Spoon causes quite a stir...

Known as the Sami spoon, it was discovered in 1968 and is currently on display in the town’s museum.

So far it has caused quite a stir among visitors, staff and archaeologists alike.

The Sami people originate in Norway and were known to carve and decorate bone spoons, often made from the antlers of their beloved reindeer.

The bone spoon, found at the Moatfield site in Torrington, is from the medieval period. As Sami people and English traders were not known to have come into contact at this time the find is very surprising.

The spoon is most likely to have come to Arundel with a sailor or merchant working in the Baltic trade but there is no historical circumstance to support this.

It is also thought that the reindeer featured in the Christmas story as driving Santa’s sleigh were inspired by the very same reindeer kept by the Sami and featured on this object.

To see the bone spoon, visit the museum, in Mill Road.