Guldgubbe

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Guldgubber from the Muld variety on Bornholm, 6th century AD

Guldgubbe (plural guldgubbar ) is the Swedish word for "gold man", ( Norwegian Gullgubbe ) one to two centimeter tall figures made of sheet gold , the locations of which are limited to Denmark and Scandinavia , where they were found in 30 locations. Because of the well-executed motifs of standing people, the finds from the oldest Toreutik in the north attracted attention early on. What purpose the gold men served is controversial.

Surname

Its name follows a paper published in 1791 by the Swedish archaeologist Niels Henrik Sjöborg (1767–1838), in which it is said that the farmers in Ravlunda near Kivik ( Scania ) repeatedly found small sheets of gold in the dunes, which they "guldgubbar" called. Sjöborg took over the name of the farmers. Danish literature uses the plural form guldgubber .

  • Guldgubbe

  • Guldgubbe from Uppåkra

  • Lundeborg

  • Bornholm

  • Sort-Muld

Locations

The roughly 3,000 finds are distributed quite unevenly over so-called wealth centers . Seven sites are in Norway ( near Bryne ), twelve in Sweden and eleven in Denmark ( Gammel Lundeborg ), six of them on Bornholm . The vast majority of the specimens were found here, at the "Sorte Muld" site alone 2,594 figurines so far.

Further finds were made in Norway and Sweden. Two sites are known in Jutland . In Denmark, Gammel Lundeborg is of interest. The most numerous Swedish finds come from Uppåkra near Lund , Slöinge (in Halland ), Västra Vång near Ronneby (in Blekinge ), Helgö in Lake Mälaren and from Eketorp Castle on Öland . In Norway there were finds in Vingrom near Lillehammer , at the church of Mære in Steinkjer ( Trøndelag ), up to Borg (Lofoten) .

Motifs

The figurines are on thin, small, often square pieces of sheet metal. The gold sheet is sometimes so thin that you can hardly hold it in your hand without damaging it. This delicacy suggests that they had a special function. Apparently they were not intended to be touched too often, otherwise they would hardly have survived to this day. The very detailed motif is difficult to see with the naked eye.

Three main motifs can also be differentiated according to their focus: individual people (man, woman), human couples (man and woman) and animals. Some are decorated with incised decorations .

A recurring motif on Funen shows a woman and a man who are hugging each other (known as lovers). This has been interpreted as a fertility motif (holy wedding) or as a picture of a pair of gods. The embracing couple is shown accurately. The woman wears a dress made of several layers of different fabrics that are held together by a large fibula . Her hair is pinned up in many pieces and a long braid falls in her back. The man is wearing a knee-length skirt and his hairstyle is clearly drawn. The Norwegian finds consist exclusively of depictions of couples. Men are wrapped in cloaks, with tails hanging down in front and behind. Such cloaks are documented by various representations for the first millennium: on the Viking Age rune stone from Jæren in Norway in incised technique; on a stone from the same time from Sanda on Gotland ; on vendelzeitlichen Gotland picture stones.

On the basis of more recent studies, mainly carried out with the Danish material, the figurines can be classified in different groups according to shape, gesture or clothing. On the one hand gods or nobles, on the other hand dancers or performers of cultic activities. The figurines are often depicted with different attributes. For example, there are men who hold a staff or women who offer a drinking horn. The male variant has been interpreted as a representation of the god Thor.

Other objects show individual men or women. A whole family appears to be depicted on the gold sheet figurines found in Eketorp Castle on Öland. In other cases a dancer can be recognized, in any case a special movement is performed. The position of the legs is reminiscent of the figures on Älleberg's gold neck collar, which have been interpreted as bird interpreters. The sheet gold figures are sometimes naked, but mostly festively dressed.

Some were made with a patrix . In this context, a bronze plate (10 × 14 mm) from a settlement near Vä in Skåne is of interest, which shows a relief image of a woman of the gold plate type. Possibly it is a patrix for the production of the gold sheet figures.

Various gold sheet figures depicting pigs or other animals have been discovered on the island of Bornholm . In Sweden such animal figures are missing so far.

The women from Eketorp's sheet metal depicted in full face wear a long skirt that is finished off with a patterned border and often ends in a train . A scarf is over the shoulders. The hair is gathered in a loose neck knot. The men from Eketorp seen in profile have long hair and fur-like smocks, and sometimes long trousers.

Dating

Apparently the first gold sheet figurines originated in the Germanic Iron Age (from approx. 375) and were used until the Viking Age (until 1066). Production seems to have peaked in the Vendel Period (550-800 AD).

The Helgöbleche lay scattered on the place, which had been inhabited for centuries, so that they do not provide any clues for dating. In some Danish finds, guldgubber are associated with Roman solidi and bracteates of the D-type. This indicates the transition from the Migration Period to the Vendel Period . It is no different with the sheet metal from Eketorp, which also included some pieces of the golden spiral wire typical of the time of the Great Migration. They come from the lower settlement layer, so that they can be dated to the Great Migration Period (400–550 AD) or the earlier Vendel Period with a high degree of probability. The graves in Småland and Ulltuna point to the Vendelzeit.

interpretation

What purpose the gold men fulfilled is still unclear. It could be an offering or a means of payment in a ritual context. This is supported by the fact that the sites of discovery are usually ascribed a central lordship and spiritual significance. Some guldgubbers come from treasure finds, but most are isolated or settlement finds. They are seldom pierced for sewing, and some have eyelets.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ site selection according to Karsten Kjer Michaelsen: Politics bog om Danmarks oldtid . Copenhagen 2002 ISBN 87-567-6458-8 , p. 61: Borg, Hauge, Mære - Norway; Eketorp, Eskilstuna, Helgö, Slöinge, Svintuna, Ulltuna, Uppåkra - Sweden; Gudme, Lundeborg, Stentinget, Toftegård and in eight places on Bornholm - Denmark
  2. ^ Guldgubbar found in Blekinge (Swedish) svd.se, accessed on November 15, 2013
  3. ↑ Cato Guhnfeldt: Goldschatz from the 7th century (Norwegian) aftenposten.no, July 8, 2005, accessed on November 16, 2013
  4. ↑ Cato Guhnfeldt: Historic Gold Fund (Norwegian) aftenposten.no 10 November, 2008, accessed on November 16, 2013

literature

Web links