A complete lead-alloy weight with copper-alloy inserts of Early-Medieval date, c.AD 800 - 1100. The weight is rectangular in both plan and section. One side is inset with a sub-circular disc of copper-alloy. The opposite side retains two inset ovate strips of copper-alloy, one placed diagonally slightly off centre, the other across the top edge of the first creating a disjointed T shape.
The remaining four sides of the weight are flat and undecorated though some pitting is present.
The weight is 18.1mm long, 15.2mm wide, 12.7mm thick and weighs 27.9g.
Viking weights are known from the Danelaw with coins (SWYOR-D00CF2) and other copper-alloy items (YORYM-9624E2) inset within them. These are usually circular or 'bun' shaped although square weights are known. The inset disc may be a coin though no detail remains which can sufficiently support this. Examples have also been recorded from the Viking winter camp at Torksey, Lincolnshire.
Such weights are an insular Viking phenomenon believed to have been used for weighing precious metals while trading in the Viking period. Standardised weight sets featuring polyhedral and truncated sphere weights were commonly used in Scandinavia and were brought over to England. The need for such objects increased leading to the production of these personalised weight sets which used fragmentary insular artefacts as decorative and identifiable insets.
Ref: Blackburn, M. (2011) The Viking Winter Camp at Torksey, 827-3. In: Blackburn, M ed. Viking Coinage and Currency in the British Isles. London: Spink, pp.221-264.
A complete lead-alloy weight with copper-alloy inserts of Early-Medieval date, c.AD 800 - 1100. The weight is rectangular in both plan and section. One side is inset with a sub-circular disc of copper-alloy. The opposite side retains two inset ovate strips of copper-alloy, one placed diagonally slightly off centre, the other across the top edge of the first creating a disjointed T shape.
The remaining four sides of the weight are flat and undecorated though some pitting is present.
The weight is 18.1mm long, 15.2mm wide, 12.7mm thick and weighs 27.9g.
Viking weights are known from the Danelaw with coins (SWYOR-D00CF2) and other copper-alloy items (YORYM-9624E2) inset within them. These are usually circular or 'bun' shaped although square weights are known. The inset disc may be a coin though no detail remains which can sufficiently support this. Examples have also been recorded from the Viking winter camp at Torksey, Lincolnshire.
Such weights are an insular Viking phenomenon believed to have been used for weighing precious metals while trading in the Viking period. Standardised weight sets featuring polyhedral and truncated sphere weights were commonly used in Scandinavia and were brought over to England. The need for such objects increased leading to the production of these personalised weight sets which used fragmentary insular artefacts as decorative and identifiable insets.
Ref: Blackburn, M. (2011) The Viking Winter Camp at Torksey, 827-3. In: Blackburn, M ed. Viking Coinage and Currency in the British Isles. London: Spink, pp.221-264.
A RDF representation of YORYM-086AAB
2018-10-24T15:50:18+01:00
2018-11-09T11:53:40+00:00
YORYM-086AAB
YORYM-086AAB
GB
en-GB
The Trustees of the British Museum
The Trustees of the British Museum
1
http://purl.org/NET/Claros/vocab#Thumbnail
Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum
A thumbnail image of YORYM-086AAB
Lead Alloy
Primary material of object
Copper alloy
Secondary material of object
Complete
15.2
Width
18.1
Length
12.7
Thickness
27.9
Weight
By Attribution 3.0
The period from for the object
Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum
A full resolution image of YORYM-086AAB
0800
1100