A rare Viking Age artefact find in Holland - a silver ring.
And why Viking Age finds in Holland are so rare.
A very rare intact silver ring from the Viking Age recently had been found in the borough of Buren. Cees-Jan van de Pol detected the ring with his metal detector.
On the same location also a piece of melted silver in the form of a drop was found together with a silver coin from the 10th century in the clay ground of the Betuwe.
'Its form and decoration are pure 'Viking'
Unique example
According to archeologist Nils Kerkhoven from Dreumel and Viking Age connasseur Luit van der Tuuk, this ring is unique for the Netherlands. Kerkhoven: "This is a special ring. We do know a (in fact: a few TK) golden ring from the Viking Age found iIts form and decoration are pure 'Viking'n the Netherlands. But according to me this is the first silver ring from the Viking Age found in the Dutch soil wich is almost complete. Its form and decoration are pure 'Viking'. You do not see that often."
Viking Age artefacts are rarely being found in the Netherlands. Compared with by example England the discoveries are rather bleak. In Holland the Vikings ecountered, but never stayed for a longer period of time. There are theories about the existence of a long staying (few years) Viking army in or near the village of Asselt in the provence of Limburg, but that still is to be proven satisfactionally by archaeological researching to be undertaken in future.
Another thing is our history of ever changing coast lines and river walks. For example the Viking 'pirate post' on Walcheren had dissapeared into the sea over the centuries. Rivers inland have changed also in the course of centuries, making the exact original spot where an artefact originally was left behind sometimes fuzzy.
Vikings must have raided Holland and maybe traded, but their remains can be very elusive.
What we do have are finds from the area of Dorestad, a great golden armring of unmistakingly Viking interlace and knotted nature. Also from Dorestad there are two silver cloathing pins with filigrain decoration. They date from the first half of the 10th century. De decorated top of such pins have been found as beads on a necklace (see also my golden beads from Gotland). From some graves in Birka, Sweden, exact parallels are known.
Another Viking Age jewel, also from Dorestad, is a so called 'needle buckle' with knotted decoration. Such a buckle is categorized to the penannular brooches. These pennanular brooches were worn with the needle pointing to above. They have been found in many places in England.
Some years ago a silver armring with five rings hanging on it was being found in the sea by Callantsoog.
Such composed artefacts probably were made in the south of Sweden. The most south Swedish examples date from the second half of the 10th century. Another possible area of origin is Sjaeland in Denmark. Bij comparable armrings from Scandinavian findspots, the number of attached rings can increase to fifteen. Some rings are decorated with folded coins around them, making the jewel and the findspot where it originally came from, being dated accurately.
From the river Maas near Wessem, Limburg, the so called 'sword from Wessem' is famous, being the only one distinguishly Scandinavian in its decoration, sword is known. At the moment it can be seen at the Streekmuseum in Asselt, Limburg in the Netherlands.
Finally, two silver hoards from the Viking Age are known from Westerklief on Wieringen, the one being found in 1996, containing 1.6 kilogram of silver treasure. The other smaller one, just being found a few years apart from the first one. The one can be seen in the Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden in Leiden, the other one in the Informatiecentrum Vikingen op Wieringen.
In Domburg, Sealand (Holland) a Viking Age buckle found in 2010.
In the Fries Museum finally a small golden ring from the Viking Age can be seen. In the museum of Dorestad several early medieval and some artefacts with a Scandinavian decoration can be seen.
So.. we do not have a lot, but our collection is growing still, due to the ever increasing popularity of metaldetecting !
Attached I have the links to the artefacts mentioned and musea where you can see them.
So a bit Viking Age Holland promotion here !
Hope you enjoy..
See also:
http://www.rmo.nl/onderwijs/museumkennis/verhalen/vikingschat-van-wieringen
http://www.rmo.nl/onderwijs/museumkennis/verhalen/vikingsieraden
http://www.vikingen.nl/pg-28219-7-84399/pagina/welkom.html
http://www.pzc.nl/regio/zeeuws-nieuws/deskundigen-bevestigen-vondst-vikinggesp-in-domburg-1.4054837
http://archeologieonline.nl/nieuws/vikingring-gevonden-in-friesland-0
http://www.hartvannederland.nl/nederland/friesland/2009/fries-vindt-bijzondere-vikingring/
http://www.rtvnh.nl/nieuws/126007/bussumer-doet-vondst-van-zijn-leven
Addition June 7th: the curator of museum Dorestad pointed me to this link about another silver ring being found in Holland, Frisia, near Tirns in 2011:
http://www.sneekernieuwsblad.nl/nieuws/1359/zilveren-viking-ring-gevonden-bij-tirns/
Well. I could have been with these stones until after dark, but as my wife wanted to travel on.. well.. I see you again, some day, hogback stones from Gosforth. And if you happen to be there one day, do not forget that monument on the outside...
Further on with the Cumbrian hogbacktour !
In - yes, luckily again in - St. Peter's church in Heysham, there is a truly beautiful hogback stone. The guide told us, it had been studyied by Thor Ewing, a writer, in 2000. in 'Understanding the Heysham hogback' A tenth century sculpted stone monument and its context (link), Thor Ewing tells in detail what he dicovered on the both sides of this hogback stone.
Just being brought in the church as late as the 1970's accompanied with some protest here and there among the church visitors, considered as being a token of old paganism, it had been remarkably nice preserved, and a lot of detail can be seen, still. Truly worthwile a visit.
I had a small debate with the guide in the church if the - zoomorphic, in my opinion - faces on the sides were lions (or hippo's). The guide doubted if the vikings could have known about lions. Well I guess so, concerning the runes on the Ancient Greek lion statue at the Arsenal, Venice. For example. Vikings did travel south..
But when he told me he was doubting the vikings 'discovered' (as the native inhabitants were of course, in the first place) America before Columbus, I decided to rest my case..
One has to know when to start and to end a conversation ..
Just discovered the book in a bookstore written by Geoff Holder - The guide to the mysterious Lake District, I knew there had to be another hogback stone in Lowther, St. Micheal's Church. With a promising image described in the text of 'a naval and a land-based force of shield-bearing vikings above a fish and what might be a coiled sea serpent. On the reverse is a row of female figures with snakes, possibly a representation of the hideous hag Hel'. Wow. If that did not sound as a true pagan promised land ..
Not complaing too much after all we have seen, this visit was the dissapointing one of them all. But if you wife states 'I am happy to have seen them' and I am answering 'Measuring is knowing' and the even more obligate verb 'handling 'if we did not see it at all, we wouldn't have known anything at all of how they were looking' the glass was again half full, at the last day of our journey..
The hogback stone appeared to be just being tolerated within the entrance segment part of the church. As something you never use anymore but you do not throw away - entirely. That sort of feeling emerged when seeing this hogback asylum seekers.. Bed, bath and bread, ás we say in Dutch, but no luxury at all and standing on some outcuts of wood, you would balance the table with at home..
Come on, St. Micheal's Church.. care a bit more of your 'children' !
This hogback stone was moved in the church in 1907. Hogback stones layed partially buried in the churchyard before it was dug up and moved into the church.
The promising depiction of a longship - as certainly can be seen after some studying - see http://vikingminds.co.uk/pages/longship
we have missed !
The stone itself is (157 x 50 x 30 cm) and very worn.
The hogback stones in Cumbria - very diverse in quality, but everyone worth a visit ! Especially on a gloomy day in late October ...
The churches to visit - see photos of resp. St. Andrew's church in Penrith, St. Mary's church in Gosforth, St. Peter's church in Heysham and St. Micheal's church in Lowther.
Did I miss out on another one in Cumbria ? Let me know !
In a next blog I will take you to four - still remaining utterly mysterious- statues 'guarding' the graveyard of St. Andrew's church in Dacre..
For the last blog of October 9th see this link.
References: (as always, links to where the books can be ordered are attached).
Edwards, B.J.N. Vikings in North West England - The artifacts (1998);
Emery, Gordon, CURIOUS CUMBRIA, The Lake District & Beyond: A celebration of Cumbria (2023)
Ewing, T. 'Understanding the Heysham hogback' A tenth century sculpted stone monument and its context ;
Hall, R. Viking Age archaeology in Britain and Ireland (first printed 1990, reprinted with amendments in 1995);
Holder, G. The guide to the mysterious Lake District (2009)
possibly also (as there within the part of Cumbria dealing with Carlisle, the Eden Valley, Barrow-in-Furness, Whitehaven and the west coast is being dealed with)
Holder, G. Paranormal Cumbria (2010)
http://vikingminds.co.uk/pages/longship