Gaming Counter

12th century gaming piece (like a draughts piece) made of antler found in excavations for the board games much played by Vikings in Ireland. A central hole suggests that the piece was strung or stacked on a spike when not in use. It is decorated with three concentric circles with four dot-in-circle motifs and is polished.

Eleven antler gaming pieces and a dice were found in Waterford. Objects like this help us to build up the picture of social life in a late Viking Age town in Ireland.