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• 1 2017-05-22T13:46:29-07:00 Bronze Needlecase with Chain 11 object page plain 2017-09-17T15:06:24-07:00 Needlecases were worn by viking women as a convenient way to keep needles handy for use as they went about their daily lives.^[1] This particular needlecase is made of bronze and includes a chain. The chain would have likely been attached to clothing or a belt to prevent the accidental loss of the needle and case. Note the size of the case itself. Assuming most of the case itself has survived, the needle contained within would not have been large. The needles paired with this casing would have likely been smaller needles more suited to mending clothing or household textiles, rather than something heavy and complex like a sail.
  
  The chain on this item implies it would have been carried on a woman’s clothes or otherwise on her person. This fact in turn implies that sewing could be done on-the-go or could be done outside of a domestic setting, whenever and wherever the woman needed to act. Because of this highly used and highly mobile nature, it seems logical that this is an item that would have been deposited accidentally rather than intentionally discarded. Likewise, it is too plain to have been buried on its own.
  
  The exact locality of this artifact’s discovery is unknown; however, we can place it within Gotland and within the viking age. However, as stated above, this was likely an accidental loss. This find is significant because it shows that the role of women extended what would otherwise be considered “domestic” tasks into the world beyond the home.