The manufacture of iron and smithing took place in many areas, such as in the
northern parts of Sweden and eastern Norway; it was not only a profession for true
specialists. In these areas, the production of iron was probably an almost regular work
and performed side by side with other activities. The production in these areas was
certainly far bigger than for local needs and some of it was hence exported to within and
outside Scandinavia.
In other areas, where the manufacture of iron has not been found, smithing was still a
quite common feature on the excavated settlements, normally with finds of iron slag
and forging pits. In many villages, at least one individual seems to have known how to
produce simple tools or repair broken ones.
A debated question is to what extent iron objects were imported to Scandinavia and
how skilled the Scandinavian smiths were. Most iron objects have a Scandinavian origin,
but there are some exceptions, especially among the weapons, that often exemplify the
most delicate skills. In the Roman period, large numbers of swords were imported to
Scandinavia from the Roman provinces. This taste for Continental swords also existed in
the Viking Age. Smiths’ stamps and signatures such as the famous Ulfbehrt are evidence
of imported Frankish swords. How many of the other swords in Scandinavia are
imported we do not know. What can be assumed, however, is that even though iron was
common and easily accessible in Scandinavia, people still preferred to import some iron
objects connected to a certain value and status.
Bronze, silver and gold were metals used for the same type of objects, such as
brooches, buckles, and inlays in weapons. In contrast to iron, these metals were not
manufactured in Scandinavia, they all had to be imported. Much of this import was in
the shape of scrap metal. One exceptional find has been discovered in Spilling, Gotland.
Together with the largest silver hoard hitherto found, the excavators also found a chest
containing scrapped imported bronze jewellery. Many of the Scandinavian objects in
bronze and gold probably originated from such reused Continental objects.
Bronze was the most common material for the Viking Age jeweller. It was the
material that the ordinary Scandinavians could afford. On a number of sites, such as
Ribe, Birka and Kaupang, many fragments from moulds and crucibles have been
revealed. The largest recent find is an excavated workshop on Birka, where thousands of
mould fragments have been found. One skill that the Scandinavian bronze specialists
(except for perhaps on Gotland) never seem to have achieved, is the production of bronze
vessels.
During the late eighth century Arabic silver began to arrive in Scandinavia via
Russia. This inflow, primarily in the shape of coins, is not only reflected in an increasing
amount of treasure hoards containing coins and jewellery, but is also shown in the
crafts. Some coins were transformed into pendants used in the female jewellery set,
others were melted down and used in moulding, silver-plating or in objects and
decorations made of silver wire. Brooches and bracelets of this material are however
rarely found. Silver was still so precious that it was mainly used for making small
objects.
Gold was, in comparison with bronze and silver, a very rare material. In combination
with mercury, it was most often used for gilding bronze objects. True gold objects
are also very rare compared to silver and bronze. Where they do occur, the craftsmanship
is often of very high quality. Gold was especially used for filigree and granulation-
decorated jewellery.
–– chapter 13 : Handicrafts––