Gold finds in Sweden

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The more than 30 gold finds in Sweden come mainly from the Nordic Iron Age (comparable to the Central European Migration Period ). They consist of unprocessed bars and rings wound into spirals - which were known as ring or payment gold. In addition, there are artful objects that are among the most magnificent creations of early Swedish times.

distribution

Gold neck jewelry - from Ålleberg
Detail from Ålleberg

Gold deposits have been found in all the southern Swedish provinces and to a lesser extent in the coastal areas of southern Norway. Some regions such as Scania and Västergötland , the provinces around the Mälaren , but also the islands of Gotland and Öland come to the fore.

to form

The art objects show a great wealth of forms. It ranges from simple arm rings to splendid crescent-decorated neck rings to the masterpieces of Nordic goldsmithing, the three gold neck collars (Swedish: Guldhalskragarna) by

Finds are also finger rings, amaldinverzierte Schwertknäufe in Cloisonnétechnik , Ortbleche for scabbards and Roman solidi (gold coins). Punched amulets ( bracteates ) with ostentatious eyelets occur all over Scandinavia .

The depot can consist of a single spiral, a neck ring or a coin , but also of several different objects. Unprocessed and processed gold occurs in combination, or a deposit is single-type and consists of either unprocessed gold or gold jewelry. The larger, massive neck rings weigh between 1255 (Trolleberg, Schonen) and 830 grams (Bragnum, Västergötland). The part of the ring found ( Köinge , Halland ) indicates that there were even rings with a weight of 1.5 kg. In some regions there are mainly smaller, hollow and therefore lighter specimens.

Find complexes

  • The largest gold treasure, weighing over 12 kilograms, was found in 1774 at Tureholm estate in Ekerö municipality .
  • 10 km east of Varnhem , in Timboholm, a 7 kg treasure was discovered in 1904 at a depth of one meter. It contained two gold bars and 26 spirals.
  • A small but original find comes from Valleberga in Skåne. It consists of a cube-shaped sandstone 13 cm long with a cylindrical hole 3.5 cm wide and 5.5 cm deep. A carefully shaped stone plug belongs to the “safe”.
  • In 1938 three neck rings (only one solid) with a total weight of 842 grams were found in southern Värmland. A stylized animal head was engraved on one. This find is similar to the 526 gram ring by Hannenov Skov that was found on Falster in 1937 .

literature

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