Emily Chan
On a farm in Denmark, more than a half-dozen pieces of Viking Age silver jewelry that doubled as money were unearthed.
Gustav Brunnsgaard, a 22-year-old metal detectorist and archaeology student at Aarhus University, had been exploring farmland near Elsted, a town located north of Aarhus, when his metal detector went off.
As he dug into the soil, he encountered a silver bangle. According to a translated statement from the Moesgaard Museum in Højbjerg, he returned to the field a few days later and discovered six more bracelets. Previous excavations at the field had found traces of a Viking Age settlement.
Bruunsgaard notified officials of the discovery. They dated the items to the 800s, which was during the early Viking Age in Scandinavia. The Viking Age spanned from A.D. 793 to 1066.
“The Elsted farm treasure is a fantastically interesting find from the Viking Age, which connects Aarhus with Russia and Ukraine in the east and the British Isles in the west,” said Kasper H. Andersen, a historian at the museum.
“In this way, the find emphasizes how Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world, which went all the way from the North Atlantic to Asia.”
The bracelets served as a form of currency called hacksilver that was used during the Viking Age. Hacksilver usually consisted of pieces of cut or bent silver. It was mostly spent on new armor or weapons.
Together, the bracelets weighed over a pound. Their value would have been measured by a “common weight system.” They were used as a means of payment and represented the owner’s financial status.
The jewelry may have been produced in southern Scandinavia, possibly in Denmark. One of the bangles was shaped like a coiled ring and resembled a style of bracelet that originally came from Russia or Ukraine.
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