Whetstones from Brough of Birsay, Orkney

A whetstone is a stone used to sharpen metal tools or weapons. These whetstones, made of siltstone, schist and slate, are some of a number found at the Brough of Birsay in Orkney. They were used between 800 and 1000.

The whetstones come in a variety of shapes, one with an unusual curved end. Two of them are pierced, to allow them to be hung from a cord, perhaps from a belt. All but one are broken.

Whetstones were indispensable to Viking men and women, as they were used to sharpen tools and weapons. Some stones were particularly favoured, and traded widely in the Viking world. They occur in men's and women's graves as well as settlements.

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