DURHAM, ENGLAND—The Guardian reports that a small piece of worked glass dated to the eighth or ninth century A.D. has been discovered on the island of Lindisfarne, the home of an early monastery and site of the first major Viking raid on Britain in A.D. 793. The pebble-sized object of swirled blue and white glass, topped with five white glass droplets, is thought to be a gaming piece from the Viking board game hnefatafl, or “king’s table.” The artifact was found as part of an ongoing excavation led by DigVentures and Durham University. The dig's lead archaeologist, David Petts of Durham University, thinks the piece might have been dropped by a Norse raider, or may have belonged to a wealthy local person who may have been influenced by Norse customs even before the attack. “The sheer quality of this piece suggests this isn’t any old gaming set,” Petts said. “Someone on the island is living an elite lifestyle.” To read about a female Viking warrior buried with whalebone game pieces, go to "Viking Warrioress."