Artefacts from the Viking Age and Norman period

See for my blog here and the artefacts under the image.

‘…hold the roots…’


‘It is people like you who hold the roots and give back to many who thought they were lost.’ Rhiannon Scharfetter – Vienna, Austria https://myskaldkonur.com

‘I have been suggested to contact you, a Viking specialist, for your competence and sensibility to the problems of those interested in ancient objects.’ Antonio Barsotti – Pisa, Italy. 

Book Vikings and the artefacts from the Viking Age (published October 2025) image on front: Luit van der Tuuk.

www.vikingartefacts.com

Viking weights and gaming pieces

Viking Embedded ‘La Tene Spiral’ Gaming Piece

Lead, 15.28 grams, 16.09 mm. Circa 8th-10th century AD. A very weighty roundel inset with a small copper-alloy mount bearing double-spiral decoration of Insular La Tene Style, of Anglo-Saxon or Irish origin. This decorative piece would have been very suitable for use as the hnefi or ‘king-piece’.

Reference: Pollington, S. Mead Hall – Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, 2003, p.220.

Published: Hammond, Brett. British Artefacts, volume 2 – Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010. Very fine condition. Provenance: ex K Derby collection.

Viking ‘Inset Chip-Carved Trefoil Brooch’ Weight

Extremely Rare Viking ‘Inset Chip-Carved Trefoil Brooch’ Weight

Lead, copper-alloy and gold, 50.32 grams, 29.25 mm. 9th-10th century AD. An Irish or Hiberno-Saxon copper-alloy gilded brooch or mount used as embellishment for a Viking period triangular weight. The mount comprises three sub-triangular panels surrounding a circular central motif, all constructed as flat fields with heavy, raised borders. Within the central field sits a geometric knotwork panel. The gilding is present across much of the surface of the mount and the fine chip-carved surface is preserved.

Reference: Kruse, S. Trade and Exchange Across Frontiers in Graham-Campbell, J. & Williams, G. (eds.) Silver Economy in the Viking Age, Walnut Creek, 2007. Published in Hammond, B.M. British Artefacts vol.2 – Middle Saxon and Viking, Witham, 2010. Good very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Viking ‘Inlaid Chip Carving’ Gaming Piece

Viking ‘Inlaid Glass Bead’ Gaming Piece

Lead, 7.67 grams, 14.13 mm. Circa 8th-10th century AD. A lead disc with a dished centre and an inlay of greenish glass, probably from a bead. Green and blue shades of glass were easily achieved by Anglo-Saxon craftsmen using fine sand and potash.

Reference: Pollington, S. Mead Hall – Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, 2003, p.136, 220.

Published: Hammond, Brett. British Artefacts, volume 2 – Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010. Very fine condition. Provenance: ex K Derby collection.

Viking ‘Embedded Coin’ Gaming Piece

Lead, 10.46 grams; 18.68 mm. Circa 8th-10th century AD. A disc of lead with a dished top, with an Anglo-Saxon coin embedded in the upper surface. The coin is a styca of King Æþelræd II as confirmed by the visible portion of the legend. The piece may have been a merchant’s weight or more probably the hnefi or ‘king-piece’ from the game hnefatafl.

Reference: Biggs, N. & Withers, P. Lead Weights and Pollington, S. Mead Hall – Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, 2003, p.136, 220.. Extremely fine condition, and extremely rare. Ex K Derby collection.

Viking ‘Turreted’ Gaming Piece 

Lead, 13.03 grams, 16.74 mm. 9th-11th century AD. A cylindrical gaming piece with a flared base and three knops or turret projections on the upper face. The body is hollow with the greater part of the base given over to the casting void. These gaming pieces were used in an early form of chess play, called Hnefatafel.

Very fine condition.

Provenance: found North east England.

Link to info on the game of Hnefatafel

See also video on how it was played :

Reference: Pollington, S. Mead Hall – Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, 2003, p.136, 220.

 Link to more info on games vikings played