Record

Axehead

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from Kildonan, Eigg, Inner Hebrides

Postcard of Axehead.
000-000-099-720-C
© National Museums Scotland

Axehead

This iron axehead was found in a Viking grave mound at Kildonan on Eigg in the Inner Hebrides. The man was buried with weapons and ornaments from Scandinavia and the British Isles between 900 and 950.

The axehead is broken around the eye where the haft was inserted.

Viking Age axes appear in a number of forms. Some were used as tools, others as weapons. Often it is difficult to distinguish which function was intended, especially since a range of tools was often included in Viking warriors' graves.


Record details

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Online ID: 000-000-099-720-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0036: Kiloran Bay Viking Burial (multimedia essay)
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.IL 167
Date: Between 900 and 950
Material: Iron
Dimensions:
What: Axe
Subject:
Who:
Where: Scotland, Inverness-shire, Eigg
Event:
Description: Iron axe head of Viking type, from Eigg
References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 84. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, p 68. 
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