viking glass from lindisfarne
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2020 2:19 pm
https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... rchaeology
It is not large – the shape and size of a chocolate sweet – and might easily have been discarded as a pebble by a less careful hand.
But a tiny piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne has been revealed to be a rare archaeological treasure linking the Northumbrian island with the Vikings, from the very beginning of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.
Archaeologists believe the object, made from swirling blue and white glass with a small “crown” of white glass droplets, is a gaming piece from the Viking board game Hnefatafl, or a local version of the game.
It is not large – the shape and size of a chocolate sweet – and might easily have been discarded as a pebble by a less careful hand.
But a tiny piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne has been revealed to be a rare archaeological treasure linking the Northumbrian island with the Vikings, from the very beginning of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.
Archaeologists believe the object, made from swirling blue and white glass with a small “crown” of white glass droplets, is a gaming piece from the Viking board game Hnefatafl, or a local version of the game.