source: Photographed by the author. The Orkney Museum, Kirkwall.
The whalebone plaque discovered in a female Viking burial on the island of Sanday in Orkney (seen above) is a testament to the craftsmanship and resourcefulness of the Scandinavian people. Skillfully carved with characteristically Scandinavian dragon or horse-like animal heads facing each other, geometric circles and dots, and a block-patterned border, the plaque is fundamentally identical to many others found in Norway, such as the two from Grytøy, Trondenes and Kvaefjord, Troms (image below), Denmark, Sweden, and Viking-inhabited parts of Ireland and Scotland. The manufacture and style of the known whalebone plaques are entirely similar, indicating a universal prototype between Scandinavian groups, and yet their symbolism and utilitarian values are less straightforward.
artefactology 