Chain-mail hood and shirt reconstructions

On the inside of the fragment of the chain-mail hood in the display case to the left there is a newly-discovered, not yet examined layer of human hair, on top of which are four layers of textiles that have been strongly affected by the metal. By examining the fibres in a scanning electron microscope, it is possible to determine that the fabric is wool.

The mail in the reconstructed hood has the same dimensions as that in the fragment in the display case to the left. However, the reconstruction is based on a contemporary artefact discovered at Tofta Church on Gotland. Have a closer look and feel the hood on the table to the right!

The reconstructed shirt does not match an original from the mass graves. It still provides a reasonable impression of what a chain-mail shirt from this period would have looked like. Feel the weight of it!