Viking Designs
Drawing of the Thorfast Comb Case
A bone comb case with a runic inscription which reads ‘Thorfast made a good comb’. It is unknown whether the runes were inscribed by Thorfast himself as advertising, or whether the owner inscribed them to remind them where to go for another good comb if they needed one.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Bone Comb with Runic Inscription
A bone comb with a case with a runic inscription on it. The inscription reads, in translation, “Thorfast made a good comb.” The Vikings had a reputation for looking after their personal hygiene. Combs were an important part of that process, not just for combing your hair but also for removing nits and lice.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Rune Inscribed Rib
Runes were used not only for monumental inscriptions, or to mark ownership of valuable objects, but also in more informal contexts. In this case the animal bone suggests an after-dinner pastime after a good meal in the Anglo-Scandinavian trading centre of Lincoln. The runes read ——l × hitir × stin × … Only two words of the Old Norse inscription can be read with certainty, and even so they are ambiguous. One possible interpretation is ‘[someone] is heating a stone’ the other is ‘[someone] is called Stein’. The bone is fragmentary, but the inscription may never have been intended to make much sense. The original object dates from around the tenth century. It is one of only three runic inscriptions from the East Midlands.
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Viking Objects
Bone Spindle Whorl (LIN-9D24C2)
Fibres were spun into thread using a drop-spindle of which the whorls were made of bone, ceramic, lead, or stone and acted as flywheels during spinning. Other bone and ceramic spindle whorls with decorative circumference grooves are known from Anglo-Saxon sites elsewhere in areas such as West Stow, Suffolk.
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Viking Objects
Reproduction Bone Dice
A pair of reproduction bone dice. Viking Age dice were usually rectangular rather than cubes, making it harder to roll the numbers on the ends of the dice. They do not follow the modern convention of having the numbers on opposite faces add up to seven. We do not know what games the people played with dice in this period, but it has been suggested that dice might have been used as part of playing board games like hnefatafl.
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Viking Objects
Belt Terminal (L.A67.1864.3.0)
A belt terminal in an Anglo-Scandinavian zoomorphic style that was found in Leicester. It features two opposed ‘lions’, two central masks and acanthus scrolls. Strap ends or belt terminals 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
Dragon’s Head Mount (L.A67.1864.1.0)
This mount from Leicester is in the form of a dragon’s head and is thought to be Scandinavian work. The base of the head is extended, slotted and necked as though for a hinge. There are green stains suggesting that it was attached to an item of copper or bronze. Mounts were generally used to decorate various items such as belts or pouches. In this case, it may have been a fitting for a knife. Mounts were usually attached to items by hammering over the metal studs on the back of the mount.
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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 Designs
Drawing of Bone Comb
A drawing of an intricately decorated bone comb found in Lincoln.
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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