Hoard on St Ninian's Isle

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Ruins of St. Ninian's Church,
where the hoard was found
The "Ayre" the Tombolo of St Ninian's

The hoard on St Ninian's Isle , an approximately 72 hectare tidal island in the Shetlands in Scotland , was deposited in the second half of the 8th century and rediscovered in 1958 in the floor of St. Ninian's Church under a slab.

The church was still in use in the early 18th century. Storms and sand from the largest raffle in the British Isles destroyed them and buried the cemetery, which was still in use until 1850. Knowledge of the position of the Church was lost. On the occasion of the first Viking Congress in 1951, William Douglas Simpson (1896–1968) proposed a search that began in 1955. In 1958, a schoolboy who helped with the search discovered a wooden box under a stone slab marked with a cross. The content exceeded all expectations.

The 28-part day care center consists of:

  • 12 silver ring brooches
  • 8 silver bowls
  • 3 silver thimble-shaped frames of unknown function
  • 2 silver chords
  • 1 silver spoon
  • 1 silver knife
  • 1 silver knob

The silver hoard lay in a larch wood box. The bowls were upside down and the brooches and other objects appeared to have been hastily hidden. The treasure, which contains some gold-plated pieces, is the best-preserved example of Pictish- Scottish silversmith work from this period.

There were pieces for secular use, such as a number of different ring brooches (some of them as semi-finished products) and various chords of sword scabbards. The thimble-shaped objects, spoons and bowls could have been used for religious ceremonies and rituals. In the middle of the objects was the jawbone of a porpoise as the only non-metallic object. Some items such as the heavy ring chains or collars, viewed by some scientists as "symbols of power for Pictish chiefs", are of uncertain importance. The brooches show a variety of typical Pictish shapes. Two of the chords and a sword pommel appear to be Anglo-Saxon pieces, probably made in Mercia in the late 8th century . One has an inscription with a prayer in Old English. One of the "thimbles" shows a triple spiral. Weapons were part of the exchange of gifts between Anglo-Saxon and Pictish rulers and, as a result, were among the items that became most widespread in the early Middle Ages. The hoard is located in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh .

  • Hoard on St Ninian's Isle

  • Ring brooch

  • Fibula ends

  • Ortband

  • Peel

  • Thimbles

literature

  • Andrew C. O'Dell: St Ninian's Isle Treasure. A Silver Hoard Discovered on St. Ninian's Isle, Zetland on 4th July, 1958 (= Aberdeen University Studies Series. No. 141, ZDB -ID 416434-9 ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh et al. 1960.
  • David M. Wilson:  Saint Ninian's Isle Treasure. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 26, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-017734 X , pp. 143-145. ( Article accessed via the paid GAO at De Gruyter Online)

Web links

Commons : Hoard on St Ninian's Isle  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/collections-stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/st-ninians-isle-treasure National Museums Scotland
  2. ^ A. O'Dell, The St Ninian's Isle Silver Hoard. Antiquity XXXIII, 1959, saw the porpoise bone in a church connection.

Coordinates: 59 ° 58 '17.4 "  N , 1 ° 20' 29.9"  W.