Last modified on 21 February 2017, at 18:51

Pins

Pins


Completion Rating
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Completion Rating
This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.
Viking Age Compendium articles on Rings & Pins:
Viking Age Compendium articles on Rings & Pins:

Introduction

Pins were probably the most common form of cloak fastening in the Viking Age [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980]:p.30
Pins classed as dress pins could have been used for a number of purposes including fastening cloaks, securing hair styles or as stylus. [MACGREGOR, MAINMAN & ROGERS 1999]:p.1949.
[OWEN-CROCKER 2004]
Morris makes the point that wooden pins would not have had the strength of pins made from other materials but would have been quicker and easier to make. [MORRIS 2000]:p.2309
Hinton points out that there are 'practically' no small dress items made of precious metals after the C10th [HINTON 2005]:p.166.

Heads


The typology styles 1 to 6 are based on that by Nicola Rogers [Rogers 2009]:p.33. Styles 7 to 15 have been added by the author. The Irish-sea corpus is usually classified using O'Rahilly's typology [O'Rahilly 1973] summarised by Nicholson and Hill [Nicholson & Hill 1997:p.365]. Both types are included in italics under each heading.

1: Globular (spherical, ball)

Rogers - Type 1; O'Rahilly - Type a (Round)
Archaeology

Discussion
Originate in the early Anglo-Saxon period [OTTAWAY 1992]:p.693. A long lived type – impossible to separate roman from post roman on typology [MACGREGOR, MAINMAN & ROGERS 1999]:p.1950. The Flixborough examples date from AD 650-1000.


2: Polyhedral

Rogers - Type 2
Archaeology

Discussion
Originate in the middle Anglo-Saxon period [OTTAWAY 1992]:p.693


3: Biconical

Rogers - Type 3; O'Rahilly - Type g (Club)
Archaeology

Discussion
--


4: Spiral (Bifurcated)

Rogers - Type 4
Archaeology

Discussion
--


5: Headless

Rogers - Type 5; O'Rahilly - Type e (Undifferentiated)
Archaeology

Discussion
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6: Flat (disc, trapezoid or conical)

Rogers - Types 6 (Disc), 7 (Triangular) & 8 (inverted conical); O'Rahilly - Types b (Squared), c (Disc), d (Rounded)
Archaeology

Discussion
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7: Flat perforated head

Pins that have perforated heads much in the same manner as a needle but have heads that are deemed to be too large to pass through cloth.
Archaeology

Discussion
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8: Linked

Rogers - Type LIN1, LIN2
Archaeology

  • Scotland
    • Whithorn, 2 of Copper-alloy [Nicholson & Hill 1997]:p.369 nos.4 & 5

Discussion
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9: Miscellaneous

Archaeology

  • -
    • -

Discussion
--


10: Pig fibulae

Rogers - Type B2
...... including pins that have perforated heads much in the same manner as a needle but have heads that are deemed to be too large to pass through cloth.
Archaeology

Discussion
Many more could be included from York if bone needles with smaller heads were to be included.


11: Zoomorphic

Archaeology

Discussion
Dated to the 9th or 10th century but may have continued into the 12th in Sweden [MACGREGOR, MAINMAN & ROGERS 1999]:p.1949.
MacGregor notes that the pins found at Jarlshof must have been made in a local workshop [MACGREGOR 2005:p.119]


12: Shaped

Archaeology

-

Discussion

-


13: Large disk

Archaeology

-

Discussion

-


14: Wide

Archaeology

  • -

Discussion

-


15: Filigree ball

Archaeology

England, Kent: Gilton Ash
Scotland, Ballinaby
Denmark (old), Thunby-Bienebek [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1980]:cat.207
Denmark (old), Hedeby

Discussion

-


Shanks

Introduction

Many pins have been excavated with a bend in the shank. Halpin has put forth the theory that this may be a deliberate feature and may has assisted the pin in keeping two pieces of cloth together.

Round

--

Round with a Swelling

--

Round with a Square Section

--

Square

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References