-alloy mount is roughly T-shaped, and has a raised border around a panel of chip-carved interlace which has traces of gilding. It is possible that it made its way to England prior to Viking incursions but it is equally likely that the Vikings brought this brooch with them as plunder after raiding various areas in Ireland.
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Viking Objects
Silver Viking Penny (DENO-FCA770)
This is a silver penny of a type know as the St Peter Sword/Cross type which bears an inscription to St Peter of York (c. 905-927) and was minted at York between 921 and 927. Viking rulers in the Danelaw eventually took up the Anglo-Saxon practice of minting coins which helped legitimise their authority.
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Viking Objects
Bird Pendant (DENO-55AE35)
A pendant of similar shape although with different decoration is dated to the second half of the ninth century from Yaroslavl, Russia. The bird symbol, very similar to the one depicted on this pendant, was used by the Rurik dynasty which had started the conquest of Slavic lands in the mid-ninth century and later formed the polity of Rus’. With some exceptions, pendants were generally worn by women as an accessory to Scandinavian dress.
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Viking Objects
Copper-Alloy Ear Spoon (CM_1849_2008)
This copper-alloy ear spoon has a spiral twisted body with a small rounded head. It was found at Torksey, Lincolnshire. Ear scoops (also known as ear spoons) were used to clean out ear wax. They are very common finds on Viking Age sites, suggesting that people took this aspect of personal hygiene very seriously.
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Viking Designs
Drawing of Oval Brooch
Drawing of an oval brooch based on examples for Adwick le Street, Doncaster. Brooches were a typical part of female dress. 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
Viking Silver Penny (LEIC-B230B8)
This silver ‘Cunnetti’ penny comes from the Viking kingdom of York and was minted on the authority of ‘Cnut of Northumbria’. Minting coins was a way of controlling the means of exchange within a kingdom and which created a more easily administered standardized system of trade. Moreover, the coins themselves were often used as propaganda, portraying symbols and statements that gave off a desired message. The Vikings later used the minting of coins to legitimize their own rule.
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Viking Objects
Iron Axe-head (1989-58/3296)
Axes were not only a common implement used for a variety of wood based activities, such as constructing ships, but also were often used as weapons. Axes came in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on their function. This one was made to be a weapon and would have been wielded with a single hand. It was found at Repton in Derbyshire where there was a Viking camp which was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the year 873/4.
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Viking Objects
Circular Weight (LEIC-5C4051)
This circular weight has a centrally placed orange stone chip inlaid into it. The distinction of weights by embedded objects or other embellishments in various media is a widely recognised feature of some early medieval weights. 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
Mammen-Style Square Brooch (LEIC-0BFA74)
This small brooch features a bird depicted in the Mammen style. This style of brooch appears to have been produced in the Danelaw but, generally, Mammen-style decoration is rare in Britain. This brooch from Linwood, Lincolnshire, is paralleled by examples from West Stow Heath, Suffolk, and Bergh Apton, Norfolk, but further examples from Cambridgeshire and East Anglia were found in 2015 and 2016. It is a type which has Carolingian-inspired shapes and Scandinavian decoration. Such brooches were an accessory for women who wore Scandinavian dress. 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
Kite-Shaped Pin (PUBLIC-D9CE19)
This incomplete copper-alloy and niello pin is composed of a flat kite-shaped head with small rounded knop protrusion to three points. Both faces of the head are decorated with a cross that radiates to a narrow border and is inlaid with niello. These types of pins are generally considered to be of Irish origin and imported through Viking activities.
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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.