Every Viking owned a stone like this - and they traded massive quantities of them too

Sciencenorway.no ^ | September 23, 2022 | Anders Moen Kaste, Ida Irene Bergstrøm, Translated by Nancy Bazilchuk

[SunkenCiv]

Whetstones are one of the most common finds from the Viking Age. What looks like a simple stone however, tells the tale of extensive trading systems - and perhaps even the reason for why the Vikings started raiding overseas.

At the end of the 19th century, people emptied the water out of an old quarry in Trøndelag in mid-Norway. Some thought that it might contain a large silver deposit.

But the only thing they found were lots of stones. A totally commonplace object...

The ordinary stones were whetstones, also known as sharpening stones. They were used to, as the latter name suggests, sharpen things made of iron...

Farmers needed them for their tools, and they were used in the household. They were also used in craft activities in the cities.

Whetstones were also an important part of the equipment needed by a warrior: Viking warriors needed to sharpen their swords, axes, arrows and knives.

Unlike many of the items we have from the Viking Age – whetstones were used by everybody, warriors, craftsmen and housewives, rich and poor alike.

As early as the Viking Age, they were mass-produced and distributed over great distances. Whetstones from Norway have been found in a number of countries...

Vikings did raid their own, the archaeologist says, but measures put in place to protect trade and the benefits of trade meant that raiding villages along that route was less attractive. So those who wished to continue with this activity had to find new hunting grounds, outside of Scandinavia. And thus began the raids overseas in Ireland, Scotland and England.

[SunkenCiv]

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