Viking-age animal carving — likely a children’s toy — found in Iceland. Take a look
Digging into the damp ground of eastern Iceland, archaeologists thought they knew what to expect. After all, they’d been working at this Viking-age settlement for five years.
But a small animal carving surprised them all.
Archaeologists returned to Seyðisfjörður to excavate the ruins of a 1,100-year-old long house, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research said in an Aug. 23 news release. The house was part of a Viking-age settlement buried by a landslide in 1150.
While searching the floor of the house, archaeologists uncovered an animal figurine likely used as a children’s toy.
A photo shows the roughly 2-inch-long animal carved from a type of volcanic rock. The four-legged figure seems relatively well-preserved, but archaeologists don’t know if the animal represents a pig, bear or dog.
Ragnheiður Traustadóttir, the excavation manager, said that children’s toys are rare finds for archaeologists.
The excavations also uncovered almost a hundred pieces used to play a Viking-age strategy game. A photo shared by the Fjörður Seyðisfjörður archaeological site on Facebook shows these stone pieces.
In total, archaeologists found over 600 artifacts including beads, animal bones, spinning wheels, pots and a silver coin. Photos show a few of these Viking-age items.
Knut Paasche, a digital archaeologist involved in the project, described the Seyðisfjörður site as the most exciting excavation he’s ever participated in.
Seyðisfjörður is a town on the eastern coast of Iceland and a roughly 400-mile drive northeast from Reykjavík.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and Facebook posts from Fjörður Seyðisfjörður archaeological site.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Viking-age animal carving — likely a children’s toy — found in Iceland. Take a look."
