The Mästermyr chest is a

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period The ...

(793–1066) tool chest found in the Mästermyr

mire A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types o ...

west of

Hemse Hemse is a locality situated on the Swedish island of Gotland with 1,700 inhabitants in 2014. It is the second largest locality (after Visby) on the island. Hemse is the main center of population in the southern part of the island, and it is know ...

on the island of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to th ...

, Sweden. It is the largest tool find from that era in Europe.

History

During the Viking Age the area where Mästermyr mire is located, used to be a lake. The mire was drained in 1902–10. In October 1936, the chest was found by farmer Hugo Kraft in a field owned by Emil Norrby in Snoder, Sproge near Hemse. It was found in an area that was plowed for the first time. The chest is now on display in the

Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates ...

in Stockholm.

Find

Most of the find had been placed in the chest, but there were also objects around it such as three bronze

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

s, three bells and a fire-grid of iron. A chain, made up of 26 figure-of-eight shaped links, was wrapped around it. It served both as an extra lock and handle since the chest was too heavy for the original handle. The chest and the other items had probably been placed in a boat which capsized and sank in the lake. Another theory is that the chest was temporarily hidden at the water's edge. The chest contained Viking-era

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing and

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

tools. It also contained several products of such work, including elements of several locks. The chest and its contents provide a valuable insight into technology during the Viking Age. The chest, long, wide and high, was made of oak with iron hinges and lock. It was intact despite the rough encounter with the plow. It was rectangular with a slightly curved lid and flat bottom. The bottom was joined to the ends via a mortise and through tenon. Pegs were used to attach the sides to the bottom and end pieces. The ends and sides were trapezoidal and slightly angled. A lock wrought from iron was attached to the front side of the chest. Given the wide range of tools and objects in varying styles in the find, and the lack of coins or other chronological markers, it has been impossible to determine an exact date for the chest. The wider term "Viking Age" around 1000, is used for dating it.

Contents of the chest

The chest contained over 200 tools and blacksmith works or works in progress, making it the largest Viking tool find in Europe. The tools resemble early

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

tools, now on display in museums in Germany, among those the

Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, lo ...

. Technological influences spread throughout Europe with the expansion of the Roman empire. The ensuing trade carried ideas and craftsmanship further to regions far from Rome. The contents of the chest indicate that it belonged to a travelling craftsman who made repairs and produced new items. The tools show that he was a smith and a carpenter, and had some knowledge of locks, coppersmithing and

coopering A cooper is a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made ...

. Among the items were three

padlock Padlocks are portable locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '' padlock'' is from the late fifteenth centur ...

s of a design inspired by Roman locks and of the same kind that were found at excavations in

Birka Birka (''Birca'' in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö, Ekerö, Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of the Europ ...

Some of the tools and objects in the chest:

Present-day replicas

The chest and its contents is being replicated by enthusiasts all over the world, some using the same techniques as the originals.

References

External links

Toolbox from Mästermyr
The Swedish History Museum. Pictures of the box and contents.
Mästermyr chest
Video about the chest and making a replica of it. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mastermyr chest Archaeological artifacts Archaeology of Sweden Viking Age in Sweden Chests (furniture) Blacksmiths Metalworking tools Woodworking tools Gotland 1936 in Sweden 1936 in science Furniture