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A hiker discovered a 1,500-year-old gold treasure in Norway
The discovery points to a centre of power on Norway's west coast, according to a researcher.
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A hiker recently found a 1,500-year-old, richly decorated fitting for a sword scabbard. It was discovered in what is now a popular hiking area in the Austrått district of Sandnes, according to a press release from the University of Stavanger.
Researchers believe this may once have been an important area during the Migration Period.
From the 6th century
Archaeologist and associate professor Håkon Reiersen at the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology calls the find magnificent.
“You are completely caught off guard when finds like this come in. The chances of finding something like this are minimal,” Reiersen says in the press release.
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The gold object is richly ornamented and once decorated a sword scabbard attached to a belt.
“Among the finest works from the period”
The fitting measures about 6 centimetres wide and a couple of centimetres high. According to Siv Kristoffersen, retired professor at the Museum of Archaeology, traces of triple-stranded, beaded gold threads layered over the decorative lines can also still be seen.
“In its preserved form, this would have emphasised the decorative lines and given it a shimmering appearance,” she writes on the University of Stavanger website.
She explains that the fitting features filigree ornamentation – goldsmith work made from thin metal threads bent or twisted into patterns.
"This places the object among the finest works from the period, created by highly skilled goldsmiths," Kristoffersen writes.
But what does the intricate motif on the fitting represent?
According to Kristoffersen, it is meant to depict animals.
"When trying to identify these strange creatures, it's always helpful to look for the eye first. Then a nose and facial profile quickly emerge," she writes.
She explains that the motif is symmetrically composed of two animal heads in profile facing each other – one positioned along the upper edge and the other inverted along the lower edge.
"It's possible that this should be interpreted as a human head with an animal body – a hybrid motif frequently found in this type of ornamentation," Kristoffersen writes.
Mounted on a ceremonial sword
"The individual carrying the sword this belonged to was likely the ruler of this area during the first half of the 6th century," says Reiersen.
It was a turbulent and eventful period in Norway’s history.
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Gold sword-scabbard fittings usually show little evidence of wear. This example, however, is clearly worn and heavily used. This suggests the chieftain actually used it frequently. It emphasised his position and power, says Reiersen.
The gold ornament may have belonged to a ceremonial sword owned only by the most powerful people in Norway 1,500 years ago.
A similar discovery has never before been made in Rogaland. According to the researcher, only 17 finds of this kind have been made in all of Northern Europe.
Two earlier discoveries in the same area
Two other spectacular finds have previously been made in the bogs below Riaren hill, located in the popular hiking area outside Sandnes.
- The first consisted of silver neck rings decorated with gold, discovered during ploughing in the 19th century.
- The second was found in 1907 – an unusually large Roman bronze cauldron produced along the Rhine around the year 300.
The Fimbulwinter of 536
The researcher at the Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger believes the gold treasure was buried in a rock crevice for religious reasons. It may have been an offering to the gods sometime during the 6th century.
In the year 536, Norway and the Nordic region may have suffered a catastrophic event following a major volcanic eruption in Central America.
The eruption likely caused several years of severe cooling. Multiple European sources describe the event.
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Temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere may have dropped by several degrees. Summers became short and cold. Harvests failed year after year, and half of the population may have perished.
During this period, large quantities of gold were sacrificed to the gods.
People likely buried valuable objects as sacrificial offerings in the hope of better times.
"By sacrificing such magnificent objects to the gods, the leaders at Hove reinforced their status and power," says Reiersen.
A concentration of power in Jæren
Researchers believe that around 1,500 years ago, Jæren in Rogaland was home to a significant concentration of powerful people.
Political, military, and religious power was concentrated within a relatively small area.
"There is nowhere else in Norway with such a high density of power centres as Jæren," archaeologist Håkon Reiersen told forskning.no a few years ago.
Jæren contains large burial mounds, remains of large longhouses, and hillforts.
The people living there had access to fertile farmland and controlled key routes along the coast – known as Nordvegr – as well as important trade in furs and iron.
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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