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Knattleikr, a Viking ball game
Knattleikr is a game known from the Icelandic sagas. It's rules are not known, but it is known that it involved a bat and a ball, and that people could get injured playing it. This article discusses an attempt to recreate the game.
Keys and Locks in the National Museum of Ireland
These keys and locks show that Vikings locked things away too.
Iron Tools in the National Museum of Ireland
A chisel, a punch and two iron files are evidence of everyday activities in Dublin in the Viking Age. These were all found in Fishamble Street.
Iron Implements in the National Museum of Ireland
From left to right these are a fork, a fish hook and a bill hook.
Interior of the Viking house and garden in the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin
Photos of a reconstruction of a Hiberno-Norse house modeled on those found in the excavations in the Wood Quay area of Dublin, along with reconstructed Viking-Age garden. These photos were taken in 2014 by Maria Teresa Ramandi, participant in the…
Interior of a Viking House
The photograph shows part of the interior of a Viking house. The man is sitting on one of the 'benches' that ran down either side of the house. In most houses these would have provided both seating and beds with the whole household sleeping within…
Icelandic Horse
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse from Iceland that developed from horses taken to Iceland by the original Viking settlers. It is small, often pony-sized, but very hardy.
Pagan Scandinavians ate horse meat as part of their religious…
Pagan Scandinavians ate horse meat as part of their religious…
How to play Hnefatafl
Catcliffe Primary School instructions on how to play the Viking board game called Hnefatafl.
Houses and domestic life in the Viking Age and medieval period: material perspectives from sagas and archaeology
This PhD thesis examines how houses were used in the Viking Age and medieval period, and compares archaeological evidence with the medieval Icelandic sagas.
Hoe from the Oseberg Ship Burial
A wooden hoe that was buried with the Oseberg ship burial.
Hnefatafl
Hnefatafl was a board game played by Vikings. Although no Viking Age rules are known, it is thought to have been similar to Tablut, a game recorded by Linnaeus in Lachesis Lapponica (1732). This record has been the basis of a number of reconstructed…
Handled Cup on display in Shetland Museum and Archives
Stone cup from Yell. Donated by Robert Tulloch, Lerwick. ARC 7540.
Entertainment Exhibit
PDF file of the exhibit page Entertainment
Dogs
Dogs are known from the Mesolithic period onwards in Scandinavia. They would have been used by the Vikings as guards, hunting animals, and even as pets. Dogs similar to the Norwegian Elkhound are known from the Mesolithic period, and remains of…
Cattle
An image of Auðumla the legendary cow that licked Odin's grandfather Buri from the ice and from whose udders milk flowed in streams. This milk nourished the giant Ymir, the first creature to be created in Norse mythology.
Bronze pin and bone or antler comb found in a male Viking grave near Larne in 1840, at the Ulster Museum.
Bronze pin and bone or antler comb found in a male Viking grave near Larne, County Antrim, in 1840. The grave dates dating from the tenth century. On loan from Duke of Northumberland at the Ulster Museum, Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Borre Trefoil brooch from Wiltshire
This is a stunning Borre style Trefoil brooch found in Wiltshire, one of over 20 on the Portable Antiquities Scheme's Database. To view the full record and associated metadata, go tohttps://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/276198
Blog Post about Light in the Dark Ages
Discussion of how metal fittings would have made their owners more noticeable in the dim light of a Viking Age house.
Blog about the construction of the Viking House and Garden at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin
Photo blog following the progress of the construction of the Viking House and Garden at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin (Recreating the Architecture, Ecology & Experience of Dublin's Townhouses, AD 1014). Includes an account of the Viking Age…
Adze, Auger and Tethering Pegs from the Gokstad Burial
An adze (left), a spoon-shaped auger with a looped handle (centre) and some wooden tethering pegs.