Thor’s hammers, miniature weapons, tiny chairs, animal figures, and inscribed metal sheets are often interpreted as amulets. Suspension loops and wear can show that an object was carried but do not alone explain its meaning.
Some inscriptions explicitly invoke protection. The Kvinneby amulet probably calls on Þórr and his hammer against harm, although parts remain disputed. The combination of readable and obscure signs may itself have mattered.
Material, origin, and an object’s biography could matter as much as shape. Silver, imported objects, or inherited jewellery joined protection to status, memory, and social relationships.
Not every ornament was an amulet, and no amulet necessarily served the same purpose everywhere. Religious, decorative, and magical may be modern divisions that users did not draw in the same way.