Archaeologists working in Norway revealed Wednesday the discovery of four “untouched” Viking bracelets thought to be more than 1,000 years old.
The four individual pieces of silver jewelry were found roughly eight inches under the dirt in an area that once housed a “large and powerful” Viking Age farm, according to a statement from the University of Stavanger. The site was revealed prior to construction of a tractor road, the bracelets initially mistaken for copper wire.
“At first I thought it was a question of some twisted copper wires that you can often find in agricultural land, but [then] I saw that there were several lying next to each other and that they were not copper at all, but silver,” one of the study team members, Ola Tengesdal Lygre, said in the statement. “I realized that we had found something exciting.”
Field archaeologists Ola Tengesdal Lygre (left) and Theo Eli Gil Bell at the silver treasure. It was taken out as a block and transported to the museum for further analysis. Photo: Volker Demuth, Archaeological Museum, University of Stavanger
Drone photo of the excavation field in Årdal. The white box in the bottom right corner shows where the silver treasure was found. Photo: The Eli Gil Bell, Archaeological Museum, UiS
The farm is believed to have been working between 793 A.D. and 1066 A.D. Several homes and animal shelters were uncovered throughout the dig. The bracelets were found in one of the smaller areas, which the researchers believed likely housed slaves. (RELATED: Archaeology Student Stumbles Upon ‘Viking Age’ Hoard)
“This is a unique find, because we very rarely find such objects exactly where they were placed,” project manager and archaeologist at the university’s Archaeological Museum Volker Demuth noted. “As a rule, such valuable objects are discovered on fields that have been plowed, where an object has been completely taken out of its original context. Since the silver hoard has not been moved, it can give us completely new insights into life and society in the Viking Age.”
Other artifacts uncovered include knife blades, rivets and soapstones, as well as evidence the farm burned down during a period of “great unrest in the Viking Age,” the statement added.
Demuth suggested the residents of the property may have buried their valuables before fleeing, hoping to one day return. Sadly, that day never came.
