In 1981, hidden beneath a stone by a low rocky outcrop, a Viking hoard which had been left undisturbed for over 1,000 years was discovered at Slemmedal near Grimstad in Southern Norway.
Throughout the Viking Age, it became increasingly common for people to carry their wealth with them. Hidden and buried treasures from affluent Viking communities reveal a vast wealth circulated.
Hammered, twisted and braided silver and gold rods were shaped into arm rings and neck rings. A showy, yet clever, way to secure one’s wealth for trade and travel.
The Slemmedal hoard contains pieces of jewelry that have travelled far, such as three broken-off terminals from a large pennanular ball type brooch in silver from the British Isles.
And an Anglo-Saxon wheel cross in gold decorated with punchmarked circles.
A gold medallion decorated with twisted gold wires may be of more local origin.
Some arm rings are decorated with triangles, lines and dots.
Perhaps these decorative symbols signalled something to the Vikings about the purity or value of the silver. Stamped onto the surface, these marks nearly always occur in groups.
Frankish gilded fittings for sword scabbards, decorated with densely woven plant ornamentation, are remarkable in themselves. Three of them were later converted into pendants.
On the reverse of one of the fittings, the female name "Thora" and the male name "Thorfrid" are carved in Old Norse runes.
On another fitting, the name ‘Slúthi’ appears. Who were these people, and what was their relationship to the hoard itself? We will likely never know.
During the Viking Age, silver bullion became the primary means of payment. Gold was used more sparingly, but the richest hoards also contain arm rings of pure gold and gold used as currency.
Containing more than two kilograms of silver and gold, the hoard reflects an era of vast travels and wealth before it was buried on Norwegian soil.
The Slemmedal hoard offers a fascinating glimpse into the Viking Age economy, its extensive trade networks, and a treasure once held by some of society’s wealthiest individuals.
