DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

49

Silver wit h a t hin

coating of gold

Pieces of

hack silver

BURIED TREASURE
The silver objects at the top of
this page are all from a hoard
found in Goldsborough
churchyard in Yorkshire,
England. The big “thistle”
brooch was probably made in
England. Buried with it were
fragments of brooches and
arm-bands, and another
brooch without a pin.

Silver brooch that

has lost its pin

Animal head

Silver thistle

brooch

Bosses (knobs) like

t hist les, which

give t he brooch

its name

Hack silver

Cut coin

Hoards

There were no banks in

Viking times. So many Vikings

buried their valuables in a secret

spot for safekeeping. These stashes of

buried treasure are called hoards. If a

Viking died in battle or just forgot where a

hoard was hidden, it could lie in the ground for

centuries. Over a thousand Viking hoards have since been

discovered. The largest one, found in Cuerdale, England,

contained 88 lb (40 kg) of silver. Hoards may include

jewelry, coins, gold and silver ingots (oblong blocks), and

hack silver—pieces of chopped-up silver (p. 27).

Boss broken off a

thistle brooch

Amber set in

t he pin head

Round terminal decorated

in gold wit h animal forms

Silver pin inlaid wit h gold

Interlace decoration

engraved and inlaid wit h

t he black compound niello

WEIGHED DOWN BY FASHION

One of the biggest pieces of Viking jewelry known, this

silver brooch was found at Møllerløkken on the Danish

island of Fyn. It is called a penannular brooch. It was

made in Scandinavia, but the style was based on dress

pins the Vikings saw in the British Isles. Huge brooches

with pins this long must have been cumbersome and

dangerous to wear. Their main purpose was to show off the

owner’s wealth. An Icelandic story tells of a poet who wrote a

wonderful patriotic poem. As a reward he was given a silver

brooch that weighed 25 lb (11.5 kg)—32 times more than this one!

The delighted poet sold the monster brooch and bought a farm.

IRISH BROOCH

IN A NORWEGIAN GRAVE

What was this Irish brooch doing in a

woman’s grave in Norway? She was buried in the

10th century, but the brooch was made at least a

hundred years earlier in Ireland. Her husband may

have bought or stolen it on an expedition to Ireland.

Piece of inlaid

blue glass