Bone Skates

Descriptions of bone skate finds.

Ice skates made from bone are common archaeological finds in Viking-age Scandinavia. This webpage describes one person's attempt to re-create and use similar ice skates.

A history of ice skating, with images of a few historical examples.

Replicas of three different pairs of bone skates were reproduced after medieval finds and intensively tested under different conditions applying techniques described and illustrated in historical sources and ethnographic descriptions. While the main focus of this paper are the experiences from replicating and using skates, some new evidence about chronology and geographical distribution is added as well as a comparison of the surface alterations observed on archaeological bone skate finds and the replicas.

In spite of a large body of literature on the Norse world during the Viking era the topic of Norse pastimes is poorly represented. This paper is an attempt to provide a survey of what is currently known about the topic. A listing of available articles, archaeological artifacts, references from some of the sagas, books, and web pages will all be given space here.