GAMING PIECE

Possible Early-Medieval (9^thto 11^thcentury) possible gaming piece: The lead piece is sub-circular at the base and has a concave lower face, with a square-sectioned block above. Each corner has a curvaceous oval sectioned turret at each corner. The surface of the piece has a white-blue coloured surface with recent scuffs.

The object measures 14.93mm at the widest point by 15.58mm and is 11.65mm in height. It weighs 17.5g.

Similar lead objects with moulded decoration are on the PAS database for example SF-C01997, SF-50B784, SF-6F5256, SF-6F7361 and SF-735931). They are interpreted as possible Viking gaming pieces or small weights and indicate a probable date range in the AD 9th-11th centuriesfor the current example.

In the record for a similar object,SWYOR-DAF61B, the recorder writes; 'Objects like this are often described as gaming pieces but there are few excavated examples with which to compare them. They can also be interpreted as weights. Similar sized and shaped objects but made from chalk were recovered from Anglo-Scandinavian building contexts in York and have been identified as Hnefatafl pieces (Mainman and Rodgers, 2000). Hnefatafl was a game rather like chess. However, there are none made of lead. Possible gaming pieces that are made of lead are illustrated in 'Lead Weights' by Biggs and Withers (2000), but it is pointed out that similar objects have been found associated with Viking weights, especially examples with a square base and four peaks. The possibility that the object functioned as a weight cannot be ruled out. Compare SWYOR-69EB78 (with five pellets on the top) NCL-CFFFC7 (three pellets),WMID-669380 (solid, decorated base), andLIN-7D8F62 (solid).

The predominant Viking Age systems of measurement for bullion is described in record NLM-F17E5A (2015 T8) as based on units of 4.07gms (in Scandinavia) or 4.34gms (Viking Dublin, and by extension the contemporary 'kingdom' of York).'

If interpreted as a weight, this object could represent nearly 4.3 of the Scandinavian unit, or 4 of the Dublin unit which corresponds to the number of turrets on the object (See also Haldenby and Kershaw, 2014,Viking-Age Lead Weights from Cottam in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Vol. 86, page 106-23).