Skate Bones

An uncommon and somewhat fascinating archaeological find from grave 494 at St. Ihre in Hellvi on Gotland is a pair of ice skates made out of bone. The bones have small holes through them to allow them to be laced to the feet, in some cases both by the toes and heels, indicating that they were intended to be fastened securely during use. This early type of ice skate were often fabricated out of bone or wood and they first became common in the Middle Ages to facilitate travel on ice, however, since the user often pushed himself forward with the help of an ice spike, instead of lifting his feet, they did not always need to be tied securely. These bone ice skates are about 26 centimeters long and have been examined by Mårten Stenberger, proffesor in archaeology at Uppsala University 1952–1965, leading the excavation of the site.

Historically, ice skates have been used in several cultures during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Research and practical experiments have shown that even people without much experience can ski quickly on ice using bone ice skates, especially when the surface is clear ice. The abundance of archaeological finds of bone ice skates, which often came in different sizes, suggests that they were popular and were used by both adults and children. The idea of ​​using bone pieces to travel on ice is widespread throughout the northern hemisphere, where the climate is cold enough to create ice that is stable enough for this purpose. However, in southern parts of Europe and other milder climates, it’s rarely cold enough for ice travel to be a practical alternative.

Gotlands museum (2023). Islägg. Digitalt museum. Available at: https://digitaltmuseum.se/0210213407744/islagg (Accessed: 9 December 2025).

Myrin, O. Vikingatida skridskor. Historiska museet. Available at: https://historiska.se/utforska-historien/kunskapsbank/vikingatida-skridskor/  (Accessed: 9 December 2025). 

Joanna Püss