Shield boss

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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.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-000-099-680-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: Kiloran Bay Viking Burial (multimedia essay)
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.IL 762
• Date: 9th century
  Between 875 and 925
  
• Material: Iron; in three pieces
  Shield boss / fragment
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Shield boss / fragment
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Colonsay, Kiloran Bay
  
• Event:
• Description: Iron shield boss, of conical form, in three pieces from a Viking grave found at Kiloran Bay, Colonsay, Argyll, 9th century
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, pp 118-22. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, pp 48-61, esp. p 50. 
  • Ritchie, Anna. Viking Scotland London: B.T. Batsford Ltd/Historic Scotland, 1993, pp 79-84.
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