Scale and weights

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This bronze scale and seven weights were found in a man's grave at Kiloran Bay on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. He was buried between 875 and 925 with a range of weapons, tools and a pin. He was probably a trader as well as a warrior.

The scales are a type sometimes known as an equal arm balance. They are shown here mounted on a perspex stand. The pans hung from the end of the beam by three chains or threads. They are without decoration, unlike other pans of similar construction.

Unlike the scales, the weights were richly decorated. All but one were made by cutting bits of metalwork, from objects made in the British Isles, and mounting them on a lead base. This was probably done by Scandinavian looters, who reused metalwork for weights, brooches and mounts.

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• Online ID: 000-180-001-316-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
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• Ref: National Museums Scotland  
• Date: Buried between 875 and 925
  
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• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, J. Viking artefacts. A select catalogue. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1980, no. 307. 
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, pp 118-22.14:32:53 
  • 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. 
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