Silver Viking Armlets Unearthed in Denmark

News August 21, 2024

Viking silver hoard
Moesgaard Museum
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Armlet from the Viking silver hoard
Armlet from the Viking silver hoard

AARHUS, DENMARK—The Associated Press reports that a metal detectorist unearthed seven silver arm rings in an area of a known Viking-era settlement near Denmark’s eastern coastline. In all, the jewelry weighs about one pound and has been dated to A.D. 800. “The find emphasizes that Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world,” said Kasper H. Andersen of the Moesgaard Museum, who explained that the Vikings used silver in transactions as a means of payment. One of the armlets is in a style known to have originated in Viking settlements in what are now Russia and Ukraine; three of the rings are in a style that was common in southern Scandinavia; and the remaining three armlets were crafted without ornamentation, perhaps in Scandinavia or England. For more, go to "Hoards of the Vikings."

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