I've never seen a Viking sheld boss shaped like this:
This iron shield boss was found in a man's grave at Kiloran Bay on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. He was buried in a boat between 875 and 925 with a range of Scandinavian weapons, tools and a pin, together with his horse.
The shield boss is conical in shape, an unusual form for a Viking Age boss, and it was probably was made in Ireland. It was wrapped in cloth when placed in the grave, and the impressions of the textile can be seen, preserved in the corroding iron.
Viking shields were of wood, perhaps painted or covered with leather. The wood rarely survives, but iron bosses and grips for holding the shield are often found in graves. Pictures on Scandinavian coins and runestones show large and small round shields.
Bastior wrote:You see the beserkers didn't bite their shields to work themselves up into a savage fury but for the sugar rush ...
B
with appologies to Mr Pratchet
He won't remember it.
Damon wrote:In their own little world they are like this huge evil overlord however in the grand scheme of things they are just this sad little hamster going squeek squeek squeek in their own little ball.
Showing my ignorance...where again are the Hebrides? much less the inner ones.....is it near zealand(sounded funnier in my head)
Are not a lot of"Celtic" bosses at least semi-conical?
/adam lawrence /athestan of wortham /sca drachenwald /thebusinesscomedian.com
"REGINA NOS VIDET"
"What we do is not a sporting event, but a celebration of prowess, art, and culture": after Jehan de Pelham
Actually what is more interesting to me than the boss shape is the fact that it provides a fairly good impression of the weave on the cloth that wrapped it. I would love to see some super close up pics of that texture.
