Ballateare Viking Burial Shield
Date made: Viking
Description: Viking shields were made from several wooden boards fixed together and a hole cut in the middle. A hand-grip was fixed across the hole and an iron boss was riveted to the front of the shield. This gave strength to the Viking shield and protected the hand of the owner. In battle, the boards may have been chopped to pieces, leaving an iron-covered fist – a weapon in its own right.
Circular iron boss with simple flat rim and hemispherical centre. Three of the original five rivets to secure the rim to the wood remain, but there is no trace of a grip. It may have been made in the British Isles. There are two heavy, deep and parallel dents on the top, perhaps representing the ritual "killing" of the object.
There are also fifteen fragments of wood and leather from the board of the shield. The largest fragment of leather is 70mm x 45mm and has traces of decoration, with striped coloured bands of black, thin creamy white, a black band with red dots and a thin white band which is repeated.
Measurements: 6mm x 160mm diameter
Materials: iron, leather, wood
Date found: 1946
Object name: shield
Collection: Archaeology Collection
ID number: 1966-0373/08