Bronze Belt Buckle
The belts that men wore served more purpose than just holding up clothing. Since norse clothing during the viking age didn’t include pockets, belts were also a means of storage. Not only could a man hang his sword or axe from his belt, he could also hold many small useful items, such as a small purse and knife.[6] In the purse, someone could carry anything from a comb, to coins and gaming pieces.[7] In this example from Njal’s Saga, we can see one such example of a purse hung from a belt: : “Flosi then took a purse of money from his belt and said he wanted give it to him.”[8]
Belt buckles are something we can often overlook as unimportant. Looking back upon history though, most clothing is organic and will fade over time. Metal findings, such as belt buckles, give us a good insight into what clothes during the viking age were actually like, as the metal they are made from tends to last longer than any leather or cloth.