He started looking to get moving. After two months, he discovered the golden find of the century

On the island of Rennesøy in south-western Norway, a unique set of gold bractates, beads and rings from the late Migration period was discovered with the help of a metal detector. It was all apparently part of a single lavish necklace that must have belonged to someone from the highest echelons of society. Experts speak of the golden age of the century.

The find consists of nine gold bractates (flat, thin, one-sided medallions) with stylizedimages of horses, ten gold beads and three gold spiral rings. The total weight of gold in the set is just over 100 grams. The necklace was deposited during a difficult time of conflict, plague and upheaval following a volcanic eruption between 535 and 536, which led to widespread famine and famine.

Erlend Bore began his detector search after a physiotherapist and doctor strongly recommended that he go out more and fight the ills of a sedentary occupation. So on Wednesday, June 7, he began a new phase of his life when he got his first metal detector. Two months of walking and experience later, his detector registered a strong signal. When he lifted a lump of dirt and saw a golden glint, he assumed it was the wrapper of a chocolate coin. Bore scooped it up to take a closer look, at which point the dirt around it crumbled, revealing gold beads...

He immediately contacted the county archaeologist and sent him a picture of the find. The archaeologist replied that Bore had found a golden treasure from the Migration period. "This is a completely unique discovery. None of the archaeologists at Rogaland County Municipality have experienced anything like this and it's hard to describe the excitement when we saw it," said Marianne Enoksen, head of the Cultural Heritage Section at Rogaland County Municipality.

We would like to commend the detectorist who did everything right in finding this unique gold find. He marked the site and did not search further. He contacted the county office and we were notified by the Museum of Archaeology. This meant that we were able to return to the site of the discovery shortly afterwards to carry out further investigations," Enoksen added.

The director of the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, Ole Madsen, called the treasure "the gold find of the century", as it had been a long time since so much gold jewellery had been found in one place in Norway. Approximately 1 000 gold bractates have been discovered in Scandinavia so far. According to Professor Sigmund Oehrl of the Archaeological Museum, the gold pendants from Rennesøy are of a rare specific type, depicting a horse motif in a previously unknown form.

"The motifs are different from most other gold pendants found so far. The symbols on the pendants usually depict the god Odin healing the sick horse of his son Balder. At the time of the Migration of Peoples, this myth was considered a symbol of renewal and resurrection, and was thought to provide protection and good health to the wearer of the jewellery," Oehrl explained.

However, only the horse is depicted on the Rennesøy bracteates. Just like the Christian symbol of the cross, which was prevalent in the Roman Empire at this exact timeEmpire, the symbol of the horse represented sickness and distress, but also the hope of healing and new life," Oehrl said.

The braces, beads and spiral rings are now being conserved at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger and will then be put on display. Under Norwegian law, any archaeological object dating back to 1537 belongs to the state. The finder and the owner of the land will split the finders' fee in an amount set by the National Heritage Office.

Roman Němec

Sources: uis.no, kommunikasjon.ntb.no, thehistoryblog.com

bracteate necklace

detail of a gold bractate

Archaeologists investigate the area around the find

gold bead

Sigmund Oehrl

conservator Helle Hegund

the whole set

Erlend Bore

gold spiral rings - ring

bracteates