Axehead

Add to album

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

To search on related items, click any underlined text below.

• Online ID: 000-000-099-720-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 167
• Date: Between 900 and 950
  
• Material: Iron
  Axe
  
• 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. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: