Hiker Unearths 1,500-Year-Old Gold Sword Fitting in Norway, One of Only 18 Found in Northern Europe
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 14
Hiker Unearths 1,500-Year-Old Gold Sword Fitting in Norway, One of Only 18 Found in Northern Europe
4 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 14
A hiker in Sandnes, Norway, uncovered a six-centimeter gold sword fitting after probing soil exposed by a storm-felled tree, the University of Stavanger said.
The artifact dates to the sixth century Migration Period and is the first such find in Rogaland; only 17 other comparable fittings have been recorded across Northern Europe.
Archaeologists say the richly decorated piece likely adorned a scabbard worn by a regional chieftain at Hove, and its wear suggests it was used rather than made only for display.
Researchers believe it was placed in a rock crevice as an offering during a time of crop failures and wider crisis after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The fitting will go on display at the University of Stavanger's Museum of Archaeology, where scholars say it could sharpen understanding of early Norwegian power centers and elites.
A hiker found a 1,500-year-old treasure. What other secrets from a forgotten age will Norway’s changing climate reveal?
Was this gold artifact a chieftain's offering, or a community's desperate plea to survive a climate catastrophe?