V. Notes on the Contents of Two Viking Graves in Islay
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
V. E CONTENT NOTEO TH VIKIN N TW O SF GO S GRAVE N ISLAYI S , DISCOVERED BY WILLIAM CAMPBELL, ESQ., OF BALLINABY; WITH NOTICES OF THE BURIAL CUSTOMS OF THE NORSE SEA- KINGS S RECORDEA ,E SAGA TH D ILLUSTRATE AN N SI D Y B D THEIR GRAVE-MOUNDS IN NORWAY AND IN SCOTLAND. Bv JOSEPH ANDERSON, ASSISTANT SEOKETAIIY, AND KEEPER OF THE MUSEUM. The contents of the two graves now to be described were discovered by William Campbell, Esq. Ballinabyf o , sande th n y,i link t Ballinabysa n ,i islane th Islayf do Augusn ,i t 1878 I heardiscovere . th f do Septembeyn i r through Dr Hunter; and recognising it from his description as a deposit of the heathen Viking time, I wrote to Mr Campbell requesting him to entrusr description— fo e articles th e t m o t ' a request with whice h courteously complie y bringinb d g the o Edinburgmt d ultimatelan h y presenting them to the Museum. Mr Campbell states that the discovery was made in consequence of the drifting of the sand showing a deposit of rust on the surface; and on digging to the depth of about 15 inches he found two skeletons a little apart with their heads towards the east. A line of stones on edge formed a sort of enclosure round each of the skeletons othee Th r. content f thso e graves wer follows ea s :— QRAVE No. I. 1. An iron sword in its sheath. 2. Iron bosshielda f so , wit handls hit e attached. ,3. Small scabbard end, or mounting of the point of a quiver. 4. Iron spear-head find tlio fcrnfle of its shaft. 2 5 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , DECEMBE , 1870R8 . 5. Two axe-heads of iron. Pai6 f iroo r n pincer r forge-tongsso . 7. Iron head of a small adze. 8. Iron head of a smith's hammer. bow-handle Th . 9 larga f portiond eo e an iro t nf po sheet-iro so n which may have been parts of the pot, 10. Portions of bands formed of iron wires laid side by side which may have been parts of a helmet of the Viking form. GRAVII . ENo 1. Pair of tortoise or bowl-shaped brooches, ornamented with bands of plaited silver wire, and studs (most probably of coloured glass) now gone. • 2. The brass spring-pins of the two brooches. Portion3 thref so e double disc thif so n bronz r coppero e , plated with silver, connected in pairs by a band about an inch wide, and ornamented with circle f bosseso borderd san f repousseso work. 4. Silver hair-pin with globular head ornamented with filigree work, and furnished with a ring of wire fastened by a peculiar twisting of one end roun othere dth . 5. Silver chain of fine wire, knitted as a hollow tube, in a manner some- what similar to what is called Trichinopoly work. 6. Ladle of thin beaten bronze, 17|- inches in length. 7. Hemibpherical lump of black glass, in shape resembling the end of a bottle havind an , convee gth x side rubbe striated dan usey db . 8. Small bead colouref so d glass. 9. Large beads of coloured glass, enamelled on the surface with patterns in different colours. evidens i t I t fro nature mth grouptho f eo e tw f objecto s s thus associ- ated witli the two skeletons, that No. I. was the grave of a man, and No . thawomana II . f o t . t becomeI s also apparen furthen o t r examination thae timd th t an e character of these burials arc capable of being defined with a precision VIKING GRAVES IN ISLAY AND VIKING BURIAL CUSTOMS. 53 and certainty very rarely attainable with undated burials in Scotland. For instance, on a general comparison of these two groups of objects with other group f objecto s s obtained from early grave thin si s countrys i t i , seen that no similar groups were ever obtained from graves of Celtic similaa origin t Bu r . comparison shows that such group f objecto s e ar s the constant accompaniments of burials of the heathen Viking time in Norway, thad 1an t ther nothins ei eithen gi thesf rgroupso o etw , although foun n Scotlandi d , which migh t havno t e been foun Norwayn di . Still further examinatio recorde th f no f sepulchra so l deposits shows that when these group relicf so occuo sd Scotlann i r d they always have been found in districts that were occupied or frequented by the Vikings.2 A closer examination still will revea e facth l t e objectsthae th formth tf o s , such as the sword, the shield-boss, the scabbard-point, &c., belong exclusivel e lasth t o t perioy f paganiso d n mNorwai e heatheth r yo n Viking time—a period which ranges from about the beginning of the eighth to the close of the tenth century. e convenienb y e detaileth ma r t fo I td descriptio e objectth f o o nt s consider them under the three divisions of implements, weapons, and orna- ments. implemente Th s for e mosmth t remarkable e threegrouth f .o p Those found in the man's grave are the two axe-heads (figs. 1 and 2), which are both weapons and tools; a pair of forge-tongs of iron (fig. 3) 12 inche n lengthi s e iroth ;n n adzheaa f einche5 o d (fig ) 4 . s longn a ; iron hammer head (fig ) 45 J. inches lond 1Jan g inc h wide e bowth ; - handle of a large iron pot (fig. 6), 12 inches in length, broken, but showinbrokee th end e d e looon n an gth ;t t itself fragment pa po e . th f o s We are familiar in this country with implements of stone or bronze in early graves, and their occurrence in connection with heathen burial does t whe t surpris gravBu a fine no nn w d i . e eus suc hgroua implementf po s 1 See Nicolaysen's "Norske Fornlevninger," passim, and also the "Foreningen for Norske Mindesmaerker's Bevaring," Aarboger, 1866-77. 2 See "Notes on the Relics of the Viking Period of the Northmen in Scotland," illustrate specimeny db Museum.—e th n si Proceedings . 536-94, pp vol . x . 54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 8, 1879. as this—a group of actual tools of iron—scarcely differing in shape and not differing in material from those now in use in our workshops, we instantly Figs. 1 and 2. Axe-heads of Iron realis presence eth a phenomeno f eo t oncna e unusual suggestived an l — enabling us vividly to realise how closely the characteristic customs of primeval man may be linked with the arts and culture of modern times. Fig . Forge-Tong3 . s Althoug t hseemi strangsa shoulen thinthas ma u supposee da tb o g t d havo t esmiths neehi f do y othee toolth n rsi world, this feelin quits gwa e 1 It is unusual in this country, because the graves of our forefathers at that period vere the graves of Christians who buried their dead in consecrated ground, with the e Churchriteth f sconsequentlo d an , y without these accompaniment pagaf so n burial. VIKING GRAVE ISLA N SVIKINI D YAN G BURIAL CUSTOMS0 0 . in accordance with the faith that foretold the need of weapons.1 As the sand-hille laith s Vikinn di wa f o Islao s gwh y too s sworkhi witdm hi h shieldd necessarile anan h do e s , spearax s yhi , require smiths dhi y tools to keep them in repair. This is not a singular case. Mcolaysen gives 23 4 5 Figs. 4 and 5. Adze and Hammer (J). instances of smithy hammers, and 17 of forge-tongs from the grave-mounds Vikine oth f g time, Norwayn describei m hi y . db Severa f theso l e con- tained a more or less complete set of smith's tools, including anvils, chisels, files, and wire-drawing implements, as well as hammers and tongs. A Th1 e Asa faith promised a place in Odin's great hall (Valhalla) to all men wounde armdby slaisor battlenin . Spears supporte ceiling roofedits was dit , with shields coatd an f ,mai so l adorne e perpetuath s benchess it d wa t lI pastim. s it f o e inmate o fight sd sla an yt each other ever yrevivee dayb o t , d again before evening, and to ride home in joyful company to Valhalla, there to be refreshed with the boar's e meath feastd Valkyriare servean ,e th Vikin e th y th t onlb d s f No o gywa . heathen time supposed to take with him to Valhalla all that was buried with him, but whatever he had hid in the earth during his lifetime. It is probably to this belief rather than to the mere notion of temporary concealment for safety that we owe such hoards as those of Skaill. For a full description of the Asa faith see Kcyser's " Eeligion of the Northmen," 1854, p. 93 etscq. PROCEEDING 6 5 SOCIETYE TH F SO , DECEMBE , 1879R8 . grave-mound at Thiele in Jutlandl contained, two anvils of different forms, four different kind f hammers,so , four varietie f pincero s r forge-tongso s , two chisels, and two implements for drawing wire, four files, two melting pans paia , f scaleo r weightsd san , and -quantita f otheyo r implements.