VIKING SLAVE LOCK KEY

10th-11th century AD. Finely forged example, 2 3/4” length, the shank swelled in the middle with pierced tip loop end. Opposite with double bit which has been broken as part of the funerary process. Vikings were highly skilled metallurgists, and as a result, breaking metal had supernatural significance for them. Breaking ringjarn (iron rings) as shown on the Larbro Stone in Gotland Sweden, was thought to destroy the spirits of enemies. Similarly, Viking weapons and accouterments were broken for burial with their owners. This is the ritually  broken key for a slave lock. Professionally conserved excavated condition. Vikings were very active slavers with the typical Viking household having a slave dwelling outbuilding. It is estimated that by 1100, ten percent of Europe’s population was enslaved.