‘Spectacular silver’: 7 rare Viking armlets unearthed by a Danish student

While scanning a historical Viking site with a metal detector, a young archeology student innocently discovered a priceless treasure of silver jewelry from the early Viking Age, confirming the location’s prominence as an international hub.

The Moesgaard Museum, located south of Aarhus, originally a Viking settlement, issued an official statement confirming the acquisition of seven silver bangles from the Viking Age in a field near Elsted, as per the Independent. Excavations of the area had already found signs of Viking settlements.

Little did Gustav Bruunsgaard know, 22, a student from Aarhus University, standing on farmland, as per Live Science, that he would come up with silver, which was “gold” to the Vikings, thereby bringing up, also, a moment in history that was remarkably interconnected.

Silver was currency to the Vikings

Silver was the Viking’s form of currency known as hacksilver, Live Science reports, used to pay and transact, so the bangles weighing more than half a kilo were not merely decorative but also demonstrated the owner’s financial status.

“Bracelets like these were adapted to a common weight system so that the value of the individual rings could be easily seen.”

The silver arm rings, a notable sum of money, dates back to the early Viking Age, between 793 AD to 1066 AD in Scandinavia, according to the Independent, as archeological research had already found evidence of Viking settlements from 700 AD, as stated on Visit Aarhus, the tourist site.

Aside from their significance as a valuable hoard , the design of the bangles further supports the known understanding that Aarhus was an important trade center with international ties, Live Science notes.

Though most likely produced in Denmark, one coiled ring originally came from Russia or Ukraine, according to the museum’s official statement, which was then integrated into the Viking’s field of aesthetics. Similarly, three band-shaped, stamped rings from South Scandinavia then inspired jewelry in Ireland.  The three smooth bangles, meaning devoid of ornamentation, as per ABC , though rare originate from Scandinavia and England.

“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. 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,” Kasper H. Andersen, Ph.D., and historian at Moesgaard Museum said in an announcement .

However, the silver treasure comes with an even larger meaning attached, as if the Vikings had a message to share with the modern world.

A moment in time defined by global connectivity

Silver jewelry and artifacts such as these have helped experts trace trade routes between Europe and the world at large, including the Islamic Empire and all Afro-Eurasia from the Viking Age, the Independent reports.

Interestingly enough, this moment in time “saw some of the ‘most spectacular’ episodes of pre-modern global connectivity.” So, silver wearable currency directly corresponds to a commercial system that thrived due to cooperation and financial and cultural exchange.

The young archeology student unearthed splendor and wealth from the historic and international settlement that benefited from an inter-connectivity of the known world.