Аннотация:This article is dedicated to the description and analysis of an object unearthed on homestead “Zh” in the cultural layer dating to the 1030s–1040s. The object is a boat-shaped slab of juniper wood: 13.2 cm long, 3.9 cm tall and 1.1 cm wide, with a groove in one of its 1.1 cm-wide sides. The lack of analogies among Ancient Russian arte-facts made the identification of this object difficult at first. But, the problem was resolved when an article was published about a set of 13 items that had been discovered during excavations at Hedeby, Denmark, and identified as axe sheath. According to Westphal’s classification system, the object from homestead “Zh” is a Type 1 axe sheath (the bent shape and groove differentiate it from the more trapezoid-shaped Type 2 axe sheaths). However, the Novgorod axe sheath differs from its North-European counterparts in the location of the hole through which a piece of string is inserted to attach the sheath to the axe blade. This hole is located right in the middle of the Novgorod sheath, so that it is firmly pressed to the blade and no string can be pushed through. Therefore, it is probable that this hole was for a small nail or pin, which was pushed into a corresponding hole in the blade of the axe. Such holes are often found in the blades of axes that were widespread in the 10th — 11th centuries and can be categorized as Type 1, 2, 3 and 4 axes, according to Kirpichnnikov’s classification system. It appears that the axe for which this sheath was made was a Type 4 axe with a slightly assymetrical blade. Lastly, the sheath is unusual because it is made to juniper, unlike all of the other axe sheaths ever found. Thus, it appears that the axe sheath is a common Scandinavian object that was made locally in Novgorod for an Ancient Russian axe.