Tensioner for a guy-rope, made from whalebone

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This tensioner for a guy-rope, made from whalebone, was found on the Brough of Birsay in Orkney. It would have been used to keep the proper tension on a guy-rope, probably for a tent. The object dates from between 850 and 1000.

The tensioner is an elongated figure-of-eight shape. Similar objects in whalebone and wood have been found in Norway.

The remains of whales and other marine mammals were widely exploited in coastal areas of Scotland, especially in the Northern and Western Isles. Whalebone in particular was strong, dense and resilient, and available in very large sizes.

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• Online ID: 000-100-040-606-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.HB 279
• Date: Between 850 and 1000
  
• Material: Whalebone; in form of figure-of-eight
  Line stretcher / guy
  
• Dimensions: 118 mm L
  
• What: Line stretcher / guy
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Orkney, Brough of Birsay
  
• Event:
• Description: Whalebone line stretcher or guy, from Brough of Birsay, Orkney
  
• References:
  • Curle, C.L. Pictish and Norse finds from the Brough of Birsay 1934-74. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1982, pp 76-7. 
• Translations:
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