A metal detector in Denmark has discovered a unique piece of gold jewellery from the 11th century that has never been seen before in Scandinavia. It was possibly donated personally by the emperor of Byzantium to a Viking leader.
The find is a beautiful and quite unusual gold earring from the 11th century, according to Peter Pentz, who is a museum inspector at the National Museum of Denmark. “It is completely unique to us, we only know of 10-12 other specimens in the whole world, and we have never found one in Scandinavia before,” he says, adding that the Vikings have brought home thousands of silver coins from their travels, but almost never jewellery.
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The earring consists of a crescent-shaped gold plate inserted in a frame made of gold threads adorned with small gold balls and gold ribbons. The crescent-shaped plate is covered with an enamel, which is created by a special technique where you break and powder glass, and then melt it with metal so that it becomes opaque. The motif of the enamel is two stylized birds around a tree or a plant, which symbolizes the tree of life.
The back of the earring – photo by Søren Greve, The National Museum of Denmark
This type of jewelry is known especially from Islamic Egypt and Syria and from Byzantium and Russia. The jewelry found is most similar to the Arabic examples, which originated in Egypt.
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In terms of style and craftsmanship, it is made as the Dagmark Cross (Dagmarkorset). These are the only two pieces of art of this type we have in Denmark. They both date from the Viking Age or the earliest Middle Ages and are prestigious jewellery, which probably has not been traded, but was typically donated by kings and emperors.
That explains why the Dagmark cross was found in a queen’s grave. In contrast, the new gold find has been found in a field in Bøvling, West Jutland. How it ended up there is therefore a bit of a mystery.
“We had expected to find such a fine and invaluable piece of jewellery like this together with a large gold treasure or in a royal tomb and not on a random field in Bøvling,” notes Peter Pentz.
Dagmar Cross – photo by Lennart Larsen, Nationalmuseet / Wikimedia Commons
One explanation may be that many Vikings went into war service for the Byzantine emperor, who had a bodyguard consisting of warriors from Scandinavia. We know from the Icelandic sagas that the mercenaries came home from the East with silk and weapons, and it is also said that the emperor occasionally donated fine gifts to his bodyguard. So it is conceivable that the earring was given personally by the emperor to a trusted Viking in the bodyguard. And then it must have been lost under unknown circumstances in Denmark. Another possibility is also that a pilgrim has brought home the jewelry. It could, for example, be King Eric I (c.1060-1103), who traveled to Jerusalem with his wife Boedil. The king himself died on the journey. The earring was probably originally part of a pair, but we have not been able to find a similar earring in the area.
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The discovery was made by Frants Fugl Vestergaard, who has doing metal detecting for the last ten years, and had even gone over this field several times before.
“I get very humbled and wondered why I should find that piece and then even in West Jutland, where there is so much between the finds,” says Frants. “It’s like getting a text from the past. You always yearn to find something beautiful, a top find, and then you suddenly have it in your hands. It is completely inconceivable.”
The item in Frants Fugl Vestergaard’s hand – photo by Frants Fugl Vestergaard / The National Museum of Denmark
At the nearby Holstebro Museum, there is enthusiasm and praise for the detector driver, who has shown “great care” with the object, explains archaeologist and museum inspector Astrid Toftdal Jensen. “The find confirms that West Jutland has always had strong connections around the world,” she says, adding that she hopes the earring can be lent to the museum at a later date so that it can be seen in the area where it was found.
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The earring will be placed in a secured display case at the National Museum of Denmark, where it is part of the current Viking exhibition “The Raid,” which focuses on the Vikings’ travels to the Middle East. Here, guests can study it closely together with the Vikings’ other treasures.
It is a fine company to be in, says Frants Fugl Vestergaard, who with the find himself is written into the history books: “I am proud and happy to have found it, also in relation to local history, because it shows that we up here from the outskirts can also suffer – even 1000 years ago, where there must have been some in this area who had an influence and status. I will probably never finish thinking about that. ”
A metal detector in Denmark has discovered a unique piece of gold jewellery from the 11th century that has never been seen before in Scandinavia. It was possibly donated personally by the emperor of Byzantium to a Viking leader.
The find is a beautiful and quite unusual gold earring from the 11th century, according to Peter Pentz, who is a museum inspector at the National Museum of Denmark. “It is completely unique to us, we only know of 10-12 other specimens in the whole world, and we have never found one in Scandinavia before,” he says, adding that the Vikings have brought home thousands of silver coins from their travels, but almost never jewellery.
The earring consists of a crescent-shaped gold plate inserted in a frame made of gold threads adorned with small gold balls and gold ribbons. The crescent-shaped plate is covered with an enamel, which is created by a special technique where you break and powder glass, and then melt it with metal so that it becomes opaque. The motif of the enamel is two stylized birds around a tree or a plant, which symbolizes the tree of life.
This type of jewelry is known especially from Islamic Egypt and Syria and from Byzantium and Russia. The jewelry found is most similar to the Arabic examples, which originated in Egypt.
In terms of style and craftsmanship, it is made as the Dagmark Cross (Dagmarkorset). These are the only two pieces of art of this type we have in Denmark. They both date from the Viking Age or the earliest Middle Ages and are prestigious jewellery, which probably has not been traded, but was typically donated by kings and emperors.
That explains why the Dagmark cross was found in a queen’s grave. In contrast, the new gold find has been found in a field in Bøvling, West Jutland. How it ended up there is therefore a bit of a mystery.
“We had expected to find such a fine and invaluable piece of jewellery like this together with a large gold treasure or in a royal tomb and not on a random field in Bøvling,” notes Peter Pentz.
One explanation may be that many Vikings went into war service for the Byzantine emperor, who had a bodyguard consisting of warriors from Scandinavia. We know from the Icelandic sagas that the mercenaries came home from the East with silk and weapons, and it is also said that the emperor occasionally donated fine gifts to his bodyguard. So it is conceivable that the earring was given personally by the emperor to a trusted Viking in the bodyguard. And then it must have been lost under unknown circumstances in Denmark. Another possibility is also that a pilgrim has brought home the jewelry. It could, for example, be King Eric I (c.1060-1103), who traveled to Jerusalem with his wife Boedil. The king himself died on the journey. The earring was probably originally part of a pair, but we have not been able to find a similar earring in the area.
The discovery was made by Frants Fugl Vestergaard, who has doing metal detecting for the last ten years, and had even gone over this field several times before.
“I get very humbled and wondered why I should find that piece and then even in West Jutland, where there is so much between the finds,” says Frants. “It’s like getting a text from the past. You always yearn to find something beautiful, a top find, and then you suddenly have it in your hands. It is completely inconceivable.”
At the nearby Holstebro Museum, there is enthusiasm and praise for the detector driver, who has shown “great care” with the object, explains archaeologist and museum inspector Astrid Toftdal Jensen. “The find confirms that West Jutland has always had strong connections around the world,” she says, adding that she hopes the earring can be lent to the museum at a later date so that it can be seen in the area where it was found.
The earring will be placed in a secured display case at the National Museum of Denmark, where it is part of the current Viking exhibition “The Raid,” which focuses on the Vikings’ travels to the Middle East. Here, guests can study it closely together with the Vikings’ other treasures.
It is a fine company to be in, says Frants Fugl Vestergaard, who with the find himself is written into the history books: “I am proud and happy to have found it, also in relation to local history, because it shows that we up here from the outskirts can also suffer – even 1000 years ago, where there must have been some in this area who had an influence and status. I will probably never finish thinking about that. ”
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