Archaeology Student From Denmark’s Aarhus Univ. Unearths Viking-Age Bangles

A 22-year-old archaeology student from Denmark’s Aarhus University recently unearthed seven Viking-Age silver bangles dating back 1,200 years.

The seven bangles represent three distinctive design styles that underscore Aarhus’ status as an international trading hub of the Viking Age. Researchers believe the silver bangles also may have served as a form of currency.

The student, Gustav Bruunsgaard, was using a metal detector to explore a known Viking site in Elsted, about eight miles north of Aarhus, when his device beeped loudly.

With a small shovel, Bruunsgaard successfully secured a single bangle. When he returned to the site a few days later, he found six more. The total weight of the seven silver bangles is about 500 grams, or a little over 1 pound, according the Moesgaard Museum.

Danish and international experts assessed the hoard and concluded that the items were fabricated during the early part of the Viking Age, which spanned from 793 AD to 1066 AD.

For the Vikings, arm bangles were not only statements of personal style and social status, but they could also be used as a type of currency. Bracelets like these, according to the Moesgaard Museum, were adapted to a common weight system, so that the value of the individual rings could easily be determined. In this way, the bangles served as a means of payment.

The bangle that looks like a coiled snake originated from Russia or Ukraine, according to the Moesgaard Museum, which added that the design was imitated by the Nordics.

The three stamped bands are of a South Scandinavian type that inspired bangles in Ireland, where they became very common. The museum explained that the three smooth bangles are rare and known to be from Scandinavia and England.

“The Elsted farm treasure is a fantastically interesting find from the Viking Age, which connects Aarhus with Russia and Ukraine in the east and the British Isles in the west,” noted Kasper H. Andersen, Ph.D., and historian at Moesgaard Museum. “In this way, the find emphasizes how Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world, which went all the way from the North Atlantic to Asia.”

Bruunsgaard’s seven silver bangles are currently on display at the Moesgaard Museum in Højbjerg, Denmark. The museum is just five miles south of Aarhus, which is Denmark’s second largest city with a population of 330,000.

Credits: Jewelry image courtesy of Moesgaard Museum. Map by Google Maps.