A 1,000 Year-Old Gold Bracelet Fragment Found on a British Isle Dates Back to When Vikings Ruled the Land
Archaeologists believe the piece was made by a skilled goldsmith and was potentially used as currency
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Manx National Heritage
On the Isle of Man, a metal detectorist has discovered a squished fragment of a 11th-century Viking treasure: a piece of an intricately woven gold bracelet..
“I couldn’t really believe it at first,” says Ronald Clucas, the man who found the item, in a statement by Manx National Heritage, which protects the Isle of Man’s natural and cultural history. “Gold generally gives a very low signal on the detector, so you can’t really predict what is going to be uncovered. I’ve been detecting for many years now and found some wonderful things, but to find a piece of gold from the Viking Age, that’s really something else.”
Located between England and Ireland, the Isle of Man is now a self-governing crown dependency of the United Kingdom, but back in 798, it was settled by Vikings, the seafaring Scandinavian warriors who colonized coastal Europe between the ninth and 11th centuries. The island’s position in the center of the British Isles made it an ideal port from which the Vikings could launch naval attacks and trading ships, according to a Manx National Heritage report. They also appreciated its rich farmland.
Multiple Viking graves have been discovered on the Isle of Man, as well as remnants of Viking architecture. And the Isle’s Manx Museum hosts “many spectacular artifacts,” like Viking tools, weapons, clothing and, now, the newly discovered gold piece.
Composed of eight braided strands of gold rod, the bracelet was “made by a highly skilled goldsmith using a specialized technique,” per the statement. The found fragment weighs about nearly one ounce. It was found bent in half; if extended, the piece would measure about three inches long—only part of the bracelet’s original circumference.
“Jewelry items such as this had several functions in the Viking Age, both as prized personal possessions and visible displays of wealth,” as Allison Fox, curator of archaeology at Manx National Heritage, says in the statement. “They were easily portable and were also used to cover costs in financial transactions.”
Fox says this particular gold bracelet was cut twice—clipped at one end then halved—meaning it may have been used as currency to pay for two separate purchases. As she tells public media provider Manx Radio, the bracelet’s Viking owner probably “needed the other piece to buy something pretty expensive.”
Many Viking women and men wore jewelry, including brooches, necklaces and bracelets, or arm rings. According to the BBC, elite Viking men were known to give silver or gold arm rings to their loyal followers. Such artifacts are rarely found in Britain.
“For reasons we will never know, this fragment of gold arm-ring was buried in the ground until discovered,” Fox says in the statement. “It may have been hidden for safe keeping, could just have been lost or may even have been buried as an offering to the Viking Gods.”
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Clucas belongs to the Manx Detectorists Society, and the gold piece is only his latest find on the Isle of Man: In 2005, Clucas unearthed two ingots of silver and lead, pieces of Viking currency. Fittingly, this year marks Clucas’s 50th as a metal detectorist—the anniversary commonly associated with gifts of gold.
“So, this is his golden anniversary,” Fox tells Manx Radio, “and this is his golden anniversary present.”
