Stunning gold earring discovered in Denmark may have been gifted by the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chief 1,000 years ago, experts claim
Earring from the 11th century has never been seen before in the Nordic countries
It was found by a metal detectorist in a field near Bøvling, West Jutland, Denmark
It’s now being exhibited in Denmark National Museum’s Viking exhibition ‘Togtet’
A stunning gold earring discovered in Denmark may have been gifted by the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chief 1,000 years ago, experts claim.
Dating from the 11th century, the ‘completely unique’ gold jewellery has never been seen before in the Nordic countries.
Likely one of a pair, it was found by a metal detectorist in a field near Bøvling in West Jutland, Denmark.
It’s thought to have been originally crafted in Byzantium or Egypt and is potential evidence the Vikings had connections all the way around the Mediterranean.
The Byzantine Empire (395 to 1204 and 1261 to 1453), also known as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was a powerful civilization based at Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
It’s now being exhibited in Denmark National Museum’s Viking exhibition ‘Togtet’, which translates as ‘The Cruise’ and is all about Viking travels to the Middle East.
Experts have so far been unable to find a similar earring in the area that may have formed a pair.
‘It is completely unique to us, we only know of 10 to 12 other specimens in the whole world, and we have never found one in Scandinavia before,’ said Peter Pentz, inspector at the National Museum Denmark.
‘We had expected to find such a fine and invaluable piece of jewellery like this together with a large gold treasure or in a royal tomb and not on a random field in Bøvling.’
The find consists of a crescent-shaped gold plate inserted in a frame made of gold threads adorned with small gold balls and gold ribbons.
Its crescent-shaped plate is covered with an enamel, now slightly cracked, which would have been created by a special technique involving breaking and powdering glass before melting it with metal so it becomes opaque.
The motif of the enamel is two stylised birds around a tree or a plant, which symbolises the tree of life.
Source: Daily mail
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Stunning gold earring discovered in Denmark may have been gifted by the Emperor of Byzantium to a Viking chief 1,000 years ago, experts claim