5. Skates, bone

From Stora Hellvigs, Fole parish, Gotland, 1300-1361 A. D. The skates from this era were made from the metatarsal bone from a horse or cow. The underside was plane and polished to make them fast. Smearing the underside with lard decreased the friction even more and you could skate even faster. The top side could be left as it was or planed off, the important thing was that you have a wide surface to stand on. Sometimes the skates had holes right through the bone for foot straps over the toes and heels, so that they could be fastened. However, as the skater did not lift their feet, but used an ice-stick to push themselves forward, the skates did not really need to be fastened. SHM 21993:6A-D