Audhumbla and Heidrun beyond gods and mead : Species selection for production of leather in Late Iron Age Scandinavia

Sammanfattning: Leather has been one of the most common crafting materials in human history. With its incredible versatility it has been used for clothes, shelter, books, armour, containers, decoration, and everything in between. The boat graves from Valsgärde presents a for the time period large amount of preserved leather, allowing us to have a peek into how it was used during the late Scandinavian Iron Age. This essay focuses on which animals have been used in the making of these objects and what the choice of raw material and visible crafting skills might tell us. A total of 54 samples from the Valsgärde boat graves were analysed using the ZooMS method. Additionally, tanning methods and other related processes are discussed. The main conclusions are that while the choice of material has an important impact on the final result, it seems like the skills of the craftsperson was the most important factor affecting quality and exclusivity for an item.