Norse Accessories Boxes 2 pgs - Olvik Thing

Grave 639 in Birka yielded these metal stripsfrom an 18-inch-long box (Arbman, Taf. 259).A reconstructed lockable chest from Lejre, Denmark.No date is given in the text (Haywood, p. 121).Wooden BoxesViking boxes of all shapes were meant to hold valuablepossessions, and often have lockplates or locks on them.Most were decorated in some way, like the buckets are.A survey of coffins at Birka revealed plain rectangularboxes, rectangular boxes with curved lids, rectangularboxes with curved ends, boxes that resembled hollowedoutlogs, and boxes with trapezoid-shaped sides thatsloped outward towards the top (Graslund, pp. 16-24). Bamberg casket (Graham-Campbell, p. 144).Grave 845 at Birka contained this chest, which sat at the feet of the woman buried there. The chest featuressloped sides and a rounded lid, as well as a forged iron handle and straps. The reconstructed sketch is about1/3 of its original size (the grave was close to one meter wide and the chest fragments measure about halfthat where they lay). The darker areas show what was actually recovered in the grave. (Arbman, Taf. 263)Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) sunnifa@jomsb.org February 2003

The Oseberg chest is decorated with many iron bands that were held in place by nails with large tinnedheads. It is very similar in shape to the Mastermyr Tool Chest and the box from Grave 845 at Birka. Likethe Birka chest, it has metal straps with animal head terminals. (Almgren, p. 187, Eyewitness, p. 55)A sketch of the Mastermyr Tool Chest found on the island of Gotland, Sweden (Arwidsson and Berg, pl.15). The Mastermyr Chest was found along with many tools by a farmer ploughing a field in 1936. Thebox is made of oak and is 90cm long and 24cm high. The four sides of the box are trapezoids which giveit the distinct shape. The top is gently curved. The chest is held together by wooden pegs. The bottommortice of the chest joins the sides about 4cm up from the lower edge. (Arwidsson and Berg, p. 7)Sunnifa Gunnarsdottir (Charlotte Mayhew) sunnifa@jomsb.org February 2003