Viking Needle Case from Björkö

Viking needle case replica after a find from Birka.

The remarkable replica of a Viking needle case you can buy here is based on a model found in a 10th century woman's burial in the Swedish Viking town of Birka.

Link to the original Viking needle case...

Needle cases made of bronze are known from several sites from the Viking Age and were found, among others, in Birka and on Gotland. Often these needle cases consisted only of a simple rolled sheet of metal, but there were also elaborate needle boxes cast from bronze in the Viking Age with large decorative plates and chain hangings on the lower rim.

The Viking needle box measures 5 x 1.8 x 0.8 cm.
Made of high-quality bronze and also available in real silver plated.

The needle case is open on both sides. A piece of wool inside the needle box provided the necessary hold for the needles at the time and ensured that they did not slip out and were still easy to grip.

To ensure that the precious needles made of bone or metal did not get lost and were always at hand, the Viking women had a small needle ox or needle case. Needle boxes are therefore often found among the burial objects of Viking graves as part of the costume.

These needle case could be made of bone or antler, but often they were also made of bronze. In the Viking Age, the needle boxes were usually worn on a ribbon or chain hanging from one of the two bowl fibulae.