// JavaScript Document var enable_flash_files = true; // Page Title var page_titles = new Array( "Spindle whorl", "Conical finial", "Stone lamp", "Pedal-shaped finial", "Gilded brass fragment", "Needle hone", "Lump of slag", "Rope stump", "Butternut burl", "Boat floorboard", "Shaped board", "Barrel lid" ); // Page Title var page_description = new Array( "Spindle whorl of soapstone. The whorl was mounted on a wooden stick or spindle. It served as a flywheel to make the spindle twirl. The shape, a flattened hemisphere, and material, soapstone, are typical for the spindle whorls of the Viking Age. This particular whorl was made from a broken cooking pot so that its base is concave and blackened from burnt food. The whorl is light, 16.9 g. This means that only light yarn or thread could be spun with it.", "Conical finial of Red or Scotch pine. Originally part of a larger item, it has a flat back and a semi-circular cross-section. All surfaces have been carefully shaved with a knife so that they are almost smooth. Its shaft is broken.\r\nThe piece must have been pegged onto a larger item by through a small drilled hole.", "This is an ordinary beach boulder of either diorite or granite with a depression pecked out in its centre. It could have been an oil lamp or, more likely, the base for a door pivot. Door pivot bases resembling this piece are common in the West Norse area, and this boulder was found by the doorway between rooms I and II in hall F. If a lamp, the depression would have been filled with oil and the flame would have burnt from a wick of wool or moss. However, it shows no trace of burning.", "The function of this object of Balsam fir is unknown. It was originally at the end of a pole but broke off and been discarded. It was produced with a metal knife, and the knob at the end was whittled into shape. The rectangle in the middle of the object is a sample cut out for radiocarbon dating and then refilled by conservators. The date obtained is AD 660-970, with an intercept date of 780.", "Burnt fragment of a ring or suspension loop found in the longfire in hall D. The ring is decorated with striation. Metal analysis showed that it is of gold-plated brass.", "Small whetstone of quartzite used to sharpen needles, small scissors and knives. This type with a square cross-section and tapering ends is common in the Viking Age. Whetstones of this shape were usually part of a woman’s sewing kit.", "This is one of several thousand lumps of iron slag with a combined weight of about 15 kg found at L’Anse aux Meadows. The slag is the waste left over when iron ore is smelted. It is also produced when iron is forged into objects. The slag was left as it had no value to the Norse. In Scandinavia, Viking-Age iron production centres yield at least a ton of slag for each furnace because the furnaces were used over and over. The small amount at L’Anse aux Meadows is a sure indication that the furnace had been used only once.", "Several pieces of rope made from intertwined spruce roots were found at L’Anse aux Meadows in the bog outside hall D. ", "A mösurr burl, from a butternut tree. It has distinct cut marks, made with a metal-bladed knife but was never made into a finished object. Butternut trees require a warmer climate than that of Newfoundland.. They have never grown north of eastern New Brunswick.", "This plank was once was part of the floor in a small boat, mounted between two boat ribs and secured with two treenails. The plank had cracked and been discarded. The one remaining treenail would have been set flush with the surface of the board. It was held tight in the hole by a small wedge inserted into its head. Tool marks show that the plank was made with a metal adze and knife. The wood in the plank is spruce, that in the wedge Red pine or Scotch pine. Neither is local. Scotch pine, also called Norway pine, is a European species otherwise not known in North America until after 1500.", "This is a board of spruce shaped with a metal broadaxe. The top has a rectangular mortice hole. The hole was made by drilling from opposite sides and chiselling the remaining wood between them. The board has since broken at the hole. The other end is cut to a point but appears to have been longer before this happened. If you look at the top end, you can see that the plank was made from the very centre of the tree.\r\nThe cut out rectangle in the middle was done to obtain a sample for radiocarbon dating. The date obtained was AD 440-780, with a midpoint date of 660. This is the oldest of all the Norse radiocarbon dates at L’Anse aux Meadows. What it tells us is that the board was made from a very old spruce where the tree rings in the core stopped absorbing radiocarbon centuries before the tree was cut down. It is an example how careful one must be in assessing radiocarbon results. The board was found next to a stake, made from a young branch of Balsam fir, for which the date was AD 810-1040, with a midpoint date of 980. Although the dates are widely different, it is clear from the context that both pieces had been in use at the same time.", "What may be a barrel lid was found in the long bog trench west of hut E. The lid, which is of Balsam fir, is 46 cm wide and six-sided. It had split in two. The two parts of the lid are shown separately in this photo. Even after being conserved with polyethylglycol, wooden artifacts can shrink and crack further. The small rectangular cut at the edge of one half is the spot where wood was removed for radiocarbon dating and wood identification. The tree from which it was made, grew some time between AD 560 and 880." ); // Thumbnail tooltips var tb_tooltips = new Array( "Spindle whorl", "Conical finial", "Stone lamp", "Pedal-shaped finial", "Gilded brass fragment", "Needle hone", "Lump of slag", "Rope stump", "Butternut burl", "Boat floorboard", "Shaped board", "Barrel lid" ); // Flash movie URLs var tb_flash_urls = null; if (enable_flash_files == true) { tb_flash_urls = new Array( "flash_objects/Spindle_Whorl.swf", "flash_objects/Finial.swf", "flash_objects/Stone_Lamp.swf", "flash_objects/Pedal_Finial.swf", "flash_objects/Gilt_Bronze.swf", "flash_objects/Needle_Hone.swf", "flash_objects/iron_slag_2.swf", "flash_objects/spruce_root.swf", "flash_objects/Butternut_Burl.swf", "flash_objects/Boat_floorboard.swf", "flash_objects/shaped_board.swf", "flash_objects/Barrel_lid.swf" ); } else { tb_flash_urls = new Array( "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "" ); } // Thumbnail image (normal, over, down and click) URLs var tb_thumbimage_urls = new Array ( "graphics/thumbnails/Spindle_Whorl_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Spindle_Whorl_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Spindle_Whorl_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Spindle_Whorl_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Finial_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Finial_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Finial_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Finial_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Stone_Lamp_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Stone_Lamp_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Stone_Lamp_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Stone_Lamp_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Pedal_Finial_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Pedal_Finial_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Pedal_Finial_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Pedal_Finial_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Gilt_Bronze_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Gilt_Bronze_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Gilt_Bronze_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Gilt_Bronze_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Needle_Hone_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Needle_Hone_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Needle_Hone_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Needle_Hone_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/iron_slag_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/iron_slag_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/iron_slag_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/iron_slag_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/spruce_root_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/spruce_root_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/spruce_root_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/spruce_root_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Butternut_Burl_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Butternut_Burl_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Butternut_Burl_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Butternut_Burl_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Boat_floorboard_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Boat_floorboard_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Boat_floorboard_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Boat_floorboard_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/shaped_board_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/shaped_board_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/shaped_board_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/shaped_board_click.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Barrel_lid_normal.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Barrel_lid_over.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Barrel_lid_down.gif", "graphics/thumbnails/Barrel_lid_click.gif" ); // Thumbnail image (normal, over, down and click) URLs var bt_image_urls = new Array ( "graphics/buttons/tumble_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/tumble_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/tumble_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/tumble_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/move_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/move_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/move_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/move_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/zoom_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/zoom_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/zoom_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/zoom_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/twist_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/twist_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/twist_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/twist_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/light_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/light_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/light_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/light_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/color_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/color_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/color_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/color_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/image_rendering_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/image_rendering_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/image_rendering_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/image_rendering_down.gif", "graphics/buttons/default_out.gif", "graphics/buttons/default_over.gif", "graphics/buttons/default_click.gif", "graphics/buttons/default_down.gif" );