Viking bar chain distributor from Gotland.

The historical model for this Viking-period bar chain distributor was found on the Swedish island of Gotland and was made of gilded and silver-plated bronze. Such bar chain distributors are often found in Viking Age finds. Bead distributors of this type are known especially from eastern Sweden, including Birka and Gotland, where various finds of bead distributors are known.

Bead chain distributors were used to fasten several beaded chains on top of each other between the shell brooches in Viking women's costumes. On the back of the bead chain distributor there are holes for attaching a total of six chains, but it is also possible to attach fewer chains.

From about 700 to 1000 AD, oval fibulae with chain distributors were an elementary part of women's costume in Sweden and the Baltic States in Northern Europe and are thus often found in the women's graves there of the Viking Age. Often several chains were worn between the oval brooches, which were attached to wide distribution plates or narrow bar chain distributors. This custom was particularly common in eastern Sweden as well as in Finland and the Baltic States.

Dimensions
Length: 7.5 cm
Width: 0.7 cm